Laura Kelley and colleagues from the Sherwood Lab show that invasive cells adapt their invasion program in the absence of matrix metalloproteinase enzymes, explaining the failure of cancer clinical trials targeting these enzymes.  Described by Prof.

The Ph.D. Program in Biology has been selected to receive the 2019 Dean’s Award for Inclusive Excellence in Graduate Education. The Program was selected from a highly competitive pool of nominees for its "consistent and intentional creation of an environment that demonstrates and is dedicated to exemplary inclusiveness and diversity in graduate education." BioGrad Lauren Carley, a member of the Biology Graduate Student Diversity Committee, prepared and submitted the application.

Francois Lutzoni, together with Jolanta Miadlikowska, David Swofford, and colleagues at other institutions, has published an important paper on the interconnections of fungi and plants in evolutionary history.  (Lutzoni et al. 2018.

UPGG student Niba Nirmal has recently received two honors: she was named a 2020 Yale Ciencia Scholar, and she was featured in the Volunteer Spotlight of the Hub Farm Annual Report.

The Yale Ciencia Academy for Career Development is a one-year program helping graduate students connect with mentors, network, develop career skills, and contribute through science outreach.  It includes video chats with role models, peer discussions, workshops and attendance at the AAAS meeting.  Only 40 students are selected nationally, so big congrats to Niba!

Prof. Greg Wray is one of six Duke faculty to be named a lifetime Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  The Association recognizes Fellows "for their extraordinary achievements across disciplines."  Wray was honored by the Division of Biological Sciences for contributing to the understanding of evolution and mechanisms of development, using sea urchins and primates as model systems.  Congratulations Greg!

The Department of Biology proudly congratulates Kushal Kadakia on the receipt of a Rhodes Scholarship, which fully funds a degree at Oxford University.  Kadakia is a double major in Biology and Public Policy, and led the successful campaign to make Duke Campus smoke-free.  He has done research in health and innovation policy, as well as scientific research in cardiology and radiation oncology.  He plans to study medicine and public policy, with the goal of making health care accessible to all.  Congratulations to Kushal!

Congratulations to Sarah Longo, who has been named the Outstanding Postdoc at Duke for 2018! Sarah was nominated by her mentor, Sheila Patek, who wrote, "Sarah has developed a novel and exciting postdoctoral research project that involves real-time analysis of elastic energy release and measurements of the power density of biological systems, such as trap-jaw ants and snapping shrimp. . . . She is curious about [other lab members'] projects, looks at details, and then dives in to help. . .

The Department of Biology at Duke University invites applications for two tenure-track faculty positions at the Assistant / Associate Professor level, to start in July or August 2019. Candidates addressing fundamental questions in the broad area of developmental, cell, and molecular biology (DCMB) are encouraged to apply.

Biograd Ariana Eily (Pryer Lab) has received the 2018 Edgar T. Wherry Award from the Pteridological Section of the Botanical Society of America.  The prize is given for the best paper presented during the contributed papers session of the Pteridological Section of the Botanical Society of America.  Congratulations Ariana!

Wherry was an American botanist and mineralogist, and president of the American Fern Society from 1934–1939. He published several guides on eastern North American ferns, and donated the royalties from these books to the Fern Society.

"The Art of a Scientist," a new exhibit of scientific images and responses by local artists, is currently open at the Rubenstein Arts Center.  The works on display show how scientists and artists use similar processes while developing a visual work—and how both can create learning and pure pleasure for the viewer.