- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was a day to learn and have fun when the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven participated in the annual campuswide "Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work" Day on Thursday, April 28.
The UC Davis event, nicknamed TODS Day, coincided with the national workplace celebration, a day when employers spring open their doors to the offspring of their employees.
Insects helped fill the bill as the UC Davis employees and their offspring trooped over to the Bohart Museum, home of nearly eight million insect specimens, plus a live "petting zoo," inclluding walking sticks, Madagascar hissing cockroaches and tarantulas. The museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane.
The half-acre bee garden, located on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus, next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, drew parents and their offspring as they learned how to safely catch and observe bees, learned about bee diversity.
Among those visiting the haven was Professor Valerie Fournier of Laval University, Quebec City. She was there with her daughter, Lalibella Eaves, 6, and Phoenix Eaves, 9. Fournier received her doctorate at UC Davis in 2003, studying with Professor Jay Evans. She is now on a year's sabbatical (July 2015 to August 2016) based in the lab of pollination ecologist Neal Williams, associate professor of entomology at UC Davis.
Among those visiting the Bohart Museum were the Fuerte family. Siblings Camilla, 4; Kailee, 6, and Joel, 8, checked out the insects and the activities. Their mother, Gabby Sanchez-Fuerte, works at the School of Education.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Rand, honored at AACR's meeting April 19 meeting in New Orleans, won the highly competitive international award for her proposal, “Regulation of Cancer Angiogenesis from the Metabolism of Epoxy Omega-6 Fats.”
“We're so proud of her,” said Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, who holds a joint appointment with the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Rand joined Hammock's biological analytical chemistry lab in 2013 and was a fellow on the Oncogenic Signals and Chromosome Biology T32 Training Grant, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, directed and administered by Wolf-Dietrich Heyer, professor and chair, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.
Hammock and co-advisor Kermit Carraway, professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, co-sponsored her on the grant application.
Rand, who will begin the fellowship in July, was lauded for the relevance of her application to AACR's mission, the belief that it will have a significant impact, and in recognition of her potential as a future leader in the field of angiogenesis research.
“I've always been interested in research that combines chemistry and biology to enhance our understanding of human health,” Rand said, who received her doctorate in chemistry from the University of Toronto, Canada, in 2013.
“My Ph.D research focused on our exposure to fluorinated commercial materials, their resulting metabolism, and how the metabolites might affect our health,” she said. “While my Ph.D training was heavily focused on analytical chemistry and metabolic characterization, I wanted more formal training on the biological and biochemical mechanisms associated with disease.”
Her doctoral advisor, Scott Mabury, a UC Davis graduate, introduced her to Hammock. “In Professor Hammock's lab, I research how bioactive metabolites of epoxy omega-6 fatty acids influence cancer biology, by studying their effect on angiogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis.”
Hammock and Rand collaborate with Harvard Medical School professor Dipak Panigrahy, former researcher in the Hammock lab and a fellow in Folkman's angiogenesis research lab.
"This is a tremendous honor for both Amy and the Hammock laboratory to be awarded the AACR Judah Folkman grant,” said Panigraphy. “Dr. Folkman was a scientific pioneer who established the field of angiogenesis. Amy's potentially paradigm shifting studies in the Hammock laboratory will carry on the Folkman legacy."
"The late Professor Judah Folkman is best known for pioneering the concept of blocking angiogenesis (the development of blood vessels) to control cancer growth," Hammock said. "This concept has resulted in a number of anti-cancer drugs and has had a major impact on cancer treatment. Of course blood vessel development is also critical for survival."
"Amy took on one of the most demanding projects in the laboratory in asking how a group of natural compounds regulate angiogenesis," Hammock said. "Based on her work with postdoctoral fellow Bogdan Barnych, they may be able to fine tune angiogenesis to stimulate wound healing when needed but block tumor development in patients."
Sung Hee Hwang, also a postdoctoral fellow in the Hammock laboratory, commented: "It appears that the work that Amy and Bogdan are doing could explain how one of my compounds is able to block tumor growth and metastasis."
Rand also has an active collaboration with with UC Davis biomedical engineer Kathy Ferrara.
Born and educated in Canada, Rand holds two other degrees: a bachelor of arts degree in music a and a bachelor of science degree in chemistry, both awarded by Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, Canada, in 2007.
Judah Folkman (1933-2008), considered the father of angiogenesis research, was a professor at the Harvard Medical School who directed the Children's Hospital Boston Surgical Research Laboratories, now the Vascular Biology Program, and served as the scientific director of the hospital's Vascular Anomalies Center. He is best known for his pioneering research on tumor angiogenesis. Cutting off the blood vessels that feed the tumor can stop cancer tumor growth, he said in his revolutionary work that has led to the discovery of a number of therapies based on inhibiting or stimulating neovascularization.
