accolades

...there is now!

We're happy to report that Ph.D. candidate Anthony Auletta successfully passed his dissertation defense yesterday! Congratulations to the newly-minted Dr. Auletta!

Anthony recently began his new position as Lecturer of Insect Biology at the University of Florida Department of Entomology & Nematology. While it is bittersweet to see him go after six years in the lab, we are very excited for him as he begins this new chapter of his career and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors!

 

Congratulations to Ph.D. Candidate Anthony Auletta, who was recently selected to receive the Graduate Assistant Teaching Award from the College of Food, Agriculture, & Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS)! This prestigious award, which includes a $1500 prize, is given annually to one graduate student in CFANS who has demonstrated excellence in undergraduate teaching and education. During his time at the University of Minnesota, Anthony has taught in five different entomology courses, and has made strong contributions to the undergraduate and graduate programs in the Department of Entomology. He has a strong interest and background in pedagogy, and will be pursuing a career in undergraduate entomology education after he graduates later this year. Congratulations, Anthony, on this well-deserved recognition!

Anthony will formally receive the award at the CFANS Spring College Assembly, which will take place on Tuesday, May 7th from 9:30 am–12:00 pm in 105 Cargill.

Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Anthony Auletta, who won Second Place in his poster section at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America in Vancouver!

His poster, A window into the past: evidence for an ancient tripartite dopaminergic, adrenergic, and octopaminergic signaling system in the Chelicerata, co-authored with PI Karen Mesce, showcased our latest research into the evolution neuromodulatory systems in scorpions (and other arachnids).

Congratulations, Anthony!

The votes are in, and we are very excited to announce that our very own Dr. Karen Mesce will be the new president of the International Society for Neuroethology! Karen has a long and rich history of service to the ISN, as the current treasurer and a former secretary of the society, and we think that she is the perfect person for this role. We look forward to the many wonderful things that she will accomplish during her presidency!

Karen begins as president-elect for the 2018-20 term, after which she will officially take over as president for the 2020-22 term, which includes the 2020 International Congress of Neuroethology in Lisbon, Portugal.

Congratulations again, Karen, on your well-deserved victory!

Congratulations to Postdoctoral Researcher Joshua Puhl, who has accepted a new position as Assistant Professor at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA! As a member of the college's Science Division, Joshua will specialize in teaching courses on human anatomy and physiology. Over the last few years, Joshua has discovered and embraced his passion for teaching, and most recently served as an adjunct instructor of biology at Metropolitan State University. We are very happy that he will be able to continue pursuing those passions in his new role, and we wish him all the best on his way to California!

Congratulations to Ph.D. Candidate Morgan Newhoff, for recently receiving two competitive professional development awards!

First up, Morgan was named one of this year's recipients of the Stark Award for Advanced Scholarship from the Graduate Program in Neuroscience! The intent of the Stark Award is to support GPN students in the pursuit of advanced training, either in the U.S. or abroad, in specific lab techniques or via specialized courses. Morgan will be using her award to help fund her trip to Okinawa, Japan, where she will attend the 2018 Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Computational Neuroscience Course later this summer!

Morgan also received the Heiligenberg Stuent Travel Award from the International Society for Neuroethology! This award will help fund her trip to the International Congress of Neuroethology in Brisbane, Australia this July, where she will present the latest and greatest findings from her doctoral research.

Way to go, Morgan! 

Ph.D. Candidate Anthony Auletta recently received the Department of Entomology Community Service Award, in recognition of his dedication to departmental service & community-building. The award was presented at the 20th Annual Hodson Alumni Event & Student Awards Ceremony this past Friday.

Since joining the department in 2013, Anthony has been a strong voice on several departmental committees, in addition to holding leadership positions within Frenatae (the Entomology Graduate Student Association) and being actively involved in teaching multiple entomology courses. He has also recently taken lead in organizing a number of departmental events in an effort to foster greater camaraderie and professional connections among Entomology students, staff, and faculty. Congratulations, Anthony, on being recognized for all of your efforts!

Congratulations to Ph.D. Candidate Anthony Auletta, who recently received a Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) from the University of Minnesota Graduate School! The DDF is  a competitive award designed to fund doctoral candidates in the final year of their degree programs. Anthony’s DDF will fund him for the 2018-19 academic year, putting him right on track to defend his thesis in Spring 2019. Congratulations, Anthony!

Congratulations to Ph.D. Candidate Morgan Newhoff, who will be heading off to Japan later this summer to attend the 2018 Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Computational Neuroscience Course! Morgan is one of a handful of scholars from around the world selected to participate in this prestigious course. As part of the experience, Morgan will conduct a small independent project that will augment her PhD dissertation on the cellular mechanisms underlying ultrasonic neuromodulation. おめでとう, Morgan! 

Undergraduate researcher Maria Godinez gave a wonderful poster presentation of her summer project at the Multicultural Summer Research Opportunities Program (MSROP) Research Symposium yesterday. Maria’s poster highlighted some of her preliminary findings on the responses of different mechanosensory neurons in injured leeches before and after recovery, a project that she hopes to continue working on in the upcoming semester. Way to go, Maria!