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Physics and Astronomy joins elite group promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion

ilseu — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 17:36:45 +0000

Physics and Astronomy joins elite group promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion ilseu Mon, 10/19/2020 - 10:36 More College News Iqbal Pittalwala | Inside UCR October 19, 2020

The UCR Department of Physics and Astronomy has been accepted to the American Physical Society Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance, or APS-IDEA, joining a consortium of physics departments, laboratories, and research collaborations committed to improving equity, diversity, and inclusion.

APS-IDEA, a network of nearly 100 institutions worldwide, addresses long-standing, systemic barriers that have led to underrepresentation of marginalized groups in physics.

According to the American Institute of Physics National Task Force to Elevate African American Representation in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy, less than 4% of bachelor’s degrees in physics are awarded to African Americans and only 21% are awarded to women. The underrepresentation of these and other excluded groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community and ethnic minorities, has been attributed to a complex system of discrimination, harassment, and lack of a supportive environment.

According to Flip Tanedo, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy and recent recipient of a Commitment to Graduate Diversity Award, diversity in the UCR Department of Physics and Astronomy undergraduate enrollment comes largely from the Latino/a community.

“Many Latina undergraduate students are also first-generation college students,” said Tanedo, who was a first-generation university student and is the first Filipino-American faculty member of particle physics. “Physics is not a common major among first-generation students; so this is quite encouraging and suggests we are doing quite well in comparison to several other institutions.”

Of the 164 undergraduate students accepted into the department in Fall 2019, 80 identified as Chicano/Latino; 35 as Asian; 32 as white; eight as two or more races; six as international; two as Black/African American; and one as American Indian/Alaskan Native. Nearly 80% identified as male; the rest as female. Nearly 55% identified as first-generation, 40% were low-income, and more than 48% received Pell grants. Among female students, nearly 62% were first-generation.

The UCR team that made the application to APS-IDEA includes faculty, staff, and students in the department as well as Mariam Lam, vice chancellor and chief diversity officer.

Tanedo said the APS-IDEA effort was led by physics students, especially those from the relatively new Physics Organization for Womxn and the Under-Represented.

“When the APS IDEA leadership welcomed our team, they specifically were impressed by our past work and the fact that the efforts are student-led," he said.

In its response, APS-IDEA noted that “the review committee was unanimous in its opinion that this team should be accepted into the network. The committee was impressed with the department’s history of EDI efforts and the fact that the main driver of this application was its graduate students. The committee sees this as an opportunity for cultural change to occur in the department led both from the grass-roots level and the leadership.”

Within the UC system, physics departments at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Cruz have also been accepted into APS-IDEA.

The American Physical Society, representing more than 55,000 members, is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse knowledge of physics.

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UCR to take part in Great California ShakeOut on October 15

ilseu — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 05:23:29 +0000

UCR to take part in Great California ShakeOut on October 15 ilseu Mon, 10/12/2020 - 22:23 More College News UCR OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT September 30, 2020

Following FEMA’s “National Preparedness Month” in September, UCR will be joining individuals and communities throughout California in the twelfth annual Great California ShakeOut earthquake drill.

Held annually on the third Thursday of October, the ShakeOut International Day of Action is set for Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 10:15 AM. During the self-led drill, participants practice how to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On”.

Endorsed by emergency officials and first responders, the safe response to an earthquake is to:

DROP where you are, onto your hands and knees. This position protects you from being knocked down and also allows you to stay low and crawl to shelter if nearby.

COVER your head and neck with one arm and hand
•   If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter
•   If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall (away from windows)
•   Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs

HOLD ON until shaking stops
• Under shelter: hold on to it with one hand; be ready to move with your shelter if it shifts
• No shelter: hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.

UCR will be testing all Campus Emergency Communication Systems during the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill including Emergency Notification System, Campus Email, R’Space, R’Web, 888-UCR-WARN, UCR Staff Voicemail, and testing of the ALERTUS System (including the Belltower Beacon). Due to COVID-19 this year’s building evacuation drills will not occur.

