News

Sebastian Vera just wrapped up his time as Summer Scholar. This competitive program supports undergrads from across the University as they pursue research.  Seb kickstarted  our research program on new wild derived strains this summer and will continue his work this academic year.

Carleigh Engstrom teaches biology at Biotech High School in Freehold, NJ and joins us as part of the Teach Revolution Progam.  The new program is focused on integrating evolutionary research into high school curriculums nationwide.  Supported by NSF BEACON, the Society for the Study of Evolution and Wiley Publishers, this program provides funding for teachers to spend the summer participating in research and then take that experience back to the classroom. Carleigh’s specialty is Molecular and Agricultural Technology and she is collaborating with us to study local population genetics in Striped Bass.  We are so happy to welcome her to our group.  Read more about the program here: https://beaconed.wordpress.com/

Congratulations to our 2018 Spring graduates– Bradley Kraft, Brian Reiss, and Anjali Tampay!   Brad will be starting med school in the fall, Brian will be starting a Master’s program, and Anjali will be applying to grad school.  Come back and see us soon.

Dr. Phifer-Rixey was featured in the April 2018 edition of The Society for the Study of Evolution Newsletter in the new faculty profiles.  Check it out: http://www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display/2018/4/10/new-faculty-profile-series/

Patricia Donahue dominated the competition with a score of 110!! Congratulations, Patricia! http://phiferrixeylab.com/march-mammal-madness-by109-by424-phifer-rixey-lab/

We had a busy Scholarship week this year!

Tiffany Longo and Brian Reiss were inducted to the Biology Honor’s Society Beta Beta Beta. Eligibility is determined by a strong academic record and a commitment to research. Congratulations!

Tiffany, Brian, and Sebastian Vera presented their research at the William Paterson Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Tiffany presented her research at the Summer Scholar’s Research Conference hosted by the Provost’s Office.

Brad Kraft shared his work on gene expression as part of the Honors College Thesis Symposium.

Anjali Tampy, Nikole Andre, Tiffany, Seb, Brad and Brian all presented their research at the School of Science Student Research Poster Session.

Katie Banfitch was honored with the Biology Departmental Service Award for her outstanding work as a supplemental instructor and as coordinator of our lab’s outreach project.

Now, we will all eat Pancakes for Parkinson’s and sleep!!

We met a lot of promising young scientists today at AAA Elementary School today. Over 100 students joined us to extract DNA from strawberries and to talk about DNA, inheritance, and mutations. We were impressed by their enthusiasm for science and their knowledge of DNA. Thanks to all of the Biology Undergrad volunteers and to our sponsors,  the European Society for Evolutionary Biology, for making this possible!

Katie Banfitch presented our DNA extraction workshop to 50 4th graders from Cheesequake NJ as part of Kids at College Day.  All of the BY424 Evolution students pitched in so that the kids could have a fun, hands-on experience.  Thanks to the European Society for Evolutionary Biology for sponsoring this workshop!

Sebastian Vera was selected for the 2018 Summer Scholar’s Program sponsored by the Provost’s Office. His proposal to study differences in response to diet among mice adapted to different environments was one of only 8 projects funded from across the University. Seb will receive a stipend and research support this summer. Congratulations, Seb!