News & Events

Jonathan D. Dinman was quoted (and pictured) in the August issue of Science magazine's Science Careers section in an article entitled "The Evolving Postdoctoral Experience." Dinman also presented a platform presentation at the "Ribosome Biogenesis" meeting at Regensburg, Germany, and at the "Protein Synthesis and Translational Control" meeting in Heidelberg Germany. He also gave a lecture at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin Germany.

On August 24, 22 post-doctoral researchers representing three of the College's Departments gathered to celebrate the formation of the College's Post-Doctoral Association. The post-doc attendees were welcomed by Dean Norma Allewell and Associate Vice President for Research Robert Dooling. Founded at the initiative of College post-doctoral researchers and administration, the mission of the Post-Doctoral Association is to improve the training and success of its post-doctoral members by providing career development and community-building opportunities. To this end, the Association has developed a series of career development workshops and fellowship events for Fall and Winter; all post-doctoral researchers in the College are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Najib El-Sayed, Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, helped lead a team of scientists to decode the DNA of the parasite Schistosoma mansoni. The research may open doors to new treatments for snail fever, and could lead to the development of a vaccine. Read the article or watch the video.

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the parasite that causes intestinal schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia or snail fever), a devastating tropical disease that afflicts more than 200 million people in the developing world. Dr. Najib El-Sayed, Associate Professor in the University of Maryland College of Chemical and Life Sciences, led the transatlantic research team, along with Dr. Matthew Berriman of the UK’s Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, whose discovery was published in the July 16, 2009 edition of Nature. “We have used state of the art genetic and computational approaches to decipher the genome of this pathogen and to facilitate drug discovery,” said Dr. El-Sayed, senior author of the paper. “Many promising leads for drug development targets have emerged.”

Professor Barbara L. Thorne, Department of Entomology, will be the Founding Director of the College’s Graduate Program in the Biological Sciences (BISI). She will also serve on the College’s Academic Executive Leadership Team as Director of BISI. Her basic research centers on the biology of social insects, focusing on evolution, genetics, population biology, and behavioral ecology of termites. She also holds four patents related to her applied work on integrated pest management.