Ninon Martinez Receives the Dana Wright Fellowship
Ninon Martinez, a PhD student in the Finnerty Lab, received the Dana Wright Fellowship.
Globally, reef corals are experiencing major declines, largely driven by climate change. However, many “reef corals” are habitat generalists, thriving in reef-associated habitats, such as mangroves and seagrasses. These habitats were once considered inhospitable to corals, due to their higher and more variable temperatures, low light levels, and limited settlement substrate.
However, corals occupying these habitats have been found to experience lower rates of bleaching and mortality, so Ninon hopes to understand what factors and conditions contribute to these corals’ survival. Ninon’s PhD research focuses on comparing the survival, growth, and biotic associations of corals across mangrove, seagrass, and reef habitats in Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve, Belize. Ninon hopes to figure out whether these corals are locally adapted and how they perform in alternative habitats, shedding light on the potential for coral adaptation and resilience across the seascape.
This fellowship was established in memory of Dana Wright (CAS ’00), an alum of the BU Marine Program. After completing her studies, Wright went on to work in research in right whale acoustics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod.
Congratulations Ninon!
Jacob Jaskiel, Peter Schroedl, and Lili Vizer Receive the Warren McLeod Summer Award
Jacob Jaskiel, a PhD student in the Rotjan Lab, Peter Schroedl, a PhD candidate in the Marlow Lab, and Lili Vizer, a PhD student in the Buston Lab, received the Warren McLeod Summer Award.
Jacob studies tropical Pacific tunas including skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye, which constitute some of the world’s largest wild capture fisheries. His research focuses on questions relating to large-scale basin-wide population dynamics, as well as larval dynamics potentially affecting recruitment (e.g. predator-prey interactions). Jacob’s fisheries-independent research relies largely on high-resolution zooplankton sampling inside the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), and employs next-generation sequencing, metabarcoding, and community assemblage analyses to: 1) understand which tuna species utilized PIPA as a spawning ground during its fully no-take status, how their populations are structured, and what their recent demographic histories were; 2) Identify important trophic linkages involving tuna larvae through 18s rRNA sequencing of larval gut contents; and 3) Leverage a dataset of over 20,000 larval fish (N=1,141 tuna) and 80,000 individually identified zooplankton to characterize persistent assemblages containing tuna larvae, additionally combining information on larval diets from Chapter 2 to make inferences about larval ecology and planktonic interactions possibly influencing recruitment.
During Jacob’s Warren-McLeod Fellowship, he will process and analyze 18s v9 rRNA sequencing data of gut contents, resulting in the first characterization of larval tuna diets in the central Pacific Ocean. Larval tuna feeding preferences have been studied in other regions, yielding fascinating insights into trophic niche partitioning and other ecological dynamics, but no such studies have been conducted within the Western and Central Pacific, a region that supplies over half of the world’s tuna. Investigating tuna feeding ecology during their most critically important life history stage is a necessary step in gaining a holistic, ecosystem-informed perspective on the factors governing the successful recruitment of larvae and juveniles to the fisheries on which millions of people depend.
Peter is a 5th year phd candidate in the Marlow Geomicrobiology Lab. His phd focuses on microbe-mineral interactions in extreme environments. At the ~4,000m deep Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the heart of the Pacific Ocean, polymetallic nodules rich in iron, manganese, copper, cobalt, and other valuable metals carpet the seafloor. They are found in discrete regions within every ocean basin and many freshwater lakes on Earth. On a UN mandated environmental impact assessment, our collaborator Dr. Andrew Sweetman studied seafloor ecology with deep-sea landers. He measured unexpected seafloor increases in oxygen on this and other cruises. Shipboard, we also preserved samples for future analyses and detected populations of microbes capable of dark oxygen production and biomineralization. This fellowship will aid in our understanding of the geomicrobial mechanisms impacting polymetallic nodule formation and dark oxygen production in the deep-sea and perhaps other valuable ecosystems (e.g. subsurface aquifers) which have also been found to generate oxygen without photosynthesis.
Guangmei Liu Receives the Brenton R. Lutz Award
Guangmei Liu, a Biology PhD student in the McCall Lab, received the Brenton R. Lutz Award.
