Ready for Winter Quarter

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Opportunities Await

Hello CBS,

Welcome to Winter Quarter 2025!

Before diving into this new chapter, we pause to acknowledge the challenges many face beyond the classroom, especially our students and extended family and friends impacted by the devastating fires in Southern California. Please know that CBS and UC Davis are here to support you. BASC advisors are available for your advising needs, Student Health and Counseling Services is ready to support your well-being, and OSSJA is poised to connect impacted students with support and resources. Please do not hesitate to ask for support.

Amid these events, the start of a new quarter brings with it fresh opportunities here on campus. Winter Quarter is a time to explore, engage, and thrive, and we offer multiple suggestions in this issue of The DNA. We encourage you to seek opportunities for growth and discovery this quarter. Whether that means stepping into a new lab, joining a club, attending a special lecture, applying for an award, or pursuing academic goals, we encourage you to embrace the moments that will shape your path forward.

Let’s make this quarter one of progress and possibility.

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Your CBS Undergraduate Deans,

Mark Winey, Michele Igo, Helen Frasier, and Ebony McClain

Dean Mark Winey of the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences wearing academic regalia and standing with Carmina Alves, recipient of the 2024 College Medal.

The Graduating Senior Awards Application is OPEN!

Are you graduating this academic year? Would you like to be recognized for your involvement in research, community service, or the life of the college? Submit your application for CBS Distinguished Scholar Award, the Ron and Lydia Baskin Research Award, the CBS Undergraduate Student of the Year, and the CBS College Medal by January 31, 2025.

>> Learn more and apply HERE

Image of a young person wearing a laboratory coat and conducting an experiment.

The Undergraduate Research & Travel Awards Apps are OPEN!

Science doesn’t stop for summer! The CBS Dean’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) provides funding for students to continue their research projects in the summer of 2025. The CBS Travel Awards fund student participation in unique opportunities like conferences and workshops. Applications are due January 31, 2025.

>> Learn more and apply HERE

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Be a Global Biologist!

>> Early Bird Registration is January 6–31, 2025

Collage of EVE Scholars at UC Davis students engaging in various scientific and fieldwork activities. Top left shows a group of students smiling outdoors near a body of water. Top center features a student in a lab wearing gloves, working with equipment. Top right shows another student using a microscope. Bottom left depicts a group of students dressed for outdoor fieldwork near a rocky shoreline. Bottom center highlights a student standing in a marshland. Bottom right shows a student in a field holding a butterfly net during a field study.

The EVE Scholars Program

Application is OPEN!

The EVE Scholars Program connects UC Davis students with evolution and ecology research opportunities and a stipend to conduct full-time independent research under the direction of a faculty member in the Department of Evolution and Ecology (EVE) or at the Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML). Applications are due February 10, 2025.

>> Learn more and apply HERE

ARtwork on display at the Center for African Diaspora Student Success with a quote from Nelson Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

The Rost Education Scholarship Application is OPEN!

The Rost Family Scholarship will support one student graduating during the 2024-25 academic year with a degree from any College of Biological Sciences major. The graduating senior must be committed to becoming a K-12 science teacher following graduation and accepted into a teaching credential program. Applications are due April 4, 2025.

>> Learn more and apply HERE

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Wellness Corner

Banner for the Aggie Well-Being Champions program.

>> Submit your nominations by February 16, 2025 HERE

Banner for the UC Davis "Lit not Hit" campaign to offer all campus students and affiliates a free bike light in support of campus safety.

Get Lit Not Hit with TAPS and the ASUCD Bike Barn!

California Law requires all bicyclists who operate between dusk and dawn to have a forward-facing white light. Complete a pledge and short education program on dusk-to-dawn bike safety to get your free light.

>> Learn more & get your FREE light

Helmet Hair Don’t Care!

UC Davis students, staff, and faculty can receive a FREE helmet by completing a short educational training and signing the HHDC pledge. By completing the training and signing the pledge, you’re joining a community of individuals dedicated to improving campus safety.

>> Learn more & get your FREE helmet

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Be a Biologist!

Repairing a Broken Chromosome: 13 Ways of Looking at a Black Box

Friday, January 24, 2025, 1:10 pm, 1022 Green Hall

This MIC 276 Special Seminar, sponsored by the Storer Endowment, features James Haber, PhD, an Abraham and Etta Goodman Professor of Biology at Brandeis University and Director at the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center. His research focuses on the repair of broken chromosomes and the triggering of the DNA damage response.

>> Register HERE

Banner for the UC Davis Storer Lecture January 29, 2025.

Applying Cultural Evolution to Sustainability Challenges

Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 4:10 pm, ARC Ballroom

This presentation explores the work of scientist Monique Borgerhoff Mulder applying cultural evolutionary theory to examine how sustainable forest management practices spread across an island in the Zanzibari archipelago. Drawing insights from traditional knowledge, evolutionary modeling, behavioral economics, and ethnography, her research seeks to inform more effective strategies for future conservation efforts.

>> Register HERE

Image of dark blue clouds with the words "Options & Opportunities" in gold font.

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CBS Student Bulletin

UPDATED: 01.14.2025

CBS faculty and staff maintain strong connections. Throughout the year, we receive a plethora of internship and job postings you may not find on Handshake. Bookmark the CBS Bulletin page and check back regularly.

>> Take a look

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Career Center News

Want all of your options at your fingertips on a regular basis? Check out and subscribe to the Career Center's Health & Biological Sciences Newsletter for all of the upcoming events and tips on using Handshake!

>> Subscribe today

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Questions or comments?

You are a part of the CBS community, and the reason for The DNA! Send your questions, ideas and submissions for future issues to Assistant Dean Helen Frasier at: hsfrasier@ucdavis.edu.

The Deans' News and Announcements (The DNA) is a monthly electronic newsletter for undergraduate students in the College of Biological Sciences.

The DNA is published by the CBS Dean’s Office.