Past News & Announcements
Life Sciences Laboratory Opens Its Doors
November 2013: Phase I of the the newly constructed Life Sciences Laboratory at UMass opened its doors in September. Four Microbiology faculty and their lab groups are part of research clusters which are now housed in the Life Sciences Laboratory: Kristen DeAngelis, Michele Klingbeil, Yasu Morita and Wilmore Webley. The state of the art building is now home to faculty from five UMass departments.
Book By David Hahn Highlights Research in Webley Lab
November 2013: Dr. David Hahn, MD, Director of the Wisconsin Research and Education Network recently published a book entitled: “A Cure for Asthma?” The book challenges the conventional wisdom about the causes and treatments for asthma with the use of strong scientific evidence and compelling case histories. Dr. Hahn is a long-time collaborator on asthma research with the Webley Lab and part one of the book consists of stories told by patients whose asthma has been cured by antibiotic treatment to eliminate Chlamydia pneumoniae from their lungs. These patients had their blood and bronchial lavage samples tested in the Webley Lab as part of a case series study. The work performed by the Webley is repeatedly highlighted in this book and Dr. Webley wrote one of the forewords for the book and is one of three colleagues who statements can be found on the back cover. The stories highlighted in this publication and the conclusions drawn provide unmistakable validation of the clinical importance of the work currently being undertaken in the Webley Lab.
Webley Chosen as Honors Faculty Lecturer
September 2013: Wilmore Webley, Associate Professor of Microbiology, has been chosen by the UMass Commonwealth Honors College as the Faculty Lecturer for the 2013-2014 academic year. Dr. Webley's first lecture, "A Cure for Severe Asthma: New Hope for the Future," will take place on Tuesday, October 1, at 6:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium. The lecture is offered as part of the honors seminar course "Ideas That Changed the World." Read more
Faculty Promotions
September 2013: Effective September 1, 2013, Dr. Stephen Rich and Dr. Klaus Nüsslein have both been promoted to the rank of Professor.
Holden Explores Deep-Sea Volcano
August 2013: James Holden, Associate Professor of Microbiology, and a team of researchers will embark on back-to-back research expeditions on September 3. The expeditions will explore the Axial Volcano which is 300 miles off the coast of Oregon and one mile below the ocean's surface. Holden's research will not be funded by government sources as it has in the past but from private sources: The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI). The Moore Foundation, started by the co-founder of Intel and his wife, is dedicated to advancing environmental conservation and scientific research. SOI was founded by Eric Schmidt of Google and his wife, are dedicated to funding oceanographic research projects. Read more
DeAngelis Receives Grant from Department of Energy
August 2013: Kristen DeAngelis, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, along with Jeffrey Blanchard in the Biology Department and Jerry Melillo at the Ecosystem Center in the Marine Biological Laboratories received a three year grant from the Department of Energy. This project, entitled "Changes in Soil Carbon Dynamics in Response to Long-Term Soil Warming – Integration Across Scales from Cells to Ecosystems," takes advantage of a 22-year climate warming experiment ongoing at the Harvard Forest LTER. Cultivation of microbes, meta-transcriptomics of soils, and development of an ecosystem model for decomposition will increase understanding of the microbial mechanisms that control soil carbon loss in the context of a changing climate.
Webley Provides Insight in to Recent Research Findings
August 2013: The Los Angeles Times reported on research findings recently published in Science Translational Medicine on the increased effectiveness of antibiotics when trace amounts of silver were added. Wilmore Webley, Associate Professor of Microbiology, provided insight on the recent discovery. Read more
Rich Offers Expertise on Mosquito-Borne Illness
June 2013: Dr. Stephen Rich, a Professor of Microbiology specializing in tick and mosquito-borne illness, recently offered his expertise in a news report on the increase of mosquitos seen in the New England region following recent heavy rainfall. The news report was featured on WGBH. Read more.
National Geographic's Daily News Highlights Electrofuels Research
June 2013: Derek Lovley is involved in one of 14 research projects underway through the U.S. Department of Energy's electrofuels program. Researchers are genetically engineering microorganisms that produce chemicals which burn directly in gas tanks. Read more
Microbiology Graduate Degrees Awarded
May 2013: Congratulations to the Microbiology Class of 2013! Three members of the Class of 2013 received recognition for their academic accomplishments: Michael Boucher was named a UMass 21st Century Leader for far-ranging achievement, initiative and social awareness; Rebecca Cottman was selected as this year's Microbiology student speaker at the CNS Graduation Ceremony and Benjamin Waldman was chosen as a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar.
On Friday, May 10, 2013, the following students from the Microbiology Graduate Program were awarded degrees at the University of Massachusetts Graduate School Commencement: Tawanna Childs, Ph.D.; Jeniffer Concepción, Ph.D.; Shawn Massoni, Ph.D.; Katir Patel, Ph.D.; Timothy Bain, M.S.; Kristina Boguslawski, M.S.; Maria Calapai, M.S.; Robert Delgado, M.S.; Jaclyn Izbicki, M.S.; Devesh Shrestha, M.S. and Megan Strough, M.S.
Morita Receives Award from Mizutani Foundation
March 2013: Yasu Morita, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, was awarded a one-year grant from the Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience for his research project, "Primordial endoplasmic membrane in bacteria with roles in glycan biosynthesis." Read more
Nüsslein’s Research Identifies a New Concern About Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest
January 2013: Klaus Nüsslein, Associate Professor of Microbiology, led an international team of microbiologists to investigate the influence of land use change from pristine rain forest to agricultural pasture on soil microbial communities. The research identified a troubling net loss in diversity among the microbial organisms responsible for a functioning ecosystem as a consequence of deforestation. This loss in genetic variation of bacteria could reduce the resilience of the rainforest ecosystem. Research findings have been reported in the current issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and have also been highlighted by the Editor of the journal Science." Read more.
Department of Microbiology