Past News & Announcements
Goodell Lab publishes on shipworms
Research Professor Barry Goodell and his lab recently published a paper on shipworm digestion of wood.
Professor Klaus Nüsslein and his lab make discovery
Grass microbiomes may hold the secret to grasslands weathering climate change.
Michele Klingbeil Promoted
June 2021: Michele Klingbeil, Associate Professor of Microbiology, has been promoted to the rank of Professor effective September 1, 2021.
UMass Graduate School Names Wilmore Webley as Associate Dean
June 2021: The UMass Graduate School has named Wilmore Webley, Associate Professor of Microbiology, as the Associate Dean for the Office of Inclusion and Engagement effective September 1, 2021. Read more...
Wilmore Webley to be Honored at Juneteenth Event
June 2021: Wilmore Webley, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Director of Pre-Med Advising, will be one of two people honored at a Juneteenth event to be held on June 19 at the Raymond A. Jordan Senior Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. Dr. Webley has been working for several months with the Black Springfield COVID Coalition to help people understand the science around COVID-19 with an emphasis on increasing vaccination rates in minority communities. Read more...
Assistant Professor of Microbiology Sloan Siegrist receives award
The ACS Division of Biological Chemistry recognizes outstanding young investigators in the field of infectious diseases.
Erika Hamilton Named UMass ADVANCE Mentor Award Winner
March 2021: Dr. Erika Hamilton, Senior Lecturer and Directory of Microbiology Teaching Services, has been named one of the UMass ADVANCE Program Faculty Mentor Award winners. This annual award recognizes the critically important work faculty members perform in mentoring and supporting their colleagues' professional development and success. Read more...
COVID Conversations: Q & A on the Microbiology of COVID-19
February 2021: On Tuesday, March 16 at 5:00 p.m., Microbiology faculty members, Drs. Mandy Muller and Wilmore Webley, hosted COVID Conversations to discuss current science on COVID-19 including new virus variants, host response, and vaccine strategies. Listen to the discussion...
Malavika Prithviraj Finalist in Three Minute Thesis Competition
February 2021: Malavika Prithviraj, microbiology Ph.D. candidate, was recently named a finalist in the UMass Graduate School's Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition for her presenation, Blocking the Synthesis of Bacterial Surface Structures. The final competition will be held via Zoom on March 18 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Read more...
MicrobeBlaster Selected as One of Five Innovation Challenge Finalists
Sarah Kaunfer, a microbiology junior, recently competed in The Semifinal of the Innovation Challenge. Sarah Kaunfer and her teammates Simran Jeet, Phoebe Lasic-Ellis and Hayley McIsaac were among 17 teams who gave five-minute pitches describing their venture.
COVID-19 Mutations in 3D
January 2021: Eric Martz shows the positions of the mutations in the higher-contagion UK and South African coronavirus mutant lineages on 3D cryo-EM models of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, along with the expected consequences of each mutation, in an article in Proteopedia.Org. Also there: animations of spike protein priming and the subsequent membrane fusion, and downloadable Powerpoint-ready movies.
Jim Holden Receives NASA Grant
November 2020: Jim Holden, Professor of Microbiology, recently received a three-year NASA Exobiology grant. Dr. Holden will continue his studies into the potential for life to adapt to extreme environments and its implications for life beyond Earth. Read more...
Department of Microbiology