Past News & Announcements

Derek Lovley and University of Massachusetts Researchers Report on New Class of Electronic Materials

November 2018: Derek Lovley and a team of University of Massachusetts researchers have developed a new class of electronic materials that could lead to a green, more sustainable future in biomedical and environmental sensing. The development was recently reported in New Electronics. Read more....

8th Annual Life Sciences Graduate Research Symposium

October 2018: The 8th Annual Life Sciences Graduate Research Symposium will be held on Friday, November 30, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Life Sciences Laboratories S340. The event will feature research talks throughout the day and a poster and social session from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.

Holden Receives NASA Research Grant

September 2018: Jim Holden, Professor and Microbiology Department Head, has received a three-year grant from NASA to develop spectroscopy techniques to detect evidence of life beyond Earth. He will work with mineralogist Darby Dyar at Mount Holyoke College on the three-year project. Read more...

Morita Awarded NIH Grant

September 2018: Yasu Morita, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, has been awarded a two-year award from the NIH for a research project, "Membrane Domain Dynamicc in Mycobacterium tuberculosis."

Kristen DeAngelis and Gina Chaput Receive Award from DOE

August 2018: Dr. Kristen DeAngelis and Ph.D. candidate, Gina Chaput, have received an in-kind award from the DOE Environmental Molecular Science Laboratories. Entitled "Iron Chelator-Mediated Biotransformation of Lignin by Novel sp., Tolumonas lignolytica BRL6-1, in Anoxic Conditions,” this award has the estimated value equal to $59,236.00 and will provide equipment and analyses for Gina’s dissertation. Gina is currently studying how the bacteria Tolumonas lignolytica BRL6-1 modifies plant material known as lignin under conditions that lack oxygen. These analyses will allow her to look at compounds produced by BRL6-1 specifically in response to lignin as well as detect changes to the lignin structure over time.

Goodell & Jellison Paper Cited for 'Outstanding Results'

July 2018: Microbiology Professor, Barry Goodell and Center for Agriculture Director, Jody Jellison, and other researchers recently had their paper chosen as one of the "outstanding results" in its area. The paper, “Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy enables multiscale spatial visualization of ions involved in fungal lignocellulose deconstruction,” appeared in Scientific Reports and will be abstracted in Argonne National Laboratory's annual report for 2018. Read more...

Kristen DeAngelis Receives NSF CAREER Grant

July 2018: Kristen DeAngelis, Associate Professor of Microbiology, received a five year CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation for her project, "Soil Microbial Ecology and Evolution in a Warming World."

Kristen DeAngelis Receives Tenure

June 2018: Kristen DeAngelis, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, has received tenure and will be promoted to the rank of Associate Professor on September 1, 2018.

Corelle Rokicki Receives Award at ASM Microbe 2018 Conference

June 2018: Corelle Rokicki (Microbiology Class of 2018) was selected as a recipient of the Outstanding Abstract Award from the ASM Microbe 2018 conference, which was held in Atlanta from June 7-11. She is one of 64 recipients selected from more than 3000 abstracts presented at the conference. Her abstract title was "Fluorescence imaging-based discovery of membrane domain-associated proteins in Mycobacterium smegmatis". Corelle Rokicki presented results of her undergraduate work with Dr. Yasu Morita. Ms. Rokicki will continue her study with Dr. Morita as a Fifth Year Master's student in Fall 2018.

In Memory of Thomas Lessie, Ph.D.

May 2018: Thomas Lessie, former Professor of Microbiology, passed away on May 5, 2018, in Madison, Wisconsin. Dr. Lessie joined the Microbiology faculty at the University of Massachusetts in 1968. Dr. Lessie taught bacterial physiology in the Department until his retirement from the University in 2002. He was an exceptional teacher. In his honor, the Microbiology Graduate Students of the time established an annual award for teaching excellence. His research focused on the molecular genetics and bacterial physiology of strains of Pseudomonas and Burkholderia. Read more...

Dhanya Kumar Awarded Fulbright Grant

May 2018: Dhanya Kumar, Microbiology Class of 2018, was one of 14 recipients of a Fulbright grant for 2018-2019. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement as well as a record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields. Ms. Kumar will travel to the United Kingdom to pursue a master’s degree in biological sciences at the University of London’s Institute of Cardiovascular Research. Read more...

UMass Graduation Celebration Held May 11-12

May 2018: Congratulations to all members of the Microbiology graduating class of 2018! Graduation for undegraduate degree recipients was celebrated on Friday, May 11, and a separate College of Natural Sciences graduation held on Saturday, May 12. Graduate degree recipients received their degrees at the UMass Graduate School Commencement also held on Friday. Among the recipients of graduate degrees was Begum Topcuoglu, who received her Ph.D.