Guangmei’s research focuses on glial dysfunction and its role in neurodegenerative diseases. Her work leverages a Drosophila model in which the phagocytic receptor Draper is knocked down in glia, leading to age-dependent neurodegeneration. She has identified a distinct pattern of neuronal vulnerability, with degeneration clustering in specific brain regions. Using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, she has uncovered key molecular mechanisms underlying this susceptibility, including widespread activation of innate immune signaling pathways and chronic neuroinflammation. In this model, glial cells adopt a pro-inflammatory state, peripheral immune cells (hemocytes) attempt to infiltrate the brain. To counteract neurodegeneration, she is conducting a targeted genetic screen to modulate immune signaling in neurons, glia, and hemocytes.
Notably, knocking down Relish, a key transcription factor in the innate immune signaling pathway, in glia and the fat body—but not neurons—significantly reduces neurodegenerative vacuoles. These findings suggest that impaired phagocytosis in draper mutants drives neuroinflammation and selective neuronal vulnerability in the aging brain. By dissecting the interplay between glial dysfunction and immune activation at a systems level, our work provides insight into how neuronal vulnerability arises during neurodegeneration and identifies potential therapeutic targets to disrupt the cycle of inflammation and neuronal loss.
Congrats Guangmei!
Maria Valadez Ingersoll Receives 16th Annual GSI Grand Prize
Maria Valadez Ingersoll, a PhD student in the Gilmore and Davies labs, was recently awarded the BU Genome Science Institute (GSI) Research Symposium Grand Prize for presenting her current research. The GSI Research Symposium is an interdisciplinary event emphasizing research in Genetics and Genomics.
This award provides Maria $10,000 to be used at the BU SM core facilities for her next genomics experiment. Maria's dissertation uses multi-omic genomic and proteomic techniques to uncover complexities and tradeoffs between immunity and symbiosis in cnidarians.
At the GSI Symposium, Maria presented her project on Single-Cell RNA sequencing in the stony coral Oculina arbuscula. This project characterizes the transcriptomic profiles of cells from O. arbuscula with and without intracellular facultatively symbiotic algae. This work reveals the compartmentalization of immune system suppression in specific gastrodermal cells in symbiosis, which likely limits symbiosis tradeoffs by dampening immunity in algal hosting cells while still maintaining general organismal immunity. Watch Maria's GSI talk here (starting at minute 49)!
Congratulations, Maria!
Dr. Mandy Pinheiro Published in the Journal Development
Dr. Amanda Pinheiro, an MCBB PhD alum of the Naya Lab, recently published a paper in the journal Development.
Dr. Pinheiro's paper was selected to appear as a “Research Highlight”, and both she and Dr. Naya were interviewed by the journal in “The people behind the papers” to discuss the significance of their work. This research article, “The Dlk1-Dio3 noncoding RNA cluster coordinately regulates mitochondrial respiration and chromatin structure to establish proper cell state for muscle differentiation”, demonstrates that these RNAs work together to regulate metabolism and epigenetics in muscle. You can read the paper here.
Congratulations Mandy!
Alanna Carey Receives NIH Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative D-SPAN Award
Alanna Carey, a PhD student in the Chen Lab, recently received the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award. The purpose of this award is to support a defined pathway across career stages for outstanding graduate students who are from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups that are underrepresented in neuroscience research. This two-phase award will facilitate the completion of the doctoral dissertation and transition of talented graduate students to strong neuroscience research postdoctoral positions and will provide career development opportunities relevant to their long-term career goal of becoming independent neuroscience researchers.
Alanna's current work utilizes a genetically diverse mouse model in an automated home-cage performing a goal-directed learning task to observe how genetic diversity influences learning capacity. Her dissertation aims to demonstrate that genetic variation related to learning can converge on specific neuronal cell types and investigate how molecular, anatomical, or functional properties of neuronal cell types vary to produce learning differences among individuals. Alanna’s long-term goal is to lead her own research laboratory studying how specific gene networks and cell-types mechanistically influence learning and memory in neurodevelopmental disorders, utilizing genetic diversity and environmental factors.
Congratulations, Alanna!