The Great California ShakeOut is coordinated by the State of California, the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium and its other Member and Associate States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey and dozens of other partners. ShakeOut is coordinated globally by the Southern California Earthquake Center in Los Angeles, California.

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CNAS meets Living the Promise campaign goal

ilseu — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 18:27:32 +0000

CNAS meets Living the Promise campaign goal ilseu Fri, 09/25/2020 - 11:27 More College News Iqbal Pittalwala | Inside UCR September 25, 2020

A gift made anonymously to the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UC Riverside has helped the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, or CNAS, in which the department is housed, meet and surpass its goal of raising $100 million toward the $300 million Living the Promise campaign, the university’s first ever comprehensive fundraising campaign

“Exceeding our $100 million goal is an incredible feat and the timing couldn’t be more critical,” said Kathryn Uhrich, dean of CNAS. “Despite facing one of the most challenging times in recent history, supporters recognize how much value CNAS and UCR bring to our local and global communities.”

By advancing faculty research, providing scholarships for students, and enhancing programs in CNAS, the generosity of the college’s donors will further UCR’s standing as an international leader in education and research.

“This generosity also demonstrates the confidence our supporters have in our students, faculty, and staff to drive discovery, innovation, and education,” Uhrich said. “We are incredibly grateful for every gift made that helped CNAS reach its campaign goal. The anonymous gift of $600,000 that pushed us over the $100 million mark is especially meaningful. After dedicating more than 30 years of service to the UCR community, an emeritus faculty member will continue his legacy by supporting graduate and undergraduate students with physics scholarships.”

The anonymous gift, made earlier this month, is the largest gift the Department of Physics and Astronomy has received.

“The receipt of this generous gift, which will be used to fund prestigious student fellowships, helps to propel the UCR Department of Physics and Astronomy to the next level,” said Kenneth Barish, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

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COVID-19 lab begins testing campus community

ilseu — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 20:53:16 +0000

COVID-19 lab begins testing campus community ilseu Wed, 09/16/2020 - 13:53 More College News Imran Ghori | Inside UCR September 16, 2020

UC Riverside has begun testing students, staff, and faculty members for the coronavirus with the opening of a new diagnostic lab on campus this month.

The lab, located at the Multidisciplinary Research Building, or MRB, began operations in early September. The facility allows the campus to conduct its own independent testing at a faster rate and greater capacity than if it were to use an outside service, said Katherine Borkovich, a professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, who helped lead efforts to create the lab.

UCR Health organized the first campus drive-thru testing for staff and faculty members on Sept. 9 and 10 with about 70 employees providing samples over the two days. A week earlier, the lab worked with Student Health Services to test 68 resident advisors who will be living on campus this fall.

Both are part of the initial steps to begin an expanded and regular testing program that will allow the campus to avoid competing with other institutions for scarce testing supplies and resources, said Dr. Donald Larsen, CEO of UCR Health.

“We wanted to be sure we had the testing resources our campus needed to successfully reopen in a safe manner,” Larsen said.

Medical assistants from UCR Health work at a COVID-19 drive-through sample collection outside the Student Recreation Center on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. (UCR/Stan Lim)

The drive-thru testing was held in the parking lot of the North Student Recreation Center with employees asked to make appointments in advance. Supervisors with employees working on campus were notified of the testing availability. Medical assistants at the entrance greeted each vehicle at the entrance, checked the names on the appointment list, and sent them to one of five canopy tents.

A different medical assistant then walked up to each vehicle, handing the employee a sheet of information on the test and a pipette to deposit a small sample of saliva. The pipette was placed in a sealed plastic bag and returned to the assistant who labeled it with the patient’s information.

The whole process was designed to take about 10 minutes to complete, said Dr. Andres Gonzalez, chief medical officer for UCR Health, who coordinated the sample collection efforts with Larsen.

Isgouhi Kaloshian, a professor and chair of the Department of Nematology who worked with Borkovich to create the lab, said they have continued to refine the testing process to increase efficiency.

