Our DNA 2023

A University of Utah - School of Biological Sciences Publication | 2 0 2 3

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KEEPING THE PAST ALIVE B iology is a historical science.

Our job is to understand life, and life is the product of a long process of evolution that happened in the past, mainly the distant past, beyond our direct observation. Even when we study the process as it unfolds in the present, as with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many mysteries remain: Why was there so little evolution in 2020? What are the effects of past infections on how sick people became? And where exactly did the virus come from?

As this issue of OUR DNA makes clear, the past is the key to the future. Understanding the future consequences of climate change that our faculty study today only makes sense in the context of the history of climate, encoded in the soils, tree rings, and the satellite images we have had the wisdom to collect. The power of archiving history as it happens is exemplified

by Vicky Rowntree's careful

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cataloging and sharing of images of the Southern Right Whale.

(See pg. 4) Much like the history taken and understood by a good physician, this record situates what is happening today in the context of the past.

The people of the School of Biological Sciences also link the past with the future. The faculty, with what they hope is seasoned wisdom, bridge past knowledge to present questions. Through collaboration across academic generations, our students carry this history into the future, building the future of science and of society.

Meditations on history often converge on two famous quotations. George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Biology does not repeat itself.

The climate has been very warm before, but not in quite the way it is now. The lessons of the past are

rather more complicated, a set of principles and guideposts rather than a simple prediction. Careful application of these principles is at the heart of the critical thinking we seek to convey to our students.

More ominously, George Orwell stated, "Who controls the past controls the future." Orwell meant this in the political realm, about the power of historical myths and those who create them. Education is about a very different sort of power, the power to understand, to predict, and intuit the future of an open society. As William Faulkner said, "the past is never dead. It's not even past." Biology, and the study of biology, is about keeping the past alive.

Sincerely,

Director Fred Adler

Credit: Marco Lozzi | The Daily Utah Chronicle

RETIREES

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MICHAEL BASTIANI

JON SEGER

DON FEENER

Professor | 1987

Professor | 1986

Professor | 1989

Read more about our faculty retirees at biology.utah.edu/news

Cover: Female southern right whale and calf. Courtesy of Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas.

Our DNA is the official magazine of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, published in partnership with Marketing & Communications, College of Science.

Associate Director of Marketing & Communications: Bianca Lyon Writer & Editor: David Pace Designer/Photographer: Todd Anderson Follow us on social media @uofu_biology or UBiologySchool

Prefer only a digital version of Our DNA? Send us an email. info@biology.utah.edu

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15 FROM THE DIRECTOR | 2023

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MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO,

GIANT SEA CREATURES

of individual whales would allow the

VICTORIA "VICK Y" ROWNTREE,

When the PV right whale project

population size and birth intervals

RESEARCH PROFESSOR OF

began, little was known about the

and other important demographic

BIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSIT Y

giant sea creatures which average

parameters to be estimated,” says

OF UTAH, WAS INVITED BY THE

43 to 56 feet in length and weigh

U Emeritus Professor of Biology Jon

ANIMAL BEHAVIORIST ROGER

up to 176,000 pounds. Inspired by

Seger, Rowntree’s husband and

PAYNE TO VISIT HIS THEN-

the British ethologist Jane Goodall

frequent research collaborator.

NEW RIGHT-WHALE RESEARCH

and other researchers who were

PROJECT AT PENÍNSUL A VALDÉS

closely observing animals in the

What Rowntree and her colleagues

(PV) IN PATAGONIA , ARGENTINA .

wild, Payne realized that tracking the

look for are distinctive patterns in the

lives of individual whales, especially

whale’s callosities, rough patches of

Payne, who died earlier this year

reproducing females in their natural

thickened skin on the whale’s head.

at age 88, was already famous

habitat for long periods of time,

Within the circles of callus tissue

for discovering (together with his

was likely key to understanding

are sensory hairs that may help the

wife Katy Payne) the “Songs of the

their reproduction, ecology and

whales find their prey. Callosities

Humpback Whale”—probably the

demographics.

appear white against the whale's

most famous nature album in history.

