As a boy in growing up in Bountiful, Patrick Newman, BA’03, took a bite of a plant he would never forget. It tasted just like black licorice, which he loved. “I remember being struck at that moment as an 8-year-old boy thinking, ‘Plants can taste like things — what else can plants do?’” says Newman […]
Read MoreTo whom it may concern, I don’t want to leave the Galápagos yet. March 18, 2022, Week 09 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador above photo: Mom and the pigeons in the Plaza in Quito March 18 We finished packing for Quito this morning. I took a final exam for science, so I’m almost done […]
Read MoreSome of the most significant scientific breakthroughs in history—including the research that led to mRNA vaccines—were pioneered by women. While history has shown that women are integral to scientific advancement, the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) landscape is still highly inequitable. In honor of Women’s History Month, consider the story of SBS alumna, PhD’15, […]
Read MoreThe Leonardo Museum of Creativity & Innovation awards the innovation and dedication of a distinguished American ecologist March 22, 2022—Each year, The Leonardo presents the Leonardo Award to an individual who has demonstrated a lifelong sense of curiosity and learning, and whose work inspires the creative potential in others. The award reflects the museum’s dedication […]
Read MoreOne of the largest academic units on campus, SBS is fortunate to have an alumni family of increasing accomplishment in academia, health care, private industry and elsewhere. Each year a committee selects alumni for the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards, which includes the Distinguished Lab Alumni Award. An event to celebrate will occur April 27th in-person […]
Read MoreTo whom It may concern, It’s becoming evident to me that despite the length of days near the equator, time in the tropics seems to pass very quickly. March 14, 2022, Week 09 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador As the end of our expedition gets closer and closer, we’re doing more homework every […]
Read MoreAs we enter the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, we are optimistic about the state of COVID-19 on our campus and in the community around us. We are in a very different place than we were just two months ago. Infections and hospitalizations have declined since their peak in January; the vast majority of […]
Read MoreTo whom It may concern, It’s a small world after all. March 7, 2022, Week 08 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador Amongst huge frigate birds and giant tortoises, smaller organisms are often forgotten or considered less interesting than some wildlife. Every day, walking around town, to the beach, the station, or on our patio outside, […]
Read More“One of the biggest things that helped me was connecting with my loved ones.” When the pandemic first emerged in early 2020 Audrey Brown, HBS’21, found that online classes were novel at first, “but I quickly found myself losing motivation and becoming depressed/anxious due to the day-to-day Zoom monotony and the never-ending doomsday news on […]
Read More“I love the process of writing,” April Christofferson, BS’73, says in a 2007 U profile, “but I write because I’m trying to make a difference.” The difference this Illinois native is talking about includes many of the most complex and conflicted issues of her adopted home in the American West, including wildlife and public lands […]
Read MoreTo whom It may concern, Philornis downsi may as well be from Mars. February 28, 2022, Week 07 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador During the past few weeks, we’ve been looking for new mockingbird nests in which we can study Philornis. Now that we’ve found and mapped nests from different sites, we’re beginning to […]
Read More“My best trait is the ability to hang out with people who are far more capable than I am,” says Charles Sorenson, MD, FACS, in a 2020 interview. “I am not intimidated by working with people who are smarter than I am.” The former president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, the Salt Lake City-based nonprofit […]
Read MoreFor Sarmishta Diraviam Kannan, HBS’17, the journey to her “dream school” – the University’s School of Medicine – spanned about 25 years and some 8,780 miles. Sarmishta was born in Tamil Nadu, India, which is located on the southern tip of the Indian sub-continent. In addition to the long history of the Tamil people, Tamil […]
Read MoreTo whom It may concern, This week, I thought I’d change things up a little and submit a letter that is really photo-journalism. If it’s true that a picture paints a thousand words, you will have several thousand to read today! February 21, 2022, Week 06 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador The banner photo […]
Read MoreTo whom It may concern, Readers should note that biologists, grad students, and intrigued 13-year-olds may stop frequently to observe things. February 14, 2022, Week 05 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador This week our day off was spent in the “highlands,” although at 2,800 feet above sea level, the highlands aren’t especially towering. This […]
Read MoreIn the yards behind the slaughterhouses—also called abattoirs—of Ethiopia, an ecological shift is unfolding that has echoes of similar crises all over the world. by Paul Gabrielsen Science writer, University Marketing & Communications Species with a clear and effective ecological role are in serious decline, and the less-specialized but more aggressive species that have moved […]
Read More“I anticipate the vaccine strategy for COVID-19, supported by the tremendous advances in vaccine technology and development made in the past 3 years, transitioning to something akin to what is done for influenza A/B, with annual development of a vaccine tailored to the strain(s) of COVID-19 predicted to predominate in a particular ‘COVID season.’” Banner […]
Read MoreTo whom It may concern, “Nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance [of the Galápagos Islands].” ~Charles Darwin February 7, 2022, Week 03 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador As surprising as this quote is, I have to agree to some extent with Darwin’s first assessment of the Galápagos Islands. Upon landing off […]
Read MoreFor much of history, tree canopies were pretty much completely ignored by science. It was as if researchers said collectively, “It’s just going to be empty up there, and we’ve got our hands full studying the trees down here! So why bother?!” Listen to the podcast here: But then, around the mid-1980s, a few ecologists […]
Read MoreSBS and the University of Utah welcome SBS’s newest faculty, Assistant Professors Chan Yul Yoo and Heejin Yoo. Their research is in the areas of plant biology and Ecology/Evolution and both are positioned in the Molecular, Cellular & Evolutionary Biology Program (MCEB) The Yoos come to us from Oklahoma State University. They earned their PhDs at Purdue University. Chan […]
Read MoreThe Winningest Coach in San Francisco 49ers History George Seifert, BS’63, began his professional coaching career in 1977 as a defensive assistant to head coach Bill Walsh. After nine years and three Super Bowl championships with Walsh, Seifert was appointed Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 1989 They were big shoes to fill […]
Read MoreBecoming the Beloved Community. The University of Utah celebrated its 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Week (MLK Week) Jan. 15-21 with events that encouraged everyone to embrace King’s message of love and justice and seek a better way forward. As the nation grapples with ongoing division, this year’s MLK Week explored the theme “Becoming […]
Read MoreTo whom It may concern, No, avian vampire flies do not parasitize vampires. January 31, 2022, Week 02 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador Philornis downsi is a fly that I’ve mentioned in my past couple letters, but I haven’t talked much about its importance, or our project for that matter. Originally, it was suggested […]
Read MoreIt was an auspicious time to graduate with a diploma in microbiology at the University of Utah in 1970. K. Gordon Lark was a new arrival as chair of the new biology department and was busy expanding the department with a multitude of cell and microbiologists. This included neurobiologist and distinguished professor Baldomero Olivera who […]
Read MoreFour University of Utah scientists have been selected as 2021 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The awardees are materials science professor Ling Zang of the College of Engineering, and three faculty from the School of Biological Sciences: Distinguished Professor M. Denise Dearing and Professors Dale Clayton and Kelly Hughes. […]
Read MoreTo whom it may concern, I think the only person who is happy at 5:00 in the morning, is a field biologist, in the rain. January 24, 2022, Week 01 – Isla De Santa Cruz, Ecuador This week was the first couple of days that we spent in the field. The first day we […]
Read MoreTo whom it may concern, Packing is an adventure. January 17, 2022, Week 00 – Salt Lake City, UT Getting ready to depart on a field expedition is always an adventure in and of itself. Amongst packing, COVID testing, homework, buying supplies, planning travel, and coordinating a study, we are all tired, and very ready […]
Read MoreJanuary 14, 2022–From U of U Leadership: Dear campus community, We have an urgent vision for the U. Our collective vision calls for us to come together and say we will not tolerate what has long been intolerable. We remind our campus family that harm and fear continue to ripple through our community, especially our […]
Read MoreThe expanding CRISPER-Cas universe continues to provide new tools for manipulating genomes in animals. James “Jamie” Gagnon who currently holds the Mario Capecchi Endowed Chair at the School of Biological Sciences understands that embryonic cells “talk” to each other to coordinate the construction process. “Cells are master linguists – they use dozens of different languages, […]
Read MoreThis newly discovered mouse-butterfly interaction suggests that western monarch decline could disrupt ecosystems in unanticipated ways By Lisa Potter | Research Communications University of Utah Marketing & Communications Monarch butterflies possess a potent chemical armor. As caterpillars, they eat plants filled with toxic cardenolides that build up in their bodies and make them unpalatable to […]
Read MoreLast semester, Professor Colin Dale’s Biol 5275, Microbial Diversity, Genomics and Evolution (MDGE) lab/class was faced with an especially ambitious task. Students were challenged to isolate culture caffeine-degrading bacteria from environmental samples, perform molecular identification, sequence their genomes and identify the genes responsible for degradation of caffeine. They explored a diverse and interesting range of […]
Read MoreIn new paper, co-authored by SBS Professor, engineers discover what makes a tree-killing fungus so hard to put down. By Vince Horiuchi | public relations associate, College of Engineering University of Utah It’s called Armillaria ostoyae, and it’s a gnarly parasitic fungus with long black tentacles that spread out and attack vegetation with the ferocity […]
Read MoreSBS Professor Emerita Naomi Franklin passed away on December 24, 2021 in Salt Lake City. She was 92. Colleague Larry Okun, also emeritus, described Franklin as “[a] complex character, stubborn and sometimes irascible on the one hand and extraordinarily caring and generous on the other.” He recalled how she frequently entertained at her home Biology […]
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