The Big East Undergraduate Research Symposium was held at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2026. UConn's team won top honors and Hailey DeWalt ’26 earned individual honors at the symposium. The molecular and cell biology major took first place in the STEM category for her poster on antimicrobial defense of Hawaiian bobtail squid eggs by symbiotic bacteria. See article in UConn Today

Professor David Golhamer is one of nine new members from UConn elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE). He is recognized for having achieved a level of scientific distinction through original contributions to science and engineering. See UConn Today - Making CASE: Nine UConn Faculty Inducted into Prestigious Group

The department is excited to announce that seven MCB students have been chosen as 2026 University Scholars!

Congratulations to

Riddhi Bansal
Anna Coulter
Rebecca Denhart
Shailaja Gillett
Anna Johnson
Jaclyn Kolor
Mackenzie Robillard

See the UConn Scholar Program announcement to learn more about the scholars.

Submissions are now being accepted for the 12th Annual Undergraduate Research Colloquium in Molecular and Cell Biology.

Graduating senior MCB or Biophysics majors are encouraged to present their research project as a short 15 minute talk. Graduating Biology majors whose project is supervised by an MCB faculty member are also invited to present their work.

If you would like to participate, please e-mail the following information by Tuesday, March 31
to mcboffice@uconn.edu with
MCB Research Colloquium in the subject line.

Student Name:
Major:
Email:
Thesis/presentation Title:
Thesis Research Adviser:
Honors Adviser (if applicable):
Short bio and current research interests:
Availability: **Please provide time slots during which you have classes or labs that would conflict with your ability to participate. Even if you have no conflicts, please indicate this**

The top three MCB presentations will be selected for participation in the All-Biology Symposium and will be eligible for multiple awards.

Colloquium dates:

SESSION I:
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
3:30 - 4:30 PM | BPB 130

SESSION II:
Friday, April 17, 2026
12:30 - 1:30 PM | BPB 130

Current Landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Ed and UConn’s Office for Inclusion and Civil Rights

Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 3:30 pm, BPB 130

Adam Zweifach has agreed to serve as head of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology for a five-year term, starting Jan. 1, 2026. 

Adam earned his BA in biology from the University of Pennsylvania, his Ph.D. in physiology from Yale University, and completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University. Before joining UConn in 2006, he was an assistant and associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Most recently, he served as interim head during the fall 2025 semester. 

MCB is proud to announce that MCB major Sharva Karthikeyan has received the Paul L. Drotch award for 2025/2026!

When Peter Drotch ’64 was 18 his brother Paul Drotch ’57, a U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot, died during a training exercise out of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Lt. Drotch’s A-4 jet, designed to support ground forces by flying low, was lost in May 1960, a time when tensions were running high between the U.S., Cuba and the Soviet Union. To recognize Paul’s accomplishments at UConn and UConn’s role in his aspirations, in 1960 the Drotch family established the Lt. Paul L. Drotch, USMC, Class of 1957 Memorial Scholarship. This competition is open to UConn undergraduates in biology, including Biological Sciences, EEB, MCB, PNB, and Biophysics, who have demonstrated both scholarship and financial need and who have completed a minimum of 3 and maximum of 7 semesters of study.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has launched the Cech Fellows Program, which is a new Summer Undergraduate Research Experience program designed to support rising juniors and seniors who are eager to deepen their engagement in authentic research experiences. Cech Fellows are placed in HHMI laboratories across the US for a 9-week period in the summer, and receive a stipend that supports travel, housing, and living expenses for the duration. 

For more information, please visit https://www.hhmi.org/programs/cech-fellows

First-year Ph.D. student Rey Carten from the May Lab received an outstanding poster award at the Molecular Biophysics in the Northeast meeting at the University of New Hampshire on October 11, 2025 (mbnmeeting.org). Congratulations to Rey!

The Cell Stress Society International (CCSI) named a new award in honor of MCB Professor Emeritus Larry Hightower.

The award, the Dr. Larry Hightower Award for Excellence in Mentorship, was created in the spirit of Dr. Hightower and honors mentors who pair high scientific standards with care for their trainees. They invest time, give clear guidance, share credit, and build inclusive, collaborative labs. Their steady support helps trainees become independent scientists and strengthens our community. Presented biennially at the CSSI International Meeting, this award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to mentoring in the fields of cellular stress, molecular chaperones, and proteostasis in health and disease. The award honors those who have inspired and guided the next generation of scientists, fostered collaborative and supportive research environments, and advanced the values of the Society through their commitment to training and leadership. The selected individual receives a plaque recognizing their achievement.