black skin and are covered with living

A few years later Rowntree joined

Each year, in the months of July

blankets of light-bodied crustacean

the right-whale project as a full-time

through October, southern right

passengers or “whale lice."

researcher and began a long career

whales (Eubalaena australis) arrive

during which she played leading roles

at bays on the shores of PV to calve

Using photos of the whale’s heads,

in shaping and then sustaining, what

and raise their young in the safety of

Rowntree and her colleagues have

has become the most important study

the shallow waters. “Roger realized

identified more than 4,000 individuals

of its kind.

that repeated photo-identification

to date; many have been seen over

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spans of two-to-five decades and in many different years, with and without calves.

A HALF CENTURY OF DATA

Early on, the researchers used a light plane which would circle low over groups of whales while a photographer snapped frames on 35mm-black-and-white and later, color film. Today, quadcopter drones are primarily used to photograph the whales. With a drone, researchers can hover over the water and wait for a whale to surface directly below, as opposed to flying in slow, tight circles over the water, hoping to be above a whale when it finally surfaces to breathe.

The wide range of data forms posed a challenge for ongoing work. When Rowntree moved to Utah, she found herself managing five filing cabinets with tens of thousands of 35mm film photos covering the first 34 years of the project. At risk of fire or other

Library Information Resources, the

tourists going out on a boat,” Seger

disasters, the collection had limited

U’s Marriott Library has digitized

says. “There’s a naturalist [on board]

access, especially for her Argentine

the irreplaceable foundation of the

who knows all this stuff.”

colleagues. Now, with the help of a

project’s ever-growing database for

grant from the

scientists worldwide, (see sidebar).

Committee on

At its core, the project is a labor of love for local students. “Vicky saw early

TOURIST WHALE WATCHING

on,” says Seger, “that these wonderful

Before the right whale project,

young college-age volunteers who

there was only one whale watching

would show up to work for a few

company at Valdes Peninsula. Now

weeks should be raising their sights

there are five. The project has drawn

and thinking about getting PhDs and

increasing numbers of tourists

starting their own research projects.

worldwide to the area, as there is no

Now,” continues Seger, “… five or six

other place to predictably see whales

have come to the States for graduate

up close in their natural habitat. “This

study with Vicky's encouragement

study contributes hugely to tourism

and help in finding labs.”

because of the added value for the

COVER STORY | 2023

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Two of these students earned

A LIVING LEGACY

The involvement and education of

their PhDs at the U, and most are

With the digitization of the project’s

local students are crucial for the

now faculty at different Argentine

analog photos and supporting data,

longevity of the project because,

universities. They and their volunteers

Seger stresses that “this isn’t just a

Rowntree says, “... [T]hey’re the ones

and students are now responsible for

historical archive of some wonderful

that can affect the conservation

most of the front-

study that’s now

of the right whales.” In addition to

line research work

fading back

keeping the research project running,

and represent the

into the mists of

these young scientists advocate for

PV right whales

history. It’s an

the PV right whale population at

nationally and

ongoing research

International Whaling Commission

internationally.

project that we

meetings and influence policy

The project

all want to go

changes that will conserve whales and

is now directed by the Instituto

on for another 50 years, at least.” As

de Conservación de Ballenas, an

data accumulate each year, they show

Argentine non-profit founded in

more and more clearly how the PV

Far from a relic, the research gets its

the 1990s, in collaboration with the

right whale population has continued

power directly from its continuity,

American non-profit Ocean Alliance,

to grow, despite serious ecological

which has been sustained in large

which was founded by Payne in the

challenges.

part by Vicky Rowntree’s unflagging

1970s.

their marine habitats.

curiosity and dedication for over half a century. < All photos in this story are courtesy of Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas.

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ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF

installed as the College of Science’s

is driven by concerns that drought,

BIOLOGY WILLIAM ANDEREGG IS

first Senior Fellow, SBS’s own Fred

insects, and wildfire may devastate

A 2023 RECIPIENT OF THE

Adler and Amy Luers, Global Director

forests in the coming decades. “We

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION’S

for Sustainability Science at Microsoft.

study how drought and climate change affect forest ecosystems,

(NSF) WATERMAN AWARD.

