April 20, 2023    Shaelin Lee and Koki presented posters on the research they conducted this summer. Emerson, mentored by Nila participated in the SURE summer research program. Koki, mentored by Evan, was part of the SPIRE summer research program. They now return to their home institutions (U Georgia for Shaelin, UNC Pembroke for Koki).

April 20, 2023    Emerson Franz and Reese Perini presented posters on the research they've conducted this academic year. Emerson was mentored by Jeff and Susan, Reese by Evan. Both students will continue their research in the lab this summer and write a Senior Honors Thesis next year.

March 12, 2023    Jeff received the Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Support and Program Management from The Graduate School. This award, based on nominations from students, recognizes contributions as a Director of Graduate Studies, a role Jeff held for 10 years in the Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology.

April 4, 2023    Emma Kaeppler, who completed four semesters and one summer of undergraduate research under the direction of Carolyn Turcotte, gave a presentation at the John J. Koeppe Honors Symposium. Emma was awarded Honors in Biology.

March 30, 2023    Karl-Julius Muller, who did laboratory research directed by Dr. Evan Dewey, presented his results at the John J. Koeppe Honors Symposium. Karl was awarded Honors in Biology.

Nov 7, 2022    Juan Carvajal-Garcia, who graduated last spring and then moved on to do postdoctoral research in the lab of Houra Merrikh at Vanderbilt, was selected to receive a postdoctoral resaerch fellowship from the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation.

Sept 2, 2022    Evan's paper titled "Effect of repeat length on Marcal1-dependent single-strand annealing in Drosophila was published in GENETICS. Evan and co-authors Julie Korda Holsclaw (former postdoctoral fellow), Kiyarash Saghey and Mackenzie Wittmer (both former undergraduate researchers) investigated the length requirements for single-strand annealing repair of double-strand breaks. They find differences from yeast, which uses Rad52 versus Marcal1 in Drosophila. The results also provide guidance for lengths of homology arms used in SSA-based CRISPR/Cas9 genome integration.

Aug 7, 2022    Nila was awarded an NRSA F31 fellowship from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. Her proposal, titled "Mechanisms and regulation of meiotic recombination," will be funded for three years (unless she completes her PhD before the end of that time!).

July 26, 2022    Leah presented a poster on her summer research at the SURE, SMART, SOLAR Symposium. Unfortunately, that means Leah's time in the SURE program and in our lab is over (at least for now!). Leah now returns to UNC Pembroke to complete her senior year of her undergraduate studies.

July 22, 2022    Lahari gave a flawless presentation of her research at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Summer Mentorship Celebration Symposium. You can view a recreation of her 3-minute talk on youtube.

June 7, 2022    Nila was invited to give a talk at the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Meiosis, held at Colby-Sawyer College. This conference is a prelude to the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) held immediately after. The GRS showcases resaerch by trainees. Nila and Carolyn both presented posters at the GRS and the GRC.

April 4, 2022    Colleen Bereda delivered a spectacular talk in the John J. Koeppe Honors Symposium. On the basis of her talk and her Senior Honors Thesis, Colleen was awarded Highest Honors in Biology.

February 11, 2022    The BBSP graduate program selected our lab manager, Susan Cheek, to receive a 2021-22 Science Mentoring Award. This is the first year the award was opened to allow nominations of staff. Susan has contributed to the professional and personal development of essentially every former lab member, from undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows.