Laboratory of Molecular Biology

Michelle Holland, student services coordinator in the cellular and molecular biology graduate program (CMB), Campus Impact Award.

Michelle Holland, student services coordinator in the cellular and molecular biology graduate program (CMB), Campus Impact Award. Holland has been in her position for four years, coordinating students in the largest graduate program on campus. Nominator Bill Bement, chair of the program and professor of zoology, writes that before Holland took over, the program was resistant to change

.“Michelle started actively seeking ways to improve the program, at first in small ways that were entirely her responsibility and then, increasingly, at a level that involved the CMB faculty leadership,” he writes in Holland’s nomination letter.

Holland has worked to strengthen the mechanics of the program by ensuring smoother student progression, improve recruiting, and developed new leadership and educational opportunities for students. “By providing a sympathetic ear for current students, she was able to determine what they wanted out of a program beyond what CMB was already providing,” writes Bement. “It is hard to imagine anyone who has a greater impact for UW students than Michelle.”

Kevin Eliciri, director of LOCI, has been awarded the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research as an Independent Investigator

Kevin is an internationally known expert in advanced light microscopy in the Laboratory for Optical and Computational Instrumentation (LOCI) in the Graduate School and College of Engineering. The mission of LOCI is to develop advanced optical and computational techniques for imaging and experimentally manipulating living specimens.

As director of LOCI, Eliceiri oversees the day-to-day operations of the lab and has initiated research collaborations with faculty across the university. Several collaborations have resulted in high-impact publications and grant awards. He is also the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health-funded project to develop software to annotate and archive microscopy data .

“One of the striking characteristics of Kevin is his perpetual optimism, his ‘can-do’ attitude and the enthusiasm and energy that he readily employs to help other investigators with interesting and challenging problems,” writes his nominator, John White.

Professor Laura Kiessling (CMB Trainer) selected as the recipient of the 2008 Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal from Yale University
	The Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal is an honor presented each year by the Graduate School Alumni Association to a small number of outstanding alumni. The medal recognizes distinguished achievements in scholarship, teaching, academic administration, and public service-all areas in which the legendary Dean Cross excelled. It is the highest honor bestowed by Yale upon its alumni.

From Darwin to DNA
	*Wisconsin People & Ideas* cover story, “From Darwin to DNA,” explores how Carroll and scientists like him are literally “unlocking Darwin’s tool kit.” Carroll presents us with a concrete understanding of how different species’ body forms are created and change over time. >complete story

CMB Trainer Ahna Skop receives Presidential Early Career Award
	Geneticist Ahna Skop was one of two UW-Madison faculty members to receive the highest honor bestowed upon scientists in the early stages of their careers. The Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) recognize top junior researchers who have demonstrated exceptional potential and leadership at the frontiers of science.

Michael Culbertson selected by AAAS
	Michael R. Culbertson, professor of genetics and molecular biology, selected as a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for advances in yeast genetics, including the discovery of the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay pathway, a post-transcriptional mechanism that regulates yeast gene expression. The awards are announced in the Oct. 26 issue of Science.

John White receives Discovery Seed Grant

Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Seed Grant recipient. Taking its cue from the lenses found in mammalian eyes and the compound eyes of insects, an eight-member team of electrical engineers, biomedical engineers, surgeons, ophthalmology researchers and optics experts will use micro-engineering techniques to create low-cost and biologically friendly micro-lenses with performance superior to their natural counterparts.

Coulter Translational Research Partnership in Biomedical Engineering oversight committee has selected research projects for funding
	Assistant Professor Brenda Ogle, Transplantation Surgery Assistant Professor Luis Fernandez, Director of LOCI, Kevin Eliceiri and Surgery Associate Scientist Matthew Hanson received $100,000 for their project, “Multichannel multiphoton flow cytometry for the characterization of pancreatic islets.”

Academic Staff Member, Yoshiro Saimi, receives honorary title
Drs. Saimi, Kung & White	Yoshiro Saimi recognized as the first UW-Madison Graduate School recipient of the honorary title of Research Professor. This title, awarded only to truly extraordinary academic staff members, formally acknowledges Yoshiro's outstanding contributions to the campus and to the world community beyond as an accomplished and highly respected scientist.