Presentations from the five finalists

including tree physiology, species

The nation’s highest honor for early-

competing for the historic $1.5

interactions, carbon cycling and

career scientists and engineers,

million Wilkes Climate Prize were also

biosphere-atmosphere feedback,”

the award was presented to him

staged for the gathering of more

writes the forest ecologist. “This

and other recipients in May at a

than 400. The winner, Seattle-based

research spans a broad array of spatial

ceremony during the NSF meeting

Lumen Bioscience, was announced in

scales from xylem cells to ecosystems

in Washington, DC. He is also one of

September at a special event hosted

and seeks to gain a better mechanistic

three national laureates to receive

at the Natural History Museum of

understanding of how climate change

this year’s Blavatnik Award for Young

Utah. The winning entry proposes

will affect forests around the world.” <

Scientists as well as acknowledged,

dosing all dairy cows and beef cattle

with his mentor John Sperry, emeritus

with a methanogen-inhibiting,

faculty member, by Clarivate as being

genetically engineered microbe called

one of the most cited scientists in the

spirulina by 2040, which they estimate

world.

would reduce methane emissions from livestock by 40%. To achieve this,

As Director of the Wilkes Center for

they estimate they will need 1,540,000

Climate Science & Policy, Anderegg

tons a year of spirulina, which requires

also oversaw the inaugural Wilkes

a spirulina pond that is 14 x 14 miles

Climate Summit (May 16-17) at the U.

in area in an area spread globally via

The summit offered scores of panelists

local spirulina farms.

and keynote speakers including Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, former

The Wilkes directorship is a natural

state legislator Tim Hawkes, recently

role for Anderegg whose research

Anderegg receives Waterman Award. Courtesy of NSF

COVER STORY & RECOGNITION | 2023

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Transplanting seedlings of Inga for an experiment at the Tiputini field station in the Ecuadorian, Amazon. Credit: Maria Jose Endara “I FIRST STEPPED FOOT IN A

of herbivore has evolved counter

Furthermore, the project has

TROPICAL RAINFOREST IN 1975

adaptations that allow it to feed

established the island of Coiba as a

AND HAVE BEEN BACK EVERY

on only plant species with similar

protected World Heritage Site and

YEAR DOING RESEARCH ON HOW

defenses.”

created a new voice of Panamanian scientists helping to shape

PL ANTS DEFEND THEMSELVES AGAINST GETTING EATEN BY

It turns out that plant species with

government policy and appreciation

INSECTS,” says Phyllis “Lissy” Coley,

different defenses do not share

of their natural treasures.

distinguished professor emerita of

herbivores and therefore can co-exist,

biology at the U. She is newly elected

promoting high local diversity. The

“When it comes to understanding

member of the National Academy of

concept that the high biodiversity

the complexity of ecosystems and

Sciences (NAS).

of tropical forests is due to these

the risks they face in today’s world,”

antagonistic interactions is now

says current Director of the School

Coley’s signature work on

widely accepted by her colleagues

of Biological Sciences Fred Adler

understanding the complexity of

in the forest ecology sector and now

“Distinguished Professor Lissy Coley is

ecosystems is due to her focus on why

acknowledged by the NAS.

the expert I turn to get to the heart of the question.” <

tropical forests are so spectacularly diverse. “How can 650 tree species–

“I am happy that the young scientists

more than in all of North America–live

I have mentored are continuing to

together in a single hectare of tropical

explore the many remaining questions

forest?” she asks.

in evolutionary ecology,” she says.

With her late partner Tom Kursar,

Another question related to the first

Coley set up their project with the

includes what drives speciation.

majority of the work being done by

“We have shown that the arms

local scientists. It has led to promising

race with insect herbivores leads

patents, research experiences for

to extraordinarily rapid evolution

hundreds of students, and the

of a battery of plant defenses,” she

creation of more jobs than the country

continues, “particularly chemical

of Panama's ubiquitous and potentially

toxins, such that a given species

destructive industry of logging.