Initially, lab staff used nasal swabs to collect samples but then switched to saliva tests. That has allowed them to increase their speed and testing capacity from 200 to 600 a day with the potential to increase it even more, Borkovich said. Both processes provide for results within 24 hours.

Saliva tests are also easier to administer, Gonzalez said, limiting contact with the patient in collecting a sample. He noted the medical assistants wore face shields, masks, and gloves but did not need full personal protective equipment for the drive-thru tests.

UCR Health will analyze the first results to refine the process as it expands testing opportunities in the future, Gonzalez said.

Zhaojie Meng, a staff member with Biomedical Sciences, is silhouetted as he collects his saliva for a COVID-19 test from his car on Wednesday, September 9, 2020.(UCR/Stan Lim)

“We definitely want everyone to have the option of being tested when they need to and we also want to test individuals on a regular frequency,” he said. “That way we can act on it on a timely basis.”

Student Health Services, under the direction of Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kenneth Han, has had ongoing limited testing at its clinic since March, but the recent testing of resident advisors at its clinic was the first time the campus lab was used, said William Rall, senior administrative director for the office.

“We’ve seen an immediate difference,” he said. “It’s about a fraction of the time.”

The process is less expensive and quicker, with results in 24 hours versus the weeklong wait with the outside lab, Rall said.

The office is putting together a plan for testing all students living on campus and those attending in-person classes. Those living in campus residence halls will be required to be tested before they move in and continue to be tested up to twice a week throughout the fall quarter.

Student Health Services plans to set up pop-up sample collection sites at or near the residence halls where students can check-in with a barcode on their smartphones, Rall said. Students will also be required to fill out a daily wellness check. Anyone experiencing symptoms will be asked not to come to the pop-up testing sites but will be tested separately.

For both employees and students, the campus has created a notification process to provide quick results, Larsen said. Those testing negative will be notified by email or text shortly after the results are available. Any positive results will be delivered via phone.

Larsen compared their goal to the process being used by athletics organizations such as the National Basketball Association where players are tested regularly and stay in a confined “bubble.”

“We need to sample very frequently our employees and our students as well as control the environment they’re living and working in,” he said.

COVID-19 drive-thru testing at UCR. (c) UCR/ Stan Lim

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Plant pathologists honored by international society

ilseu — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 20:57:28 +0000

Plant pathologists honored by international society ilseu Wed, 09/02/2020 - 13:57 More College News Steven Valenzuela | Inside UCR September 01, 2020

Caroline Roper, an associate professor of plant pathology; and Shou-Wei Ding, a professor of plant pathology; are among the 2020 award winners from an international professional organization of plant pathologists.

The American Phytopathological Society, or APS, regularly honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the science of plant pathology. Roper and Ding were presented with their awards at the APS annual meeting held online Aug. 4, 2020.

Caroline Roper

Roper received the Lee M. Hutchins Award due to her series of seven papers published in APS journals in the last 10 years, including Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions and Phytobiomes. The award is presented to authors of published research on basic or applied aspects of diseases of perennial fruit plants.

“It is truly an honor to have been recognized by my colleagues and the American Phytopathological Society, a professional society I have belonged to since starting graduate school,” Roper said, acknowledging her students, postdoctoral researchers, and others who contributed to her work.

Roper earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and her doctorate in plant pathology from UC Davis. As a faculty member at UCR, Roper studies the biology of the intricate interactions between pathogens and their hosts and other microbes that make up the plant host's microbiome.

Shou-Wei Ding

Ding received the Noel T. Keen Award for his research on the molecular basis of plant antiviral defense and virus counterdefense. The award recognizes research excellence in molecular plant pathology.

“It’s a great honor to receive the award named after Dr. Noel Keen, who was a distinguished professor from UCR and a pioneer leader in molecular plant pathology,” Ding said, adding that he wanted to thank his collaborators and funding agencies including the Department of Agriculture and California Citrus Research Board.

