Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMass Amherst

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Department News
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Li-Jun Ma elected to Fungal Genetics Policy Steering Committee
BMB Professor Li-Jun Ma was elected as one of the nine members of the Fungal Genetics Policy Steering Committee at the Fungal Genetic conference this past March. She will serve the international fungal community from 2022 - 2028. -
Sibongile Mafu named 2022-23 TIDE Ambassador
The TIDE Ambassadors Program (Teaching for Inclusiveness, Diversity, and Equity) was developed by the Center for Teaching and Learning to explore how to enhance students’ learning and academic success across cultural, social, and learning differences by adopting a strength-based, inclusive, and equitable approach to teaching and learning grounded in the value of diversity. -
Wyatt Tran '23 wins prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
The Goldwater Scholarship Program seeks to identify and support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming the next generation of research leaders in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. Wyatt Tran, a double major in microbiology and biochemistry & molecular biology, is one of three UMass Amherst students to receive the award this year. -
Amy Springer named 2022-23 Lilly Fellow for Teaching Excellence
Awarded by the UMass Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), the Lilly Fellowship for Teaching Excellence enables promising early-career faculty to expand their expertise in teaching while pursuing the teaching and scholarly activity expected of faculty at a major research university. -
Laura Danai joins the SoTL Sprint program from the UMass Center for Teaching & Learning
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is an iterative, systematic inquiry with the goal of improving student learning processes. The SoTL Sprint program allows UMass faculty to develop a research project to investigate an idea or compelling problem related to teaching and student learning outcomes. -
Jenny Rauch receives two-year, $700,000 NIH grant to develop new treatment technology for Alzheimer’s
Jenny will be collaborating with Novoron Bioscience, a San Diego-based biotechnology company that seeks to develop therapies to reverse central nervous system damage.
OUTREACH
Biochemistry Club conducts outreach events at Holyoke High School
Thanks to a grant from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), members of the Biochemistry Club were able to take several trips to the Holyoke High School over the course of the Spring 2022 semester to perform hands-on experiments and conduct Q&A panels.
The Holyoke Public School system is currently under state receivership after being designated as chronically underperforming in 2015. The district has been working to increase graduation rates, and as part of this goal, Holyoke High School has been redesigned to let each student choose a pathway that will prepare them for success in college, career, and community leadership. The Biochemistry Club worked specifically with students in the Medical and Life Sciences Pathway to help foster their curiosity in STEM.

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Award-winning teaching, research opportunities, and interdisciplinary programs in a diverse, inclusive community of excellence.