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by JULIA ST. ANDRE Holding a high-precision GPS unit to support drone flight in Norway. Credit: Brian J. Enquist BORN AND RAISED IN

the planet. And that’s causing what

it, you know, working and trying to

CALIFORNIA , JON WANG’S

we call a biome shift,” explains Wang.

pay off student loans. I decided that

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE TOOK

By utilizing decades of satellite data

I wanted to try to understand that

HIM ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO

from sources such as NASA, Wang

whole issue a lot better.”

BROWN UNIVERSIT Y WHERE HE

is able to observe changes to these

STUDIED BIOLOGY AND GEOLOGY.

ecosystems over long periods of time

Wang began his career by researching

by combining machine learning and

urban heat islands and forestry in

“It was the major that had the most

data science to transform the satellite

an effort to understand the role that

field trips,” jokes Wang. “It really set

information

trees play in

me down on this path of trying to

into useful

urban ecology,

understand the Earth system overall,

datasets. Having

carbon capture,

and how biogeochemical cycles like

a big-picture

and human

the carbon cycle or nutrient cycles

view of these

health. Though

interact and form the world as we

ecosystems

there are fewer

know it today.”

helps inform

trees in cities,

these scientists

they play an

Wang is now an Earth systems

about where, when, and why certain

important role in the absorption of

scientist who recently joined the

ecosystems have changed and what

carbon emissions. “We were working

faculty of the School of Biological

that means for addressing climate

towards a better understanding of

Sciences as an assistant professor.

change.

urban ecology so we can account for the urban forest part in this carbon

Wang’s current research revolves

As he began his PhD at Boston

budget, and that can in turn improve

around understanding environmental

University, climate change was at the

our ability to evaluate these carbon

changes to ecosystems in places like

forefront of global conversation. Wang

emissions programs that cities are

Canada and Alaska, where rapidly

says he felt compelled to be more

trying to implement,” says Wang.

warming temperatures are reshaping

involved with research surrounding

Closer to home, Wang also studied the

the variety of plant life that grows

climate solutions. “Things were

California wildfires and their impact

in those areas. “In the far north, it’s

starting to feel pretty serious, and I

on both urban and wild areas.

warming faster than anywhere else on

felt like I was really outside of all of

RECOGNITION & RESEARCH | 2023

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Wang is excited to teach a new

Related to his experience with

the broader culture about how these

generation of scientists as they

airborne data collection, Wang is

systems work, and there’s a better

explore everything Earth science

planning on using unmanned aerial

understanding of how everything’s

has to offer. During his undergrad

systems (UAS), to generate very high

connected. We’re worried that this

years, he was an intern in NASA's

resolution maps of forest structure

biospheric carbon sink is vulnerable

Student Airborne Research Program

and stress for calibrating space-borne

to climate change, but it’s there, and

(SARP) which uses the fleet of aircraft

satellite data. UAS’s, commonly known

there’s a capacity for the Earth to

maintained for studying Earth system

as “drones,” can help measure the

take the carbon back, to mitigate this

processes, calibration/validation

temperatures of leaves to understand

climate change, and to give us some

of space-borne observations, and

climate-induced stress and mortality

ability to reverse the damage.

prototyping instruments for possible

or measure greenness to track the

satellite missions. After returning to

changing of the seasons at a tree-by-

“There’s a really neat hub of carbon

the SARP program as a mentor, Wang

tree level. “It’s fun,” he says, “because

cycle and Earth science research that

was compelled to start teaching. “I

it’s like playing video games, but

I knew I wanted to be part of. And

loved that experience where I just got

outside and for science!”

so I feel really lucky that I have the

to meet a lot of different young minds.

opportunity to join this department

They don’t know what they want yet,

As his work deals heavily with climate

and really plug into that whole world

but it’s really cool to see that they

change, Wang is careful to remain

of research.” <

have this whole world of Earth science

optimistic when it comes to the

open to them. It was really inspiring.”

future. “I think there is a big shift in Wang catching a drone. Credit: Brian J. Enquist

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JODY REIMER MAT HE M AT I CAL BI OLOG Y A DDS UP

by CJ SIEBENECK

THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN

Fred Adler and Ken Golden before

on a terrestrial-like substrate.” As an

BIOLOGY AND MATH MAY SEEM

joining the faculty of both academic

environment, sea ice is very dynamic.