A faculty member at UCR for 20 years, Ding received his bachelor’s degree in plant protection from Anhui Agricultural College and a master’s in biology from Fudan University, both in China. Ding then earned his doctorate in plant molecular biology from Australian National University.

Ding's recent research has greatly advanced the understanding of the mechanism controlling antiviral RNA interference, or RNAi, in plants.

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Pierce Hall renovation progresses

ilseu — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 21:27:30 +0000

Pierce Hall renovation progresses ilseu Mon, 08/31/2020 - 14:27 More College News Imran Ghori | Inside UCR August 28, 2020

A $62.3 million renovation of Pierce Hall is nearing completion of its first phase while work on the second phase is underway.

The first phase improvements can be seen in the north and south wings, which now feature freshly painted hallways, brighter lighting, and modernized class and research laboratories.

The 114,000-square-foot facility, built in 1966, is one of the oldest on campus. The renovated facilities and installation of mechanical, electrical, heating/cooling ventilation, and plumbing upgrades will increase the efficiency of the building and replace equipment that had become harder to maintain, said Gerald Caraig, a senior project manager with the Office of Planning, Design and Construction.

First phase work began in 2019 with the north and south wings, which are now 95% complete. The second phase, concentrating on the center wing, began in February.

The first and second floors of the north wing saw extensive renovations with the interior concrete walls of former research labs demolished and new instructional labs built. One classroom laboratory is already in use by an instructor who made videos of experiments for his online chemistry class, Caraig said.

On the third floor, existing labs were remodeled to support low- to medium-intensity research.
The labs now include new fume hoods, television screens, case work lockers and drawers with chemical resistant epoxy tops, and electronic card operated door locks. Other improvements include a support room for lecturers and teaching assistants to prepare classroom material before their classes, a general assignment seminar room, and a remodeled chemical storage room.

A major element of the project is the replacement of old mechanical, electrical, heating/ventilation/air conditioning, and plumbing systems with more modern equipment. Fire alarm and sprinkler systems are also being updated. Those include equipment and fixtures in the basement that have been overhauled.

The center wing construction consists of installing new utilities, renovating restrooms, and adding new instructional labs on the first floor.

Much of the construction work was done while part of Pierce Hall was still in use for research and instruction. Crews worked night shifts to minimize disruption.

Since the campus closed in March, crews have been able to work normal shifts while the building has been mostly empty.

“It’s just made it that much easier for work to progress,” Caraig said.

The second phase of the project is expected to be completed by June 2021.

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Campus COVID-19 testing lab to open

ilseu — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 23:21:15 +0000

Campus COVID-19 testing lab to open ilseu Mon, 08/24/2020 - 16:21 More College News Imran Ghori | Inside UCR August 21, 2020

UC Riverside is opening a diagnostic lab that will allow for expanded and rapid testing of students, staff, and faculty members for the coronavirus.

The COVID-19 testing lab, located at the Multidisciplinary Research Building, or MRB, successfully tested its first sample on Aug. 12 and is expected to open in September.

The lab will allow the campus to conduct its own independent testing of the campus community at a rate of about 200 samples a day with results available within 24 hours, said Katherine Borkovich, a professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology.

Professors Isgouhi Kaloshian, left, and Katherine Borkovich led the effort to create a testing lab at the Multidisciplinary Research Building that will allow for rapid testing for the coronavirus. (UCR/Stan Lim)

Borkovich and Isgouhi Kaloshian, a professor and chair of the Department of Nematology, led the efforts to create the lab after they were approached in May by Kathryn Uhrich, dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, or CNAS.

The lab will start on a small scale when it opens next month before ramping up in the following weeks. It is expected to test all students in campus housing by the start of the fall quarter.

The campus began discussing creating its own lab in April with Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox appointing Rodolfo Torres, vice chancellor for Research and Economic Development, and Dr. Deborah Deas, vice chancellor for health sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin dean of the School of Medicine, to a group tasked with exploring that question.

