Tags: research

photo of woman on rocky coastline
Studying the impact of climate change on Georgia archaeology sites

In the world of climate change studies, there are extensive global and regional models but fewer site-specific models. Lindsey Cochran, a postdoctoral research associate with the University of Georgia Laboratory of Archaeology, is working with digital data from the Georgia coast to recreate models that simulate site-specific changes from now until 2100. “Archaeologists care a lot more about the context in which an artifact was found than the…

Photo of woman with flower prints
Solving the microbiome puzzle

Microbial ecosystems – the relationships between microorganisms and their environments including within the human body – play an important role in human health. Through diagnostic testing and genetic analysis, researchers can track how disruptions of this ecosystem can cause problems ranging from asthma and allergies to obesity and diabetes. The processes currently used to analyze this data are labor intensive and often inefficient. The…

photo of man in lab coat with tubes in isolation chamber
Research finds that insulin drug may be used to treat brain tumors

Fascinating new work from colleagues in the UGA Regenerative Bioscience Center. A research team, including faculty from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the College of Engineering and associate professor of physics Qun Zhao: has found that a compound molecule used for drug delivery of insulin could be used to treat glioblastoma, an aggressive, usually fatal form of brain cancer. Glioblastoma, also known as…

Photo of man standing in front of NMR machine
GlyGen will integrate glycoscience data to combat pathogens

Glycans, or complex sugars, cover the surfaces of our cells and play a key role in biological processes ranging from interacting with other cells to recognizing and fighting pathogens. A new informatics portal is helping to illuminate the world of glycoscience: UGA partnered with George Washington University to create GlyGen (glygen.org), a glycoscience informatics portal funded by a $10 million grant from the National…

photo of woman in front of building, day
Amazing student: Kaitlin Luedecke

Goldwater Scholar, chemistry major and Chicago native Kaitlin Luedecke is on track to become a chemistry professor and hopes to inspire a new generation of scientists both in the classroom and in the laboratory: University highlights, achievements, awards and scholarships: Spring break 2019 I traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Colonia, Uruguay, with some other UGA Foundation Fellows, and I had the time of my life! I attended some…

photo of two people seated looking at laptop
Research enlivens the role of so-called ‘dead’ enzymes

Bioinformatics doctoral candidate Annie Kwon, working with UGA professor Natarajan Kannan and a team of researchers, is first author on a recent paper revealing that a class of enzymes previously thought to be useless is prevalent across all domains of life in fact serves an important purpose in cell communications: The study, published in Science Signaling, evolved from Kwon’s research trip to the University of…

Photo of ten people in a warehouse interior
Summer History Fellows engage with creative research

The history department hosted eight undergraduate students during July for the History Fellows Summer Institute. The program is an opportunity to share the University of Georgia with college students from underrepresented groups attending schools around the region and to build better relationships with their institutions. The focus of the History Fellows Summer Institute is to create broad new inroads for underrepresented students from…

photo of woman with color graphic and man with microscope in background
Interdisciplinary Seed Grants will support UGA research

After a successful first round of grants, seven new faculty teams - and six that include faculty from the Franklin College - have been awarded funds through a second round of Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants: When the Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants were first awarded in 2017, 12 faculty teams received funds totaling some $1.37 million. The work enabled by those seed grants supported subsequent applications…

photo of woman outside
Doctoral candidate selected as Minority Fellow

The American Sociological Association (ASA) has selected Malissa Alinor, a PhD candidate at the University of Georgia, as one of their new Minority Fellows. Alinor also received her master’s degree in sociology from UGA. The Minority Fellows Program provides a stipend, mentoring and a cohort opportunity to predoctoral minority students. The new Fellows will attend the 2019 Annual Meeting in New York City where they will participate in a full…

photo of large group of people with statue outdoors
UGA hosts Radiocarbon and Archaeology 9th International Symposium

More than 100 researchers gathered in Athens in May when the University of Georgia hosted the Radiocarbon and Archaeology 9th International Symposium. The symposium, held at the Classic Center, showcased current archaeological research that employs radiocarbon dating, as well as recent developments in the radiocarbon technique. Along with a full range of academic sessions and lectures, the symposium also included several social events and field…

blue and white map graphic, with inset and scale
Deer teeth unveil climate mystery of the Mayans

Though causes of the civilizational collapse that took place in the Maya lowlands of southeastern Mexico and Central America during the Terminal Classic Period (1200 – 900 before present) remain uncertain, changing precipitation patterns have long been suspected. Now, a new study from the University of Georgia and the Florida Museum of Natural History establishes fossilized white-tailed deer teeth as part of the climate record, a reliable proxy…

phot off prison bars and corridor
Mental health and imprisonment

Sociology doctoral student Timothy Edgemon co-authored "Inmate Mental Health and the Pains of Imprisonment," a paper discussing the large majority suffering from poor mental health among the 2 million people currently incarcerated in the United States. He spoke about the paper with public radio station WRVO in New York: Prison isn't supposed to be a fun place. It's meant to be depriving. It's…

aerial photo of water puddles on glacier
June research news and expertise notes

Even during the quiet days of June, Franklin College faculty expertise never sleeps! Here are a few of the many articles written by or featuring the work of faculty members from across the college over the past month:   Meteorologists fear 5G network could take forecasting back to the 1980s, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Geography Marshall Shepherd speaking on CBS This…

photo of woman with plant leaves
Katrien Devos recognized as Fellow of Crop Science Society of America

