MCB Department Head, Carol Teschke, recently announced that Patrick Grady has been awarded the Fall '22 MCB Graduate Travel Award in recognition of his outstanding graduate seminar.

This bi-annual award provides support to students for conference attendance to enrich their graduate program study and is offered on a competitive basis to the most highly qualified student.

Congratulations, Patrick on your accomplishments!

Marjorie “Jean” Romano ’77 MA wanted to both honor her late husband and support graduate students conducting summer research.

So, she decided to set up a bequest that will supplement a scholarship that she and her husband, Antonio, a UConn biology professor and CLAS dean, established several years ago. Her planned gift will support the Antonio H. & Marjorie J. Romano Graduate Education Fund.

Traditional support for graduate students, including teaching assistantships and external grants, usually provides funding only for the school year. The fellowship provides funding for microbiology students so they can continue their research uninterrupted throughout the summer.

“The scholarship helps students concentrate on research through the summer break,” Jean explains. “Previously, many students had to leave and work at Domino’s or someplace else for the summer. It really bothered Tony to see a student who had been right on the edge of doing something really promising lose their scholarship funding and have to take off for the summer.”

Her planned gift will honor Tony’s legacy at UConn.

“I think it’s important to carry Tony’s name and passion on through the university,” Jean says. “I want to leave that for UConn.”

See full article at UConn Foundation

Symbiotic Organs: Extreme Intimacy with the Microbial World

All multicellular creatures interact with bacteria, but some have taken the relationship to another level with highly specialized structures that house, feed, and exploit the tiny organisms.
See article in The Scientist, Oct. 3, 2022

Momentum is building around Native American and Indigenous studies and programming at UConn, and new faculty and students are poised to make UConn a New England hub for Native Studies and the broader Indigenous community. See full article in UConn Today

Dr. Carolyn Teschke has accepted the role of MCB department head and will serve in that position for the next five years.  She is joined in the new administrative structure by Dr. Victoria Robinson, who will serve as Associate head for Graduate Research and Education, and Dr. Daniel Gage, who will serve as Associate head for Undergraduate Research and Education.