“It’s one additional and important measure among all the others in place to mitigate the effects of the pandemic,” Torres said.

Staff and faculty members who interact with students and employees working on campus full-time will also be tested, he said. Eventually, the goal is to test all students, staff, and faculty members on campus at least once a month. The lab is also exploring increasing the frequency of testing.

Samples will be collected by health professionals from Student Health and UCR Health at designated locations on campus and delivered to the lab for analysis. UCR Health has already piloted a drive-through location where samples can be collected in 15-minute appointments.

Borkovich said studies show that regular testing can significantly reduce the risk of an outbreak.

Deas described the effort as the result of months of hard work and collaboration that will provide the campus with greater availability of testing and rapid turnaround of results.

“This will help us to provide a safer environment for our community for teaching, learning, and working, and will help us partner more effectively with Riverside County to control and prevent future outbreaks,” she said.

Student Health Services has had limited testing at its clinic since March but only for students showing symptoms or exposed to those who tested positive. The clinic used test kits from Quest Diagnostics, sending the samples off-site to a company lab for processing.

In recent weeks, health providers and public agencies in California and nationally have reported a shortage of COVID-19 testing kits and longer wait times for results, as much as two weeks.

UCR should not experience those issues with the new lab as the team is building its own kits and is conducting all testing on-site, Kaloshian said.

“They realize it’s essential there is a lab like ours on campus,” Kaloshian said of campus leadership.

She and Borkovich began the steps of putting together the lab in May, first adding three other members to their team, all from CNAS.

Rong Hai and Juliet Morrison are both assistant professors and virologists in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology and are experts in human RNA viruses. Matthew Collin, manager of the Institute for Integrative Genomic Biology Genomics Core and project scientist for the Dynamic Genome, rounded out the group with his expertise in instrumentation.

Matthew Collin, Genomics Core Manager, left, and Assistant Professor Juliet Morrison work together setting up the COVID-19 testing lab on Monday, August 10, 2020, at the Multidisciplinary Research Building. UCR/Stan Lim)

Kaloshian and Borkovich were appointed to a University of California-wide taskforce on testing and tracing with the goal of implementing testing on all UC campuses.

They learned from the other campuses, especially Santa Cruz and Berkeley, which like Riverside don’t have medical centers with existing clinical laboratory infrastructure.

Berkeley created a blueprint for a lab that is an extension of a clinical laboratory at a student health center. Hai is well-acquainted with the Berkeley researchers and consulted with them throughout the process. “That was absolutely a major help for us,” Borkovich said.

The five-member team reached out to colleagues to borrow equipment such as refrigerators, robots, and polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, machines. The process saved the campus money and the time it may have taken to obtain items that were in high-demand, Borkovich said.

All the equipment they needed was already in use in campus labs and researchers were happy to loan items, sometimes trading machinery in what Kaloshian described as “a bit of horse-trading.”

Almost all the equipment except robotic machinery was donated by CNAS faculty members or the RED incubator facility. Supplies such as tubes, swabs, plastic ware, solutions, and other chemicals were purchased to build the kits and conduct the tests.

Torres worked with Rosibel Ochoa, associate vice chancellor for Technology Partnerships, and others in RED and MRB to make incubator space on the first floor of the building available to house the lab. The building is already certified to meet biosafety level 2 requirements, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requires for COVID-19 testing.

The team members loaded and hauled much of the equipment themselves, assisted by staff members from RED and the MRB when they moved in.

The team worked closely with Student Health Services to meet all local, state, and federal regulatory requirements for the testing lab.

Assistant Professor Rong Hai prepares equipment in the COVID-19 testing lab on Monday, August 10, 2020, at the Multidisciplinary Research Building. (UCR/Stan Lim)

Clinical testing of patient samples requires certification from the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, or CLIA, program. Student Health Services already has CLIA certification for its clinic and the new lab will operate under that license. The School of Medicine and UCR Health leadership have also been coordinating with Riverside County officials about COVID-19 testing and reporting requirements.