Professor of crop and soil sciences and plant biology Katrien M. Devos has been named a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America: Her nomination and selection as a CSSA Fellow recognizes a career dedicated to breaking new ground in understanding the genetics and evolutionary biology of crops and in the search for more resilient and sustainable crop varieties. From mapping the genomes of orphan crops, like finger and foxtail millet, to…

side by side photos of two men
Using swine models for neurological research

Researchers in the UGA Regenerative Bioscience Center have used an imaging method normally reserved for humans to analyze brain activity in live agricultural swine models, and they have discovered that pig brains are even better platforms than previously thought for the study of human neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s: By using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), the researchers…

photos of one woman and one man
Students, alumni win NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Seven UGA graduate students earned highly competitive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships this year, and six UGA alumni also have earned the fellowship, which includes three years of financial support that includes an annual stipend of $34,000 plus a $12,000 cost of education allowance and networking and professional development opportunities: Doctoral student Jordan Chapman said he was attracted to the…

headshot of woman
Roberts-Galbraith receives McKnight Scholar Award

University of Georgia faculty member Rachel Roberts-Galbraith has received the 2019 McKnight Scholar Award, which recognizes scientists in the early stages of their careers working in the field of neuroscience. An assistant professor of cellular biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Roberts-Galbraith is the first UGA faculty member to receive the award.  “Dr. Roberts-Galbraith’s studies are a unique combination of…

graphic estimates on map outlines
Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies will investigate planet’s integrated system

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a national consortium of academic and nonprofit institutions, with leadership from the University of Maryland College Park (UMD) and North Carolina State University focused on improving our understanding of how the atmosphere, ocean, land, and biosphere of Earth interact with each other and with human activity as an integrated system. The Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth…

photo of students auditorium classroom with laptops
CAREER research program to focus on active learning

One key to improving undergraduate education and student achievement across the STEM disciplines, as well as more broadly across the campus, is the integration of evidence-based teaching strategies – using what works most effectively for student learning. Now, a University of Georgia faculty member will lead a five-year, national scale research and education project to better understand and support the use of evidence-based teaching in…

photo of woman next to podium on dais
Kudos, April 2019

Honors week, new grants and a Guggenheim Fellowship headline the accolades for Franklin faculty announced during the month of April: The 2019 CURO symposium’s first day also included a keynote address by Jennifer McDowell, professor and chair of the Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, on the topic of “Minding Your Brain.” McDowell spoke to a packed house about the…

photo of woman, with blurred face in the foreground
Samantha Joye named Regents’ Professor

Samantha Joye, an internationally recognized University of Georgia marine scientist who studies the complex interplay between microbes and large-scale ecological processes in the oceans, has been named Regents’ Professor, effective July 1: Joye is Athletic Association Professor of Arts and Sciences in the department of marine sciences, part of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Regents’ Professorships are bestowed by the Board of Regents…

photo of woman with computer boards
New open-access data resource supports collaboration in global infectious disease research

An international team of researchers has launched the Clinical Epidemiology Database, an open-access online resource enabling investigators to maximize the utility and reach of their data and to make optimal use of information released by infectious disease researchers around the world: The development of ClinEpiDB has been led by the University of Pennsylvania’s David Roos, the E. Otis Kendall Professor of Biology in the …

photo of two men in lab
NIH provides long-term funding for Escalante microbiology lab

The National Institutes of Health announced a Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) granted to UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor Jorge C. Escalante-Semerena of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of microbiology. MIRA grants are designed to increase the efficiency of NIH funding by providing investigators with greater stability and flexibility, thereby enhancing scientific productivity and the chances…

headshot of man, with color block
Simons receives SEC Faculty Achievement Award

Distinguished Research Professor Ronald L. Simons has been named the University of Georgia’s recipient of the 2019 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award: The SEC award recognizes professors with outstanding records in teaching and scholarship and is administered by provosts at each of the 14 universities in the conference. Simons, who is a faculty member in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ department of …

graphic of probability value
'Statistical significance' reaches its limits

Scientists are re-assessing one of their own most fundamental measurements: the use of statistical significance in research findings (as well as funding). An editorial co-authored by UGA statistics professor Nicole Lazar and published this week in a special issue of The American Statistician urges scientists to stop using the term: The issue, Statistical Inference in the 21st Century: A World Beyond P<0.05, calls for an…
Subscribe to research