The College of Sciences Faculty Mentor Awards are sponsored by the College and the COS ADVANCE Professor in order recognize the time and effort that faculty members spend in mentoring and to appreciate the mentors' services to the community. This year Professor Julia Kubanek, School of Biology and School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, was awarded CoS Faculty Mentor Award.

Tracy Hazen, School of Biology graduate, has been awarded an ASM/CCID Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Program in Infectious Disease and Public Health Microbiology. This is a highly competitive program designed to support development of new approaches, methodologies and knowledge in infectious disease prevention & control related to the public health mission of the CDC. The fellowship will allow Tracy to perform research in residence at the CCID Center which is located at the CDC.

Tracy Hazen, School of Biology graduate, has been awarded an ASM/CCID Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Program in Infectious Disease and Public Health Microbiology. This is a highly competitive program designed to support development of new approaches, methodologies and knowledge in infectious disease prevention & control related to the public health mission of the CDC. The fellowship will allow Tracy to perform research in residence at the CCID Center which is located at the CDC.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Georgia Tech $370,000 for research into the factors influencing the severity of parasite epidemics in natural populations. Understanding why some epidemics devastate host populations, while others have only small effects, is particularly timely given that epidemics of infectious disease in wildlife populations have increased worldwide. This research will be led by Dr. Meghan Duffy of the School of Biology, and will be done in collaboration with Dr. Spencer Hall at Indiana University. They will study the links between the severity of fungal parasite epidemics in zooplankton host populations and interactions between ecological and evolutionary processes. They are particularly interested in how host genetic diversity and the presence of natural predators (especially ones who prey selectively on infected hosts) jointly determine epidemic severity.
This project will use a three-pronged approach to tackle these questions. It will combine intensive studies of natural epidemics in lake plankton, laboratory experiments manipulating host diversity and predation, and development of epidemiological models that incorporate both rapid evolution and selective predation. The processes examined and the modeling work naturally extend to many other disease systems. Therefore, this work will ultimately produce theoretical guidance for efforts seeking to understand and control the severity of wildlife disease.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Georgia Tech $370,000 for research into the factors influencing the severity of parasite epidemics in natural populations. Understanding why some epidemics devastate host populations, while others have only small effects, is particularly timely given that epidemics of infectious disease in wildlife populations have increased worldwide. This research will be led by Dr. Meghan Duffy of the School of Biology, and will be done in collaboration with Dr. Spencer Hall at Indiana University. They will study the links between the severity of fungal parasite epidemics in zooplankton host populations and interactions between ecological and evolutionary processes. They are particularly interested in how host genetic diversity and the presence of natural predators (especially ones who prey selectively on infected hosts) jointly determine epidemic severity.
This project will use a three-pronged approach to tackle these questions. It will combine intensive studies of natural epidemics in lake plankton, laboratory experiments manipulating host diversity and predation, and development of epidemiological models that incorporate both rapid evolution and selective predation. The processes examined and the modeling work naturally extend to many other disease systems. Therefore, this work will ultimately produce theoretical guidance for efforts seeking to understand and control the severity of wildlife disease.

Barbara E. Walker, School of Biology's Administrative Manager, is the recipient of the 2009 Don Bratcher Human Relations Award for her volunteer work with abused and neglected children. The Don Bratcher Human Relations Award is to reward those members of Georgia Tech's community who are engaging in exemplary human relations work. The Bratcher Award is also for acting as a mentor, advisor, and helping to develop an inclusive environment, and acceptance of diversity in the institute.

Barbara E. Walker, School of Biology's Administrative Manager, is the recipient of the 2009 Don Bratcher Human Relations Award for her volunteer work with abused and neglected children. The Don Bratcher Human Relations Award is to reward those members of Georgia Tech's community who are engaging in exemplary human relations work. The Bratcher Award is also for acting as a mentor, advisor, and helping to develop an inclusive environment, and acceptance of diversity in the institute.

Mira Brockett was selected as the winner of the 2009 CETL Undergraduate Educator Award. Mira will be formally honored at the Georgia Tech faculty luncheon on April 15th.

Mira Brockett was selected as the winner of the 2009 CETL Undergraduate Educator Award. Mira will be formally honored at the Georgia Tech faculty luncheon on April 15th.

NASA has awarded Georgia Tech $7.2 million to establish an Astrobiology Institute to study the early evolution of life on Earth. The School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the School of Biology will join together in a multidisciplinary approach to characterize the ribosomal machinery responsible for protein synthesis. The machinery of peptide synthesis will be studied to determine the chemistry of transition from the RNA world to the protein world. The Institute is headed by biochemist Loren Williams and includes as co-PIs biologists Steve Harvey, Roger Wartell, Eric Gaucher and Terry Snell. The Institute will attempt to rewind the tape-of-life to uncover the major biological transitions from the last common ancestor of life that lived nearly 3.5 billion years ago. The Institute also will recreate the key steps in life's transition from non-coded proteins to proteins synthesized from a genetic template. This research will enable the team to characterize some of the oldest traceable macromolecules of life, and the earliest discernable connection between early and modern forms of life.