Archive for the ‘News’ Category

MAS Conference

Posted on: March 2nd, 2017 by dasarcia

Here are some pictures from the MAS conference this past weekend.

Both Mary Harvey and John Aaron Howell were selected for presentation of their posters to the Millsaps-HHMI Undergraduate Symposium. This symposium is for only the top 20% of abstracts submitted to MAS. Also, John Aaron’s poster was: Egg Laying Male Has Androgynous Song System and Plumage Coloration

John Aaron Howell, Lainy Day. Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS. 

Congratulations to Mary Harvey!

Posted on: March 1st, 2017 by dasarcia

 She won first place for her poster presentation at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences, in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Division .

Research Technologist Position in the Roberts Laboratory

Posted on: January 24th, 2017 by dasarcia

Research Technologist Position in the Roberts Laboratory

Summary:

Research in the Roberts lab centers on chromatin-modifying proteins with a major focus on the SWI/SNF (BAF) chromatin remodeling/tumor suppressor complex and its relationship to cancers. Recent studies have revealed that genes encoding subunits of the SWI/SNF complex are mutated in over 20% of all cancers, a rate approaching that of p53, making this the most frequently mutated chromatin regulator in human malignancies.

We aim to discover the mechanism by which SWI/SNF complex contributes to the regulation of gene expression and lineage specification, and the mechanisms by which mutation of the tumor suppressor subunits drive cancer formation.  We also seek to identify specific vulnerabilities that are conferred by SWI/SNF mutation with the goal of identifying and pursuing novel therapeutic opportunities.

We are seeking a highly motivated individual with an interest in biomedical research. The ideal applicant will utilize state-of-the-art techniques in genetics, molecular biology, and cell biology to characterize in vitro and in vivo models of human diseases with a particular focus upon chromatin biology and its relationship to aggressive cancers.  Contact Stacy Throm (stacy.throm@stjude.org) or apply online to position # 36016 at www.stjude.org if you have interest in joining our team.

 Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in an appropriate scientific field is required.

Congratulations to members of Dr. Day’s lab

Posted on: November 1st, 2016 by dasarcia

Mary Harvey and Kaitlyn Duda, two members of Dr. Lainy Day’s lab, tied in the $1000 Research Award competition for the Neuroscience minor. Mary’s project is titled “The Correlated Evolution of Cerebellar Size and Display Complexity in Pipridae” and Kaitlyn ‘s project is titled “Immunocytochemistry in Manakins”.

Neuroscience Research Award

Posted on: September 21st, 2016 by dasarcia

Interested in Brain and Behavior? 

The Interdisciplinary neuroscience minor is currently awarding $1000.00 awards for research in neuroscience.

The program will provide students with the opportunity to participate and assist in the ongoing research of faculty performing neuroscience related research.  Projects may be mentored by any faculty performing neuroscience related research that is approved by the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Minor Director. Awardees must declare a minor in neuroscience and sign up for a Directed Study Course (Ney 491 series). Students are expected to work at least for about 8 hrs/week in full semesters. Students will be selected through a competitive application process and must identify and contact a mentor to apply.

The application deadline is typically Oct for Fall and Feb for Spring.

New Doctoral Program

Posted on: September 13th, 2016 by dasarcia

There is a brand new doctoral program that allows high-achieving students to perform their thesis work with world-renowned researchers within our institution. The program is unique in that it is designed for students who have demonstrated research potential in their undergrad to complete their PhD in 5 years with a heavy translational component that puts a human face on the coursework – they will be pairing each student with a clinician so that they can follow St. Jude patients throughout their first year. Applications are now being accepted for our PhD in Biomedical Sciences program (inaugural class will begin Fall 2017), and they would love to come to University of Mississippi to recruit students interested in graduate studies in the biomedical sciences. If you’re interested, you can contact Racquel (the assistant dean of the Graduate School at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital) Racquel.Collins@stjude.org

Congratulations to James-Roland Markos

Posted on: April 19th, 2016 by
James-Roland Markos won 1st place in the Undergraduate Poster Contest at the UM Conference on Psychological Science. The poster he presented for his project was funded by the Neuroscience Research Award. We are so proud of our students for striving to achieve their goals!

Brown Bag Meeting

Posted on: April 19th, 2016 by
The next Neuroscience/Drugs of Abuse Brown Bag Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 21st at 12:00 pm in TCRC 1018.
Dr. Kristie Willett, Dept. of BioMoleuclar Sciences, Division of Pharmacology will be presenting a talk entitled “Using zebrafish for assessing developmental toxicity and epilepsy efficacy in drug discovery”.

Winners: Neuroscience Research Showcase

Posted on: April 7th, 2016 by
Hello,
I am pleased to announce the winners in the poster competition at the second annual Research Showcase sponsored by the Neuroscience Minor.  Each student winner will receive a $150.00 award in addition to your praise and admiration. All the posters and talks represented the excellent research work being performed at University of Mississippi. Complete author information for presentations is given in the attached document.
Graduate Student Winner: Sarah Crocker-Buta
Stress and Sexual Signaling in Male Green Tree Frogs
Under Graduate Winner:  There was a tie between John Aaron Howell (Male Lays Eggs: Chromosomal and Mate Preference Abnormalities in a Chimeric Zebra Finch Lineage)
 and James-Roland Markos (The Effects of Cannabidiol on Morphine Conditioned Place Preference in Mice).
James-Roland’s work was supported by the Neuroscience Research Award. He made excellent and efficient use of his funding.
I want to thank everyone who participated this year.  We had twelve students present posters, two faculty talks, and three student talks.  We are growing incrementally with hopes of growing exponentially.  The plan is to have at least one outside speaker next year.  I am currently taking suggestions for this position.
There were some new faces at the Showcase this year, please forward this message to interested parties.  If you would like to be added to the neuroscience minor e-mail list or become faculty in the minor, let me know.
The Showcase and the Research Award are made possible via funding from the College of Liberal Arts.   Special thanks for their continued support of the Interdisciplinary Minor.
I also want to thank Cassandra Sarcia for her help in pulling the Showcase together and creating the Neuroscience Video.
Chasity Collins’ assistance on the day of the Showcase was especially appreciated.
A hearty thanks goes to our judges, Tossi Ikuta, Mika Jekabsons, Chris Leary, and Alberto del Arco.
Regards,
Lainy Day

Important Reminders for the Neuroscience Showcase 2016

Posted on: March 22nd, 2016 by

The application submission deadline has been extended to Friday, March 25th. It is strongly encouraged that each student take the opportunity to submit an application. In addition to the date extension, presentation posters are now allowed to be 48×48 if so desired.