The lab consists of two small rooms where testing is done in multiple steps. The samples are transferred from tubes into small racks under biosafety hoods using robotic arms. Each rack has 96 wells with the capacity to test samples, each less than a drop size at 10 microliters.

Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, which carries the genetic information of RNA viruses, is extracted from each sample and put though one of the PCR machines, which basically amplifies the signal of the virus and makes it easier to detect.

The procedure uses a kit approved by the FDA and adapted from other UC schools, Hai said.

“This will ensure the best biosafety practice and provide the highest sensitivity/specificity for detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in positive samples,” Hai said.

The data is logged into a computer database using a bar code scan system created by Information Technology Solutions that will track the sample throughout the process.

All personnel working in the lab must wear full personal protective equipment such as N95 masks, face shields, gloves, and gowns.

Morrison said additional robots are being purchased that will double the lab’s capacity.

"Testing and case investigation are absolutely necessary if the campus is to eventually reopen for in-person teaching,” she said.

Initially, Borkovich, Kaloshian and the rest of their team will work in the lab but they recently hired two lab technicians who will take over under their supervision.

Torres praised the faculty members who set up the lab, noting they took on the task in addition to their regular duties. He said the whole effort was possible by several groups coming together including CNAS, RED, Student Health Services, the School of Medicine, UCR Health, ITS, and Environmental Health and Safety.

“They say it takes a village,” Torres said. “It took a village. It shows a lot about what the university is about.”

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Chemistry professor receives research grant

ilseu — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 16:39:37 +0000

Chemistry professor receives research grant ilseu Fri, 08/21/2020 - 09:39 More College News Imran Ghori | Inside UCR August 19, 2020

Yinsheng Wang

Yinsheng Wang, a UC Riverside distinguished professor of chemistry, has won a highly competitive research grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, or NIEHS.

Wang was one of five scientists nationally to receive the Revolutionizing Innovative, Visionary Environmental Health Research, or RIVER, award which provides grant funding to mid-career and established researchers and supports groundbreaking projects in environmental health sciences. The institute, which announced the grants July 7, provided another six awards in a separate category for early career researchers.

Wang will study how alkylated DNA lesions affect genomic stability and can lead to diseases. His project was among those chosen to provide a greater understanding how specific genetic mechanisms can worsen diseases as part of environmental exposure.

The RIVER grant provides $7 million in funding for eight years to support research projects in the Wang laboratory.

“The RIVER award seeks scientists that have demonstrated the potential for continued innovative research and supports the majority of their established independent research program,” said Jennifer Collins, RIVER coordinator for NIEHS.

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Plants and empowerment

ilseu — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 16:36:42 +0000

Plants and empowerment ilseu Tue, 08/18/2020 - 09:36 More College News Jules Bernstein | Inside UCR August 18, 2020

Katayoon "Katie" Dehesh, president-elect of the American Society of Plant Biologists (Stan Lim/UCR)

Katayoon "Katie" Dehesh has many distinguished titles: director of UC Riverside’s Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, distinguished professor of molecular biochemistry, member of the German National Academy of Sciences, and now, president-elect of the American Society of Plant Biologists. But her attitude toward life can be summarized in a single word: power.

“My mantra is power, as my dream is to empower the young, strengthen their belief in the power of determination and positive thinking,” she said.

That mantra has taken Dehesh far in life. Originally from Iran, she developed an interest in plants that grow on soils with “unimaginably high salt content.” This interest took her to England, where she earned her doctorate in plant biology at Sussex University, and then back to Tehran for an assistant professorship at the National University.

Soon after accepting the position, Dehesh was banned from traveling and, like all women in Iran with medical or doctoral degrees, required to serve in the military. In 1980, just as the Iran-Iraq war began, she “heard the bells of revolution,” and left the country.

Dehesh then became the only foreigner and only woman at the time to obtain a tenure-track position at the University of Keil in Germany, where she studied the biochemistry of plant greening under stress. Her position gave her a unique opportunity to help empower female graduate students at the institute.