LIKE A L ARGE DIVIDE, BUT IN

units in 2022.

If the air temperature changes by ten degrees, the physical characteristics

REALIT Y, THESE DISCIPLINES GIVE RISE TO FASCINATING

“My work is very interdisciplinary,”

of the ice changes as it melts or

RESEARCH APPROACHES.

Reimer says. “I typically collaborate

freezes in response to the change in

with biologists, but it was harder to

temperature. That also changes the

Jody Reimer, an assistant professor

meet folks in biology while working

fluid permeability of the ice, thus

at the U, has double appointments

strictly in the math department.”

changing the microbial habitat in

in biology and math. “Biology is very

Reimer works on ecological research

dramatic ways.

messy,” Reimer states. “There’s this

projects, associated with sea ice.

feeling of wanting to find universal

“What the environment looks like

principles or general theories. There’s

Sea ice is considered the “soil of the

determines what can grow there,”

nothing that refines your thinking

ocean,” as Reimer puts it. The algae

Reimer states. “The little algal cells in the

better than having to write something

within sea ice are “more similar to a

ice are also ecosystem engineers. They

down as an equation.”

terrestrial system of plants growing

secrete these exopolymer substances

than they are to a marine system.

to protect themselves, and that ‘goo’

So marine organisms are growing

changes the physics of the ice.”

Reimer is from a small town in Manitoba and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Manitoba. From there, she completed her master’s degree at the University of Oxford. “It’s like the Disneyland of academics,” she jokes, referring to the prestigious university, the oldest in the Englishspeaking world. “It feels like you’re in a movie about being an academic.”

She then moved back to Canada and completed her PhD at the University of Alberta before coming to the U as a postdoctoral researcher to work with

Reimer measures a polar bear's head in the field. Credit: Jody Reimer

RESEARCH | 2023

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Since change in temperature affects

Reimer had

environments like sea ice in such

her work on ringed

significant ways, it’s an important

seals in Alaska used in a court

area of research in regards to climate

case when Alaska attempted to appeal

change. Research into how remote

the placement of ringed seals on the

areas are impacted by climate

Endangered Species List. “It’s kind of

change is important, especially for

unprecedented,” she says, in regards

polar regions like Antarctica and the

to why ringed seals were placed on

Arctic. Reimer is using mechanistic

the list. “I think polar bears are the

models, which are well-suited to

first species that were listed, not

understanding climate change and

because they're currently in danger,

environmental change as they allow

but because climate change forecasts

us to explore the implications of

suggest future population decline.”

previously unobserved environmental

Reimer continues, saying their listing

conditions.

“was partially based on mathematical modeling work actually showing our

The policy implications of research

best understanding of how polar

like this includes knowing what is

bear populations respond to Arctic

vulnerable to climate change and

warming. This is how climate change

needs protecting. “It’s hard to push

is going to influence them. And it was

for protections for areas if you don't

enough to get them listed.” Ringed

know what you're protecting,” Reimer

seals are listed for the same reason,

says. “Which areas are ecologically

and Reimer was encouraged to see

important and which areas are

her own modeling work contribute to

ecologically vulnerable?”

that decision.