Applicants for the Judah Folkman Fellowship for Angiogenesis Research are postdoctoral or clinical research fellows with a medical degree or a combined M.D./Ph.D. who work in an academic, medical or research institution. They must be in first five years of their postdoctoral training. Proposed research projects are restricted to basic, clinical, translational or epidemiological projects that substantially advance the field of angiogenesis research in cancer.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Her presentation is part of the weekly seminars hosted by the Program in International and Community Nutrition (PICN) seminars, all held Wednesdays from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in the Foster Room (Room 1138) of Meyer Hall.
Luckhart's research includes the molecular cell biology and biochemistry of malaria parasite transmission, the functional characterization of the immunological crosstalk and cell signaling that occurs between the mosquito and the mammalian host during bloodfeeding, and the impact of endemic co-infections on malaria parasite development and transmission.
She just received the 2016 “Award for Excellence in Service to Graduate Students,” presented April 8 by the UC Davis Graduate Student Association for outstanding teaching and mentoring. She earlier received the 2012 Outstanding Mentor Award from the UC Davis Consortium for Women and Research.
Luckhart, who joined the UC Davis faculty in 2004 from Virginia Tech, received her master's degree in entomology from Auburn University, and her doctorate in entomology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Access the website for upcoming PICN seminars.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
By popular vote, "Little Swimmers and Fly Tyers (Briggs Hall)," won the category, Hidden Treasures; and "Real Insects and Mimics (Bohart Museum of Entomology)" won the category "Family Friendly."
"Little Swimmers" featured an aquatic insect display from Professor Sharon Lawler's lab, while "Fly Tyers" was the work of the Fly Fishers of Davis, headed by president Dana Hooper and vice president Paul Berliner.
Coordinating the Bohart Museum Picnic Day exhibit were Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum; Tabatha Yang, public outreach and education; and Steve Heydon, senior museum scientist.
Chairing the Briggs Hall Picnic Day Committee were forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey of the faculty and doctoral candidate Danny Klittich, representing the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA). Kimsey also serves as the EGSA advisor. The Briggs Hall sub-committee chairs included:
- Erin Donely-Marineau - Registration
- Joanna Bloese and Brendon Boudinot - Maggot Art
- Stephanie Kurniawan - Medical Entomology
- Elina Niño - Honey Tasting and Apiculture
- Margaret "Rei" Scampavia - Pollinator Pavilion
- Jackson Audley and Corwin Parker - Forestry Entomology
- Bob Kimsey - Collecting Equipment and Dr. Death
- Cindy Preto - EGSA T-Shirts
- Sharon Lawler - Little Swimmers
- Ralph Washington Jr. - Bug Doctor
- Arachnids - Jeff Smith and Ziad Khouri
- Bumble Bees - Robbin Thorp
- Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches - Nicole Tam
- Thorny Walking Sticks- Patrik Barcelos
- Tomato Hornworms - Laurie Casebier
- Australian Walking Sticks - Charlotte Herbert
- Tardigrade Display - Angel of Love "Lovey" Corniel and Tabatha Yang
- Mimicry Displays - Steve Heydon and Tabatha Yang
- Gift Shop - Ivani Li
The UC Davis Entomology Club entered a giant black widow float in the Picnic Parade. Taking the lead were Maia Lundy, president, and Marko Marrero, past president. Jamie Fong and Lovey Corniel led the baking for the entomophagy bake sale. Visitors purchased cricket-flour cookies and other goodies at a table in front of Briggs.
Scores of Entomology Club members participated in Picnic Day. Andre Poon and Stacey Lee Rice designed the club T-shirts, with ordering and selling overseen by Sydney Morrill and Tom Nguyen. Nguyen and Lundy also coordinated the tabling and face painting. Among the volunteers:
Face Painting: Jim Shen, Ushrayinee Sarker, Karissa Merritt, Maia Lundy, Jessica Nguyen, Marko Marrero, Stacey Lee Rice, Miriam Nansen, Ann Kao and Tom Nguyen
Baking: Jamie Fong, Lovey Corniel, Mary Corniel, Jessie Liu, Keith Wong, John So, Qiming Yang, Andre Poon, James Heydon
Tabling: Tom Nguyen, Qiming Yang, Andre Poon, Chloe Shott, Keith Wong, Darian Dungey, Jessie Liu and John So
Parade: Jamie Fong, Val Fong, Marko Marrero, Alex Nguyen, Ben Maples, Chloe Shott, Andre Poon, Qiming Yang, Maia Lundy, Jade Lundy, James Heydon, lovey Corniel, Mary Corniel, Massiel Melendez, Sydney Morrill, Andy Yu, Farian Dungey, Ushrayinee Sarker, Stacey Lee Rice and Kyle Leong.
(Editor's Note: Below are photos from the award-winning exhibits. For more photos from Picnic Day, see the Department of Entomology and Nematology's Flickr page.)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
- Evolution of floral signals and flower morphology
- Pollinator-drive speciation
- Evolution of floral mimicry
Related Link:
Scholar.google.com
For upcoming seminars, download this PDF