This week saw rain here in Davis. After a week of 90-degree heat, we’d gotten used to summer feeling closer. Seasons seem to last only a few days at a time now. It’s more like winter again, and though campus is on alert because of recent events in our community, I am glad to say that our spring quarter has seen many notable achievements.

For those of you who are podcast fans, the college was especially well covered by recent campus podcasts, the first of which featured Rachael Bay, an assistant professor of evolution and ecology, who recently sat down with Chancellor May as part of his Face-to-Face series. They discussed the future of ocean life. I hope you'll take a look.

The second podcast, which is actually created and run by UC Davis students, featured Jonathan Eisen, a professor of evolution and ecology, and a core faculty member of the Genome Center. Professor Eisen sat down with the students to discuss the role of microbes in our lives, open sourcing in academia, and the importance of equity and diversity in higher education. I recommend both episodes!

And speaking of students, I was especially pleased to see that not one but two CBS graduate students landed the first and second-place prizes at this year’s UC Davis Grad Slam competition. My congratulations to both of them.

Next month’s Biome will be the last of this academic year. I expect it will come with a few more big announcements, which I look forward to sharing.

In the meantime, I hope you stay safe. 

______________



Mark Winey, Ph.D.

Dean, College of Biological Sciences

Distinguished Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology 

Featured image: Earlier this year, the UC Davis Student Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology hosted a creative bioluminescent “Agar Art” event. Participants painted agar plates with a suspension of bioluminescent photo-bacterium phosphorus, let them grow up and took pics of the living art pieces. See a highlight reel of all of them on Instagram. (Miriam Markum)



In a special issue of Science, a comparison of 240 mammal genomes by Department of Evolution and Ecology researchers and colleagues sheds light on mammalian evolution, with implications for conservation and human and animal health. 

>> Read more

Charan Ranganath, a core faculty member with the Center for Neuroscience, is exploring the ways memory lasts or fades, and how scientists can detect signs of neurodegenerative diseases earlier.  

>> Read more

Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior researchers study how our bodies respond to physical activity and in what ways different diets affect our metabolism. This Q&A addresses how balanced, intermittent fasting and keto diets affect our bodies.

>> Read more

Kimberley McAllister, a professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior, and the director of the center, spoke with NPR about how COVID during pregnancy may alter brain development in boys.

>> Listen to the interview