Today, Reimer has found a home in Salt Lake City as she gets settled into her new lab in the Biology Building. The challenge of being posted in two different departments as a tenure-line faculty member, even in the same college, is having extra administrative duties, including attending two different faculty meetings and increased committee work. With research that relates to both biology and math, things become comparable and quantifiable when they take the form of a mathematical equation, arguably a necessary tool for the great steamship of science to keep plowing the waters of knowledge and understanding. <

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ANDY THLIVERIS

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'REM E M BER T H E UN DERGRADS'

first department chair of Biology,

majored in biology as well as geology

had a profound impact on him. “He

and geophysics, and later attended

changed my life,” reported Thliveris

the U’s medical school where he

whose main message to the faculty

earned his MD, prepared him well.

and friends who had gathered was

Following his ophthalmology

“Remember the undergraduate

residency at Wisconsin in 1998, he

students.”

was a postdoctoral research fellow as a launch to his auspicious 28-year

IN DECEMBER 2022 , ANDREW "ANDY" THLIVERIS BS’83 MADE A SPECIAL TRIP TO SALT L AKE CIT Y WITH HIS WIFE L AUREN. THEY JOINED THE SCHOOL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES IN A BELATED (DUE TO THE PANDEMIC) REMEMBRANCE OF K. GORDON L ARK WHO HAD PASSED AWAY MORE THAN TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS EARLIER IN APRIL 2020.

Vice Chair and Ophthalmology Residency Training Program Director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Thliveris, until his retirement in September, was also Chief of Ophthalmology at the W.S. Middleton VA Hospital and holds the rank of Professor at the School of Medicine in Madison. At the event Thliveris remembered that as an undergraduate he worked in the Lark Lab for five years and that Lark, the

Thliveris also surprised many by

career. After joining the faculty in

announcing that through his affiliation

2000, he took on the position of

with the Carl & Mary Ann Berg

Veterans Affairs Hospital service chief

Charitable Remainder Trust he had

and later, in 2014, vice chair of resident

arranged to fully fund the K. Gordon

education and residency director—

Lark Endowed Chair. The Lark fund

roles he held until his retirement

was established in 2017, followed in

and during which time he trained

July 2022 with a campaign to “reboot.”

countless physicians, including many

The ambition was to achieve the level

of the department’s own faculty.

of endowed professorship through an anonymous, matching donation of

At the announcement of his

$250,000. But with Thliveris’s brokered

retirement, Thliveris said, “Our

gift—added to many others from

residents are beyond amazing, and

generous individual donors—the Lark

the dedication from the faculty to

Endowment was elevated to the more

our program has made short work

prestigious level of endowed chair.

for our education team. We have a very proud tradition here and are

With his characteristic humor, Thliveris

poised to continue for generations to

was eager to recall his time in Lark’s

come.” In hearing the news, many in

Lab. He confessed to being that “pesky, nerdy undergrad—highmaintenance—known to call Gordon at 11 pm on several occasions, [until] finally, Gordon, then speaking to his post-doc Paul Keim, [said], ‘You’ve got to get this guy under control because I have no idea what the hell I told him last night.’”

Clearly, Thliveris's sojourn at the U as an undergraduate where he

RESEARCH & ALUMNI | 2023

14

Wisconsin responded with memories

To recognize Thliveris’s lasting legacy,

Whatever Gordon Lark said during

of his meticulous teaching, patience,

the department dedicated its new

those 11 pm phone calls to Andy

wisdom, and, of course, his delightful

Surgical Skills Training Facility in

Thliveris must have been memorable.

sense of humor.

his honor. The new space, which

And now with the K. Gordon Lark

expands the department’s training

Endowed Chair poised to announce its

Thliveris will also be remembered

capacity by providing 10 training

first recipient soon, the undergraduate

for his work as director of the

pods, each outfitted with state-of-the-

has made sure the legacy of the

department’s cataract extraction

art equipment, will be instrumental

founder of the School of Biological

phacoemulsification course. In this

in training the next generation

Sciences will continue. <

three-year progressive course, medical

of eyecare specialists. “While the

and veterinary ophthalmology

decision to retire was a very emotional

residents, UW and visiting medical

one,” says Thliveris. “It comforts me

students, and pre-residency fellows

greatly to know that I am leaving

from around the country learn the

things in such capable hands. Full

latest cataract surgical techniques.

steam ahead.”

Read more about Dr. Thliveris's retirement on the UW-Madison website from which some of this article was taken.

