Summer is coming to an end and with the start of the fall semester we have various changes happening in the lab. First, we are pleased to announce that our lab was one of thirty chosen to receive funds from the University of Arkansas’ Chancellor’s Discovery, Creativity, Innovation and Collaboration Fund. The project lead, Dr. Martin Egan, an assistant professor of plant pathology, and Dr. Yong Wang, an assistant professor of physics will carry out a collaborative research project combining super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and proximity-dependent proteomics to understand septin-mediated plant infection by the causal agent of rice blast disease,
Magnaporthe oryzae. This disease destroys up to 30 percent of the world’s annual rice harvest and poses a major threat to global food security. The Chancellor’s Fund was established in 2016 to promote faculty research that addresses several of the U of A’s guiding priorities: to enhance the university’s research and discovery mission; build a collaborative and innovative campus; promote innovation in teaching and learning; and strengthen graduate education. The university is investing up to $1 million a year in the research grants, the bulk of that money coming from SEC Network and television revenues allocated by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. We are incredibly appreciative and excited for the opportunity to pursue these research goals. More information on the Chancellor’s Fund can be found
here.
Also, we would like to congratulate Ayanna St. Rose on the completion of her summer research project titled “Investigating the Antifungal Mechanisms of Silver Nanoparticles (AgNps) on Magnaporthe oryzea.” Ayanna presented her research findings in a public seminar showcasing the Adair/Bollenbacher scholarship recipients and was hosted by the Department of Plant Pathology. She did a fantastic job of representing our lab and hopes to begin a master of science program in biophysics in the near future. We all wish her the best of luck with continuing her education. For more information or if you are interested in applying for the 2019 Adair/Bollenbacher scholarship more information can be found here.
Our lab was also granted a research assistantship through the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and the Department of Plant Pathology enabling us to take on a new Ph.D. student, Rinalda Proko. We are excited to have Rinalda in our lab and look forward to her research on rice blast disease. Rinalda is from Tirana, Albania and received her masters degree in molecular biology at the University of Tirana. Welcome Rinalda!
