E Schlatter Receives 2023 Dana Wright Fellowship
E Schlatter of the Buston Lab is the 2023 recipient of the Dana Wright Fellowship.
E uses a variety of theoretical and empirical approaches to address questions about the evolution of marine larval dispersal. Their current projects include: using quantitative genetics to ask about the evolutionary potential of dispersal-related traits in the clownfish Amphiprion percula; using a theoretical model to illustrate the roles of opposing components of selection in shaping dispersal patterns; and using genetic simulations and seascape information to create a quantitative link between empirical measures of dispersal and the resulting spatial genetic structure in the neon goby Elacatinus lori. As a whole, this work contributes to our understanding of how and why organisms have evolved to disperse through the ocean as they do.
This fellowship was established in memory of Dana Wright (CAS ’00), an alum of the BU Marine Program. After completing her studies, Wright went on to work in research in right whale acoustics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod.
Congratulations, E!
So Young Bae Receives 2023 Denton Award
So Young Bae of the Tolan Lab was selected as the winner of the 2023 Denton Award for her master’s research thesis in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry (MCBB) titled “Mode of Substrate Binding and Specificity for Ketohexokinase across Isozymes Implies an Induced-Fit Mechanism.” This award is given for excellence in scholarship and research accomplishment during a master’s thesis under the mentorship of a faculty member of the Department of Biology.
So Young received her BA from Boston University where she studied Biology. Before her admission to the MCBB master’s program in 2022, she worked as a staff research assistant in the Tolan lab and was critical in melding the CLIA-approved HFI laboratory into the Clinical Testing Laboratory that tested over two million samples during the coronavirus pandemic. During this time, she became interested in structural biology and learned X-ray crystallography through working with the Allen laboratory in the Chemistry department. So Young’s master’s research focused on the conformational changes important to catalysis in the first enzyme in the metabolism of fructose, ketohexokinase. She's currently a PhD student in the MCBB program.
Congratulations, So Young!
2023 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Recipients and Honorable Mention
The awardees and honorable mentions for the 2023 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) competition were recently posted and several Biology students were recognized. Biology PhD student Erin Frates of the Marlow Lab, Marine Science BA student Annabel Hughes of the Davies Lab, and Biology PhD student Renata Serio of the Fiszbein Lab were awarded with 3-year graduate research fellowships. Biology PhD student Shalom Entner of the Finnerty Lab received an honorable mention.
 Erin Frates is a PhD student in the Marlow Lab studying Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. Their work is focused on environmental microbiology ranging from seafloor ecosystems to NASA ocean worlds. They are interested in understanding microbe-mineral interactions; in particular, how does microbial diversity and activity influence surrounding mineralogy, and how geochemistry in turn informs microbial ecology. Recently, Frates assessed the influence of natural and anthropogenic carbon on microbial communities at Little Sippewissett Salt Marsh on Cape Cod. Now, they are using mineral-printed electrodes to stimulate methanogenic activity under Enceladus-like conditions in order to identify potential biosignatures. Frates recently participated in a NSF-funded masterclass centered on training early career researchers to lead future deep sea expeditions. |
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Annabel Hughes graduated with a BA in Marine Science from BU in January 2023 and moved on to a Research Technician position in the Davies Lab. Her research proposal investigates three cryptic lineages in a Siderastrea siderea species complex across the Bocas del Toro Reef Complex (BTRC) in Panamá. The existence of these cryptic lineages was previously documented by Dr. Hannah Aichelman in the Davies Lab, and this additional research sets out to build upon what we already know with key information such as upper thermal limits and microbial communities of these different lineages. The overarching objective is to identify the forces influencing the spatial distributions of cryptic lineages across the BTRC seascape in an effort to understand and predict future reef responses to anthropogenic warming.
Renata Serio is a PhD student in the Fiszbein lab, which focuses on uncovering mechanisms regulating transcription and pre-mRNA processing. Her current focus, supported by the 
Shalom Entner is studying variation of oxidative stress response to polystyrene (styrofoam) microplastic with ultraviolet light exposure in Congratulations to the awardees and honorable mentions on your hard work and this well-deserved honor.
Gilmore Lab Featured in Nature’s Communications Biology
The Gilmore Lab published a journal article in Nature’s Communications Biology titled “Starvation decreases immunity and immune regulatory factor NF-kB in the Starlet Sea Anemone Nematostella vectensis.” This study was in collaboration with Dr. Sarah Davies and Dr. Trevor Siggers.
Ph.D. student Joshua Aguirre Carrión led this investigation with the support of undergraduate Niharika Desai.
Nutrition is one of the many factors that determine the immunological condition of an organism. However, the interplay between nutrition and immunity has been understudied in early diverging lineages of invertebrates, such as the phylum Cnidaria. Sea anemone Nematostella vectensis (Nv) is a cnidarian with remarkable adaptability to adjust physiological status based on nutritional intake and availability. The immune system is metabolically expensive and subject to complex regulation. The relationship between nutrition and immunity in Nv remains largely unexplored. The study found that starvation increases the susceptibility of sea anemone polyps to bacterial infection, and NF-kB transcript and protein are reduced in starved anemones.
To read the full article, please click here.
Dr. Aguirre Carrión is now a scientist at Generate Biomedicines in Cambridge, MA. In Fall 2023, Ms. Desai will attend the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
Hannah Aichelman Receives 2023 Belamarich Award
Dr. Hannah Aichelman of the Davies Lab was selected as the winner of the 2023 Belamarich Award for her doctoral dissertation in Biology titled “Exploring Coral Symbiosis Under Climate Change Stress Across Spatial and Temporal Scales.” This award is given annually to a recent PhD candidate for their outstanding doctoral dissertation completed in the Department of Biology. The selection committee was impressed by Hannah’s deft use of diverse techniques from physiological experiments to genomics to address her research questions, which resulted in an impressive body of work already having an impact in her research community. The committee also appreciated Hannah’s extensive outreach efforts, strong mentoring record, and generous service to the Department. More information about her research is below.
Coral reefs, along with the biodiversity and communities they support, are threatened globally. While research efforts have increased our ability to understand and predict coral bleaching events, fundamental questions remain surrounding how genetic diversity of the coral symbiosis and interactions with its environment can drive resilience or resistance under climate change. Hannah's dissertation research endeavored to fill this knowledge gap, and she built a research program that combined genomics, physiology, and lab experiments to investigate stress tolerance across both temperate and tropical coral species. This research provides valuable insights into the phenotypic and genotypic mechanisms that contribute to coral success in a changing climate.
Hannah is continuing her research career at BU as a postdoctoral scholar co-advised by Dr. Sean Mullen and Dr. Sarah Davies. She is leveraging whole genome sequencing to understand the genetic underpinnings of mimicry in butterflies, while still spending some time exploring coral reefs with the Davies Lab.
As in previous years, there will be a Belamarich Award Night to celebrate our award winner. The night includes a seminar given by the awardee, a brief ceremony, and a reception. The Seminar will be held on Monday, October 30th at 4:30pm in BRB 113. The Award Ceremony will take place immediately after, with the Reception following down the hall in BRB 117, from ~5:30pm-6:30pm. We are honored to have the Belamarich family joining us again to celebrate this year’s award winner.
We look forward to seeing everyone at Belamarich Award Night!
More about the Belamarich Award:
Frank A. Belamarich joined the BU Biology Department in 1963 as an assistant professor where he quickly gained international recognition for his research in the field of comparative hemostasis, the process of blood clotting. Throughout his tenure at BU he was a popular teacher of a core course in cell biology which he developed. Belamarich maintained research laboratories in Boston as well as at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole in Falmouth, MA as part of the BU Marine Program.
Congratulations, Hannah!
Rhushikesh Phadke Receives Brenton R. Lutz Award
MCBB PhD candidate Rhushikesh Phadke of the Cruz-Martín Lab is the recipient of this year’s Brenton R. Lutz Award. Rhushikesh's research explores the impact of the immune complement (C) pathway on synaptic plasticity in neurological disorders like schizophrenia (SCZ) and Alzheimer's disease. By increasing levels of complement component 4 (C4), a risk gene for SCZ, Rhushikesh and the Cruz-Martín Lab observed a disruption in the connectivity of developing cortical neurons. Contrary to previous beliefs, C4 acts through a non-canonical mechanism independent of complement receptor 3 (CR3). They discovered an interaction between C4 and Sorting Nexin 27 (SNX27), an endosomal protein, which, when introduced together, restored normal neuronal activity. Their microscopy analysis revealed altered distribution of AMPA receptor subunit GluR1 and colocalization of C4 and SNX27 in dendritic spines. These findings highlight how C4 impairs SNX27 function, leading to endosomal dysregulation, GluR1 degradation, and decreased connectivity. This novel model provides insights into neuron-autonomous mechanisms of complement-dependent synaptic weakening and its relation to microglia-mediated synaptic engulfment.
