At #UCDavis today: Vance Vredenburg: ‘Amphibians at the forefront of the Sixth Mass Extinction’

Dr. Vance Vredenburg will be speaking on ‘Amphibians at the forefront of the Sixth Mass Extinction’ at 4:10pm in 176 Everson Hall today, Thursday Oct 22.

Dr. Vredenburg is a leading amphibian conservation ecologist, and an Associate Professor at San Francisco State University. He earned his doctorate at U.C. Berkeley.

All are welcome to attend his ‘no-host dinner’ at 5:30 (location to be announced at the seminar). Also, grad students/postdocs who responded to the lunch invitation are reminded to attend, 12 noon in 1017 Wickson.

Here is a copy of the information from his website: http://biology.sfsu.edu/people/vance-vredenburg

“ Vance Vredenburg was raised in Mexico and the United States. His scientific training began as an undergraduate at the University of California Santa Barbara where he worked on ecological research projects in coastal California, Alaska, the Caribbean and Antarctica. His Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley (2002) included whole-lake experiments that showed recovery of declining frogs in the Sierra Nevada, California after removal of introduced trout. His current research focuses on the impacts of emerging infectious amphibian disease (e.g. chytridiomycosis), the phylogeography of amphibians (using genetics, morphology, and mating behavior), and climate change impacts on aquatic food webs using stable isotopes. Vredenburg is the co-founder of AmphibiaWeb (www.AmphibiaWeb.org), an online conservation resource for the world’s amphibians. His research is currently funded by the National Science Foundation and seeks to understand how some populations of frogs survive epidemics. Vance Vredenburg is a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.”

Asst. Prof. in Quantitative Ecology at UCSB h/t @seb_schreiber

Posting this which I got from Sebastian Schreiber

Assistant Professor Quantitative Ecology, UCSB

The Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology (EEMB; www.eemb.ucsb.edu) at the University of California, Santa Barbara invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in Quantitative Ecology, at the rank of Assistant Professor. We are searching for a highly creative and interactive scholar who fits into our multidisciplinary department. The area and system of study are open, although we are most interested in candidates who will address fundamental topics in ecological theory through the use of modeling and analytical approaches. We encourage applications from candidates who adopt an integrative approach in their research.

The candidate is expected to have or develop an internationally recognized research program, mentor graduate and undergraduate students in the candidate’s area of expertise, and teach both graduate and undergraduate courses. This position requires a PhD at the time of appointment.

Applicants should submit: 1) a cover letter, 2) a curriculum vitae, 3) a statement of research that covers research accomplishments and future plans, 4) a statement of teaching experience and interests, 5) three selected publications, and 6) letters of recommendation from three to four persons with the ability to evaluate the candidate.
EEMB is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching and service.
Submit applications electronically at: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/apply/JPF00583
Review of applicants will begin November 25, 2015 and will continue until the position has been filled.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

#UCDavis Provost’s Forum 10/21 “Universities, Hospitals and the Social Good” w/ Julie A. Freischlag & Glenn Richard Olds

Dear UC Davis Faculty, Staff, Students and Community Members,

We are delighted to announce that the first lecture in the 2015–16 season of the Provost’s Forums on the Public University and the Social Good will take place on Wednesday, October 21, 2015.

The first lecture of the season, titled “Universities, Hospitals and the Social Good,” features Julie A. Freischlag, Vice Chancellor for Human Health Sciences and Dean of UC Davis School of Medicine, and Glenn Richard Olds, founding Dean of UC Riverside School of Medicine and President of St. George’s University. Our speakers will talk about the complex and interconnected relationship between medical schools and the hospitals and other clinical settings that they rely on to train medical students. Dean Freischlag will discuss the benefits and challenges of partnerships between universities and hospitals, as well as share insights on opportunities for mutual success during a time of intense change in health care and health education. Dr. Olds will discuss how the new medical school at UC Riverside was built around community needs, using the community’s resources as a teaching platform. He also will discuss his work on replicating this model on a national scale in his new position as the President of St. George’s University in Grenada.

