Cal State Los Angeles Biological Sciences

Attention Biology MS students Please see the attached flyer for an exciting research opportunity!

Earlier this fall, Dr. Howard Xu was recognized by Cal State LA as one of four recipients of 2019 Outstanding Professor Award for significant achievement in scholarly inquiry or creativity, as well as professional activities and community service (http://www.calstatela.edu//cal-state-la-announces-outstand). Dr. Xu directs an applied microbiology and biotechnology lab at Cal State LA, where students conduct research on novel antibiotics and elucidation of mechanisms of patho...genesis of bacterial pathogens. He has mentored master’s, undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students, resulting in more than 40 peer-reviewed publications from his lab. He is also the director of incubator development and programming for Cal State LA BioSpace, which is leading the university’s collaboration with private-sector firms and government agencies to promote inclusive entrepreneurship, innovation, workforce development, and commercialization of the regional bioscience industry in the heart of Los Angeles. You may view a short video about Dr. Xu uploaded by the university on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvUZQJg9Ofo Congrats to Dr. Xu!

Job Opportunity - Please Share! Organization: Kite Pharma Position: QC Technician ... About: This person will be responsible for performing tests of raw materials, and final products by following bioassays. Operating equipment & instruments that are supporting bioassays, flow Cytometry, ELISA, and PCR assays. Review and revise SOP's, validation, protocols and reports. 6 Month Contract to Hire Max Pay Rate: $20.00/HR Schedule: 4/10 Wednesday-Saturday (40 Hours) Qualifications: Bachelor or Master’s degree in biotechnology or related field. Experienced in analytical techniques such as Flow Cytometry, ELISAs, qPCR, and/or cell bioassays and other applicable methods to the testing of biopharmaceuticals. Not all are needed but at least proficiency in one! Application: Interested candidates should contact Diana Norris,recruiter, at (213)404-4140 and send resume to [email protected].

Department Faculty Spotlight Dr. Edith Porter was the recipient for the 2020 ASM Award for Education. This award recognizes general excellence in microbiology education whereby education is broadly defined and meant to include any and all activities that inform and motivate students about the discipline of Microbiology. The American Society for Microbiology is with over 30,000 members, including researchers, educators, and health professionals, one of the largest life sciences societies in the world. Dr. Porter’s teaching and research is in the area Microbiology and Immunology. She is faculty advisor of the ASM-CSULA Student Chapter and a board member of the Southern California Branch of the American Society for Microbiology. Congrats to Dr. Porter!

Come join us for our next seminar on November 7th - see attached flyer for details!

Please join us this Thursday (9/18) for our fall seminar series talk:"An integrative systems genetic analysis of mammalian lipid metabolism" by Dr. Thomas Vallim from UCLA. The seminar will be held at 3pm in BIOS 334 We hope to see you there!

Congratulations to Dr. Susan Cohen who has been awarded a prestigious NSF CAREER Award to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of the circadian clock in cyanobacteria! The Faculty Early Career Development Program award- CAREER for short- is National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education. Dr. Cohen plans to integrate her research into inquiry based lab modules throughout the BIOL and MICR curriculum. Dr. Cohen is only the second faculty member at Cal State LA to have received this award.

Congratulations to Dr. Ashley Heers for securing a $15,000 seed grant from California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB)! This year, CSUPERB received 120 proposals from faculty members at 21 different CSU campuses. Averaged across all programs, awards were made to 27% of the proposals received. A very competitive program indeed! This grant will fund the proposal: Avian ‘athletes’: functional implications of skeletal development"... This research will be done to improve our understanding of locomotion and provide students with valuable skill sets for careers in medicine, exercise science, bioengineering, and many biological disciplines. Using birds as a model system, our researchers will use recent advances in imaging and modeling techniques to explore functional implications of skeletal development, through two questions: (1) How does muscle orientation change in response to developmental changes in bone size, shape, and/or orientation? (2) How do changes in muscle orientation influence muscle function?

Please join us on Thursday (5/2) for our spring seminar series talk:"The Impact of Climate Change on the Distribution of Riparian and Riverine Species in Southern California" by PhD candidate, Jennifer Taylor! See attached flyer for details!

Our department's Naturalist Club will be carpooling on Thursday May 2nd from campus to a screening of the documentary, The River and the Wall! Even if you are not a member of the Naturalist Club, you are more than welcome to join! This is especially exciting because a recent graduate alumni from our biological sciences department (and the naturalist club), Heather Mackey, is a character in this documentary. Heather and her team spent two and a half months traversing the wild...erness of Texas along the border to document the potential impacts that a border wall would have on the natural environment, while also touching the political side. The specific screening that the club plans to go to will be in Arcadia, at AMC Santa Anita 16, on May 2nd from 7:30 - 10:00PM. Ticket Order Link: https://www.tugg.com/events/the-river-and-the-wall-sbd_ Also, if you plan on attending, please fill out the club's google sign-up survey as they plan to have carpools from campus! You are more than welcome to bring other people along to this event! Sign-up survey Link: https://forms.gle/W11eTx9GcU7pn6RL9

2019 BioBash happening now in the lobby of La Kretz Hall - join us for poster presentations and pizza!

Are you looking for an upper division elective for Fall '19? See our special lecture topics class offered by Dr. Wright - Community Ecology!