Congratulations to Soyoung Bae on American Crystallography Association Early Career Scientist Spotlight
We are thrilled to announce that Soyoung Bae, a PhD graduate student in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry (MCBB) program, has been featured in the American Crystallographic Association's (ACA) Early Career Scientist Spotlight for 2024. This Spotlight not only provides insight into Soyoung’s background and experience, but extolls the facilities and instruments at Boston University’s Chemistry Department used for her work. This honor stemmed from her participation in the ACA Meeting in Baltimore MD in the summer of 2023, in which she was awarded the Journal of Chemical Crystallography poster prize.
Since joining Professor Tolan’s Laboratory in 2021 in collaboration with the Karen Allen lab in Chemistry, Soyoung has made remarkable strides in structural biology, focusing on enzyme mechanisms and ligand interactions through advanced techniques such as X-ray crystallography, surface plasmon resonance, and ultra-fast X-ray/spectroscopy. Her innovative work on protein conformational changes, as well as her effort solving nearly a hundred enzyme structures in complex with various small molecules has been instrumental in informing structure/activity relationships for a drug development project in collaboration with a small pharmaceutical company. All of which underscores her significant contributions to the field. Soyoung’s success has been supported by exceptional resources and guidance, notably from Dr. Jeff Bacon, who has provided invaluable expertise with the advanced instrumentation at the BU-Chemistry Instrumentation Center (CIC).
Please join us in celebrating Soyoung's achievements and in wishing her the best as she advances her career in structural biology.
Congratulations to Soyoung Bae on winning a Stanford PULSE Scholarship
Soyoung Bae, a third-year graduate student in the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry (MCBB) PhD Degree program, has been awarded the prestigious Stanford PULSE Scholarship for the Ultra-Fast X-ray Summer School (UXSS) in June 2024. The UXSS program, hosted by Stanford's PULSE Institute at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) National Accelerator Laboratory, is renowned for its cutting-edge training in ultrafast (atto–femto second) X-ray science, and Soyoung’s selection is a testament to her exceptional research and potential in the field of structural biology. The award covered her lodging at the Stanford workshop, allowing her to participate in this highly esteemed program.
Soyoung’s research in the laboratory of Biology Professor Dean Tolan, where she employs sophisticated techniques such as X-ray crystallography and surface plasmon resonance, aligns perfectly with the innovative focus of UXSS. Her participation in this program will undoubtedly enhance her skills and knowledge, further advancing her impactful research on enzyme structure and function.
Victoria Zdanowicz Receives 2024 Denton Award
Victoria Zdanowicz of the Knott and Scmitt Labs was selected as the winner of the 2024 Denton Award for her master’s research thesis in Biology titled “Local ecology and dietary selectivity at indicators of differing orangutan habitat quality within Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Indonesia.” This award is given for excellence in scholarship and research accomplishment during a master’s thesis under the mentorship of a faculty member of the Department of Biology.
Victoria conducted a challenging field study of how anthropogenic disturbance impacts the trees and lianas utilized by wild orangutans in Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia. Her research focused on understanding why orangutans utilize degraded secondary forest habitats, analyzing relationships between forest structure data, plant phenology data (fruiting and flowering patterns), dietary selectivity records, and nest survey data. She discovered that orangutan nests vide higher densities of preferred fruits than primary (undisturbed) forests. Her thesis illustrates that degraded habitats can safeguard wild populations of threatened and endangered species, advancing our understanding of anthropogenically altered habitat suitability for wildlife. Victoria now conducts outreach work at the Stone Zoo.
Congratulations, Victoria!
2024 Master’s Research Award Recipient
Charley Mitchell of the Novak and Finnerty Labs is the inaugural recipient of the Master’s Research Award. This award provides a one-semester Research Assistantship to a continuing Biology MS student who stands out in their field of research.
During Charley's undergraduate career at Boston University, he looked at the effect of fish grazing on seagrass beds and its potential impact on carbon sequestration. For his master’s research, he is examining the potential microbial shift in seagrass that contains seagrass wasting disease (SWD) vs. those that don’t, as well as analyzing whether SWD impacts the plant's ability to sequester carbon. In his free time, Charley likes to play with his cat and run along the Charles River.
Congratulations, Charley!