Her next move was to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to learn molecular biology, and then ultimately to UC Davis where her research shifted to general stress responses in plants.

She remained at Davis for 18 years, teaching and becoming chair of the plant biology graduate program, and the chair of Designated Emphasis on Biotechnology program. One memory stands out for her from those years that epitomizes her mantra.

Many of the classes she taught were large, comprised of as many as 600 students. One day, an undergraduate came to her, asking to postpone an exam due to some difficult personal issues.

“I told her that the power to solve her problems lay within her, and that she shouldn’t seek it externally,” Dehesh said.

Years later, a young lady Dehesh didn’t recognize came up to her in the gym and showed her the letter ‘P’ for power tattooed on her thumb. It was that same student, who heeded Dehesh’s advice and eventually got accepted into medical school.

“You helped make my life, and I’m going to give power to others now,” the student told Dehesh.

In 2016, Dehesh came to UCR as director of the Institute of Integrative Genome Biology. Her research is now focused on understanding the chemistry shared by plants and animals, with an eye toward using that knowledge to use plants as a platform for drug discovery.

She is also expanding the core activities of the institute to train undergraduates in analytical techniques that will open up pathways to employment.

The American Society of Plant Biologists was originally established in 1924 to promote the growth of plant biology as a discipline. Though ‘American’ is in its name, membership spans six continents and such diverse areas as academia, government laboratories, and private industry.

When Dehesh assumes the role of president on Oct. 20, her goal is to further integrate the plant biologists’ society with society at large, and to enhance opportunities for early career and underrepresented members.

“I want us to come out of our ivory tower, to engage with the public, explain what we do and how we can impact the next generation of educators, students, faculty members and everyone else,” she said.

Throughout her three-year tenure as president, she is sure to be guided by her lifelong mantra. “Power is just a word,” Dehesh said. “But it conveys a message we can give to others — and to ourselves.”

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UCR team receives COVID-19 research grant

ilseu — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 23:55:14 +0000

UCR team receives COVID-19 research grant ilseu Wed, 08/05/2020 - 16:55 More College News Imran Ghori | Inside UCR August 04, 2020

A UC Riverside research team is among 20 groups receiving funding to investigate problems related to COVID-19.

Elena Kozlova, a doctoral student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program, is working with Margarita Curras-Collazo, an associate professor of neuroscience, on the project.

Elena Kozlova

They are partnering with Ruth Gutiérrez Aguilar, a professor of medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, or UNAM.

The study will look at COVID-19 risk factors among obese, diabetic males in an experimental mouse model.

Margarita Curras-Cullazo

“Obesity in males increases 5.7-fold the risk for severe complications and death due to SARS-CoV-2,” said Curras-Collazo, referring to the virus that causes COVID-19. “This is concerning because over one-third of the U.S. and Mexico population are classified as obese.”

In 2019, Alianza UCMX was formed through the integration of three preexisting UC systemwide programs: the UC Institute for Mexico and the United States, the UC-Mexico Initiative, and Casa de la Universidad de California en Mexico. UC Riverside serves as the host campus for Alianza UCMX.

In April, Alianza UCMX and UNAM, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, launched a special call for binational collaboration addressing COVID-19.

Ruth Gutiérrez Aguilar

Proposals were submitted by students, faculty members, and other university researchers.

After a binational academic review, Alianza UCMX, and UNAM selected 20 research proposals submitted from researchers across the University of California and UNAM systems that address problems related to COVID-19 through innovative entrepreneurship, applied research, and technological development in three different research categories.

The UCR project was funded in the biomedical category.

“SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, affects not only the lung but also invades brain tissue, therefore, we will study changes in cognitive behavior since neurological symptoms are experienced by one-third of COVID-19 patients,” Kozlova said.

The team also plans to explore molecular markers in the brain associated with COVID-19-susceptible phenotypes. The technology that will help detect target genes in brain cells is a useful way to address their objective, said Gutiérrez Aguilar, who will work at UCR and help lead the team in the molecular biological experiments.

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