With nearly 6,000 new and returning CBS students on campus, things in the college are starting to feel a little more like normal. I’m pleased to say that vaccination rates among CBS students, faculty and staff are at almost 100%. For those on campus, the Campus Ready website is where you will find the latest guidance, answers to common questions, and a full list of resources.

As a related piece of news, the UC Davis Genome Center, which plays an integral role in Healthy Davis Together (HDT), the collaborative effort between UC Davis and the city of Davis to protect our community through widespread testing, has ramped up its capacity to nearly 7,000 tests a day. In fact, the center has now tested nearly 800,000 saliva samples since HDT began.

For the month of October, the college is participating in Crowdfund UC Davis with two student-focused projects. The first project, for AvenueB, supports transfer students as they transition from community college to UC Davis. The second, for the Integrative Genetics and Genomics graduate group, is raising money for an inaugural retreat that will encourage graduate student networking and professional development.

At the end of this month, the college and Nature Conferences will present Harnessing the Plant Microbiome, which will highlight recent advances in our understandings of plant microbiomes and their pivotal role in food security, food safety, and environmental sustainability. There is still time to register, and there are special rates for students and members of academia.

For those who are new to campus or curious about what’s here, the college has launched a 3-D virtual tour that offers a behind-the-scenes look at some of our most distinctive facilities and classrooms. Included are stops at the Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute, the Botanical Conservatory, the Genome Center and more.

One final note to start off the 2021-22 academic year with a notable distinction. Forbes recently named UC Davis #4 among public universities in the nation for the “most outstanding education to the broadest range of students at the most affordable price.” As we return to life on campus, I hope we can take a collective pride in this recognition, and in our shared excellence in teaching, research and exploration.

Go Ags! 

Researchers in the Department of Evolution and Ecology found that the cold, dark depths of the ocean contain a wider variety of body shapes for fish than shallower waters.

A study from the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics decouples chromosomal processes in cancer cell division – a step towards understanding how to curb the growth of cancerous cells.

Research from the Department of Plant Biology suggests that facing east helps sunflowers produce more offspring. Previous research has shown that the plants turn back and forth while growing.

Rishi Sharma studies the various signaling pathways that play a role in diabetes in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. A $15,000 award from the Donald A. Strauss Foundation will help him launch an endocrine clinic.

Bernauer, a professor emeritus in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, was a pioneering figure in academia, policy and industry. He passed away on Aug. 12, 2021, at the age of 94.