KAREN ZUNDEL

HE RE COM ES T R OU BLESHO OTING pretty much seen it all. But to talk to

Perhaps it’s the nature of the job, like

her about her work, her contributions

a forest ranger taking care of hectares

and her stamina is like pulling a sequoia

of Douglas Fir: have your influence be

out by the roots (not that anyone

immeasurably felt but don’t ever be

would dream of doing that these

heard or seen; you aren’t the one to

days). Ask her about her critical legacy

take that bow. That’s what it means to

in making the School run, and she

be the personification of the shrubs,

reflexively refers to the faculty as the

small trees, vines, and saplings of the

reason for SBS’s functionality and fame.

more visible canopy trees. And Zundel wouldn’t have it any other way. <

Zundel isn’t about to give away the hows, whys and wherefores of ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR K AREN ZUNDEL IS THE EPITOME OF WHAT’S CALLED IN FORESTRY THE “UNDERSTORY.”

Winner of this year’s College of Science Outstanding Staff Award, the twenty-year veteran in what is now the School of Biological Sciences has

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what it’s like to be the kingpin of a celebrated understory as large as that of SBS’s. The operational nexus for not only a large community, but a complex one as well, with a single admin like her supporting as many as 16 faculty members at a time while managing a team of other admins simultaneously.

Read a more detailed version of this article at biology.utah.edu

RECOGNITION

15

DYLAN KLURE

JOANNA VARNER PhD’15

SOPHIE CARON

Outstanding Graduate Student

Finalist for XPRIZE Rainforest Prize

Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring

Read more about our distinguished students and faculty at biology.utah.edu

ACCORDING TO STRUCTURAL

yet, shrouded in mystery ever since

BIOLOGIST VENK ATRAMAN

the discovery of the double-helix

"VENKI" RAMAKRISHNAN,

structure of DNA 50 years earlier.

“WE ALL HAVE IMPOSTER SYNDROME,” A PHENOMENON

“Everything in the cell is either made

DESCRIBED AS SELF-DOUBT

by the ribosome or made by enzymes

OF INTELLECT, SKILLS, OR

that are themselves made by the

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AMONG

ribosome,” he said. The event was co-

HIGH-ACHIEVING INDIVIDUALS.

sponsored by the U's Department of Biochemistry, U Health, and NHMU. His

In a much-anticipated lecture at

presentation ended with a spectacular

the College of Science’s Frontiers

animation which is featured in a new

of Science on September 27,

exhibit dedicated to the ribosome on

Ramakrishnan detailed “My

the fourth floor of the NHMU.

Adventures in the Ribosome.”

It was a stirring finish for Venki With a warm reminder to the

Ramakrishnan, co-recipient of the

standing-room-only crowd at the

Nobel prize in chemistry, who brought

Natural History Museum of Utah

it all up to scale when he closed the

(NHMU) he explained that there were

evening by saying, “During the time

setbacks, re-directs, and moments

you've been listening to me, the

of doubt for the structural biologist

thousands of ribosomes in each of your

who helped solve the structure of

cells have been churning out tens of

biology's most important molecule

thousands of proteins as we speak." <

ALUMNI & RECOGNITION & EVENTS | 2023

T

hank you to all of our alumni

To meet the tremendous demand for

activities, and will be matched dollar-

and friends who contribute to

STEM graduates in Utah, the School

for-dollar. Every gift counts!

the School of Biological Sciences.

of Biological Sciences’ top priorities

Your support enables us to provide

include support for Undergraduate

We are grateful for your investment in

exceptional education, conduct

Students and Graduate Students.

our students, faculty, and staff. We’d

groundbreaking research, and

love to hear from you or have you stop

prepare the next generation of

Scholarship support has a dramatic

by campus for a visit. You are always

leaders in our discipline.

impact on student success rates.

welcome here at the University of Utah!

Our goal is to provide some form Visit our Giving Page

of financial support to every

For more information about giving to

giving.utah.edu/biology

undergraduate in the School of

Biology, please contact TJ McMullin

Biological Sciences. In addition,

at travis.mcmullin@utah.edu

contributions towards Graduate Students support a wide variety of teaching, research, and service