The event will take place at the Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom in King Hall (UC Davis School of Law) from 3 to 4:30 p.m. with a reception to follow until 5 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

For more details about this event, please see the attached flyer or contact Francis Santos​.​

In addition, please forward this information to any interested parties, as all events are free and open to the public.

Freischlag & Olds_10-21-15.pdf

I cannot wait: Rachel Whitaker is coming to #UCDavis 10/29 to talk about viruses in microbial populations

Dr. Rachel Whitaker

Associate Professor of Microbiology

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“What Won’t Kill Me Makes Me Stronger: Expanding the Role of Viruses in Natural Microbial Populations”

Thursday, October 29, 2015

4:10 p.m.

1022 Life Sciences

Host: Scott Dawson

(scdawson)

(If you wish an appointment with the invited speaker, please contact the host.)

Today at #UCDavis: Claudia Schmidt-Dannert on Natural Products from Fungi

Just got sent this … looks like it should be good (although am annoyed at the use of the term "higher")

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 4:10 PM

179 Chemistry

Host: Justin Siegel

refreshments in Room 172 before the seminar

Prof. Claudia Schmidt-

Dannert
Dept. of Biochemistry University of Minnesota

“Uncovering the Natural Products Potential of Higher Fungi (Basidiomycota)”

CSchmidt-Dannert10.13.2015Siegel.pdf

EMBO Symposium “A New Age of Discovery for Aquatic Microeukaryotes” 1/26-29, 2016

Posting this notice I receive from Jon Kaye at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation:

Colleagues –

We have lined up a fantastic group of speakers for the upcoming EMBO Symposium on aquatic protist ecology and evolution and are seeking additional speakers and poster contributions to be selected from submitted abstracts!

Abstract submission deadline is approaching — October 22. The symposium is stimulated by the completion of the Marine Microbial Eukaryote Transcriptome Sequencing Project (MMETSP) and major milestones achieved by the Tara Oceans and Malaspina expeditions. The goal is to bring together the MMETSP, Tara Oceans, Malaspina, and well-established protist model systems communities. The Symposium will take place in Heidelberg, Germany from 26–29 January 2016.

http://www.embo-embl-symposia.org/symposia/2016/EES16-01/index.html

Invited speakers include the following scientists whose specialties range from marine and freshwater microeukaryote ecology to studies of long-standing protist model systems such as Tetrahymena and Chlamydomonas:

http://www.embo-embl-symposia.org/symposia/2016/EES16-01/speakers_gallery/index.html

The sessions are:

1. And You May Ask Yourself, “Well…How Did I Get Here?”: Biodiversity Patterns across Space and Time
2. Love–Hate Relationships: Intimate Interactions, from Trophic Interactions to Symbiosis
3. Weird and Wonderful Organelles and Symbionts—Photosynthesis, Respiration, and Beyond
4. Knock, Knock—Who’s There? Extracellular Signaling
5. Genetic Transportation: Causes and Consequences of Gene Exchange in Protists
6. Small Microbe, Big World: Microeukaryotes in Aquatic Ecosystems
7. Situation Normal, All Stressed Out
8. Evolutionary Tipping Points: How Do Protists Adapt?

The organizers will be selecting poster and additional oral presentations from the submitted abstracts. The abstract submission deadline is 22 October 2015, and the registration deadline is 3 December 2015.

Wrap up of talk by Rich Lenski at UC Davis

Rich Lenski gave a talk today at UC Davis – part of a two talk series. This was a presentation more for the public and tomorrow he gives one more for the science crowd. Today’s talk was a really nice overview of Lenski’s work on long term evolution experiments in E. coli. I made a Storify of the tweets about the talk:

At #UCDavis 10/8: MicroRNAs and the diabetic beta cell

Dr. Anath Shaleve

Professor of Medicine

Nancy R. and Eugene C. Gwaltney Family Endowed Chair in Juvenile Diabetes Research

Director, Comprehensive Diabetes Center

University of Alabama at Birmingham

“MicroRNAs and the diabetic beta cell”

Thursday, October 8, 2015

4:10 p.m.