This award provides support for PhD candidates conducting research in neurobiology or neuroscience and have made significant contributions to their field. Brenton R. Lutz was the first person to receive an MD/PhD at Boston University, receiving his PhD in 1916. He later became a Professor and Chairman of BU’s Department of Biology. Dr. Lutz also gave the first University Lecture at BU on December 11, 1950 “The Living Blood Vessels.”
Congratulations, Rhushikesh!
Michael Zulch Receives Corteva Showcase Award
Michael Zulch, a 4th-year MCBB PhD candidate in the Larkin Lab, has received a travel award from Corteva Agriscience. Specializing in the quantitative relationship between plants and bacteria, Michael explores the impact of light and genetic engineering on quantitative relationship between plants and bacteria.
This award from Corteva Agriscience, one of the world's largest agriculture-focused companies, demonstrates recognition for Michael's potential contributions to the field of industrial agriculture. Corteva Agriscience strives to support up-and-coming scientists, offering a platform to share their scientific achievements at significant venues like the 2023 conference of the American Society of Plant Biologists. This platform provides Michael an opportunity to disseminate his research findings to a broad audience of scientists and industry professionals, furthering their impact.
In addition to his studies, Michael is a fellow of the Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology Program and the Biological Design Center at BU. His research, inspired by his industry internship at Joyn Bio (Acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks), aligns with his ambition to conduct meaningful science with a direct impact on industry and agriculture.
Congratulations, Michael!
Ranjan Muthukrishnan Receives Director’s Award for Extraordinary Contributions to BU Marine Program
Congratulations Ranjan!
Director of the Boston University Marine Program, Pete Buston, has awarded Ranjan the Director’s Award for extraordinary contributions to the BU Marine Program.
Ranjan stepped up to fill open slots in the Belize course roster, he adapted calmly to a very dynamic situation when courses were impacted by a hurricane, and took courses to a successful and safe conclusion.
Ranjan was recognized for his contributions at the Marine Science Convocation for Graduating Seniors on Saturday, May 20th, 2023.
BU Biology Alum, Professor Michael Dustin, has been awarded a prestigious fellowship from The Royal Society
The Royal Society has awarded a prestigious fellowship to Professor Michael Dustin, who holds the Kennedy professorship at Oxford University. This recognition is in acknowledgment of his significant contributions to immunology research. Professor Dustin's groundbreaking work revolves around the concept of the immunological synapse, which elucidates how T lymphocytes identify and respond to target cells. He played a pioneering role in utilizing fluorescently labeled native molecules from antigen-presenting cells in supported planar bilayers to determine the molecules and pathways involved in T cell activation following antigen recognition. Additionally, he is renowned for being one of the first researchers to develop imaging techniques that visualize the dynamic nature of immune responses within tissues. His work has laid a crucial foundation for the advancement of therapies targeting T cell responses, particularly in the realms of vaccines and immune-oncology.
Expressing his gratitude for the recognition, Professor Dustin stated, "Becoming a fellow of the Royal Society is an immense honor. I never anticipated such a remarkable privilege and opportunity, and I am deeply appreciative. I eagerly look forward to contributing to the Royal Society's objectives in any way I can."
Professor Dame Fiona Powrie, the Director of the Kennedy Institute, commented on the recognition, saying, "The Royal Society's well-deserved acknowledgment of Mike's pioneering research underscores the invaluable knowledge he has imparted regarding T cell activation, ultimately informing immune therapy approaches for cancer and autoimmune diseases."
Congratulations Michael!
The Garcia-Marcos lab publishes discovery in Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
The Garcia-Marcos lab, in collaboration with members of the Department of Chemistry at Boston University and the CSIC-CIB in Spain, have published in Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) the discovery of a chemical compound that specifically blocks an aberrant mechanism of signaling in cancer cells that drives invasion and metastasis. The publication can be found here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213140120
Human diseases frequently arise from defects in the mechanisms by which external cues are sensed and relayed to the interior of the cell. The proteins most widely targeted by existing therapeutic agents belong to a large family of cell surface receptors named G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which relay external cues by activating G-proteins in the interior of cells. Here, we report the surprising discovery of a synthetic small molecule that selectively targets G-proteins without compromising their ability to relay signals from GPCRs. Instead, this small molecule disrupts an atypical, GPCR-independent mechanism of G-protein signaling involved in cancer. This work reveals an alternative paradigm in targeting components of a signaling machinery with broad relevance in cellular communication in health and disease.