1022 Life Sciences

Host: Mark Huising

(mhuising)

(If you wish an appointment with the invited speaker, please contact the host.)

Shalev_Mtg Notice.pdf

Faculty position: Plant Evolutionary Biologist at CSUN

Dear Colleagues:

Cal State Northridge is hiring a Plant Evolutionary Biologist and I’m seeking your help to identify any qualified candidates. Ideally, we’re looking for somebody with expertise in molecular systematics, but we’ll consider anybody that works on evolutionary questions associated with plants and has a strong record.

Although Cal States don’t have the reputation of most R-1 schools, CSUN is an exception in that our President and Provost are pushing research more than most Cal States and putting their money where their mouth is. Despite having to teach slightly more than some places, I’ve found enough time and resources to do what I want here (well, at least as much time as any of us have to do what we want). I’d appreciate your forwarding this along to people that you think might be appropriate.

Qualifications:

California State University, Northridge, seeks a Plant Evolutionary Biologist to become a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Biology. Applicants’ research should address evolutionary questions in plant biology, with a preferable focus on molecular systematics. Applicants must have a Ph.D. and postdoctoral experience. Teaching will include Evolutionary Biology, Flowering Plants, and/or an upper division course developed by the applicant. The successful candidate is expected to develop a vigorous research program involving undergraduate and M.S. students, aggressively seek extramural funding, demonstrate teaching excellence, and provide effective instruction to students of diverse backgrounds in a multicultural setting.

The successful candidate is expected to establish a productive research lab, preferably involving research on plants in their natural habitat and to collaborate with others in the department using molecular tools, including next-generation sequencing technologies. The Department of Biology has a fully functional Molecular Core Facility with an in-house Illumina Sequencer. Faculty in the department’s Ecology and Evolution area have a strong commitment to teaching courses in field biology and to offering students research experiences testing evolutionary ideas. We seek applicants who share this vision and have a strong interest in field research/teaching. The successful applicant will be expected to teach Evolutionary Biology (upper division majors course) and Flowering Plants (an upper division field and laboratory course), as well as specialty upper division majors and/or graduate level course(s) in their area of expertise.

At time of appointment, the successful candidate, if not a U.S. citizen, must have authorization from the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services to work in the United States.

Responsibilities:

• Develop a vigorous research program involving undergraduate and M.S. students and seek extramural research funds. • Demonstrate teaching excellence in coursework at multiple levels.
• Participate in department, college, and university service.

Application Deadline:

Screening will begin on November 1, 2015. Priority will be given to applicants who meet the screening deadline. However, the position will remain open until filled. Applicants should submit (1) a cover letter, (2) CV, (3) summary of research experience, (4) summary of teaching philosophy and experience, including how his/her teaching reaches a diverse student body, and (5) PDFs of three publications to: Applicants should also arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to plantevosearch. Although electronic applications are strongly encouraged, materials may also be sent to: Plant Evolutionary Biologist Search Committee, Department of Biology, California State University, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, California 91330-8303, USA. In later phases of the search process, applicants may be requested to provide verification of terminal degrees, licenses and certificates.

In later phases of the search process, applicants may be requested to provide verification of terminal degrees, licenses and certificates.

The full job ad can be found here: http://www.csun.edu/biosphere/PlantEvoSearch_aa1.pdf

Today at #UCDavis; Wolbachia population biology: from natural spatial spread to possible dengue control

This should be very interesting:

CPB Fall Quarter Seminar Reminder – Tuesday, September 29, 2015 – 4:10pm – 1022 Life Sciences *****

September 29: Michael Turelli

Professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology, UC Davis
Title: “Wolbachia population biology: from natural spatial spread to possible dengue control”