Tags: research

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Separating weather forecasts from pain

Millions of Americans suffer from pain-inducing conditions such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. New research from the University of Georgia shows significant association between warm, tropical air masses and emergency room visits for these conditions. But not in the way we might think: The new research by Christopher Elcik, lecturer of geography and atmospheric sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences,…

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Georgia Groundbreakers: Valentine Nzengung

Early research in explosives remediation to clean soil contaminated with perchlorate, an oxygen-adding compound used in the manufacture of solid rocket fuel, created a path for Valentine Nzengung, professor in the department of geology, to become one of UGA's most visionary inventors and a true Georgia Groundbreaker: He has spent countless hours in his laboratory studying the properties of some of humanity’s most dangerous…

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Liu receives NIH Career Award

The National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health recently granted a Career Award to Jiaying Liu, assistant professor in the department of communication studies. Career Awards are given to researchers to allow time for intensive development and training in biomedical, behavioral and clinical sciences. The five-year, near $1 million grant will allow Liu to gain additional training in functional magnetic…

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Peña, Bensasson, awarded Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study

Plant Biology Doctoral Student Jacqueline Joye Peña and her advisor Assistant Professor Douda Bensasson received the Gilliam Graduate Fellowship Grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The award provides Peña the opportunity to travel to important scientific conferences and meetings in her field, professional development workshops, and a competitive stipend in addition to allowance for diversity and inclusion activities at the…

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The color of food deserts: dollar store locations track real estate redlining practices

New research from the University of Georgia shows significant association between proximity to dollar stores and patterns of racial segregation in major U.S. metropolitan areas. Though the patterns vary across retail chains, the research shows racial classification to be a key predictor of store location. The new research by Jerry Shannon, associate professor of geography in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was published August 27…

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Two professors elected to NAI

The National Academy of Inventors has named two Franklin College faculty members to the 2020 class of NAI Senior Members. Richard Meagher, Distinguished Research Professor of Genetics, and Ronald Orlando, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and chemistry, are the first UGA researchers to receive the senior membership distinction. They join a new class of 38 prolific inventors representing 24 research universities along…

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A million little rings

Doctoral student uses dendrochronology—the study of tree rings—to explore the ancient environment, constructing a 5,177-year chronology of the Georgia coast, the longest in eastern North America: Kat Napora didn’t plan to study trees. The UGA grad student originally worked on shell middens, or ancient trash piles. She’d planned to continue researching them in Ireland, but a tip from a colleague led her to a site…

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Kudos, August 2020

Congratulations to the many Franklin College faculty, students, and alumni on awards, grants, fellowships and other recognition of scholarly activity we learned about over the summer. A sampling of recent accolades for our terrific colleagues: Lisa A. Fusillo, professor of dance in the Franklin College, has been selected by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi—the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor…

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New Research Reveals Effect of Global Warming on Greenland Ice Melt, Consequences for Sea Level Rise

New analysis of almost 30 years’ worth of scientific data on the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet predicts global sea level rise of at least 10 centimetres by the end of the 21st Century, per global warming trends. The estimates, which scientists warn are “conservative” given the powerful effects of changes in weather systems and possible ways of accelerating ice loss, are broadly consistent with recent predictions reported by…

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The toll of video fatigue

Something most everyone can relate to in our extended, present moment – Zoom Fatigue – has entered the lexicon to capture the emotional exhaustion, anxiousness, and worry that may accompany the high volume of virtual meetings. Kristen Shockley, associate professor of psychology, unpacks the HR impacts and how professionals can help in a new article: Understanding the physical and psychological factors behind video…

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Momany selected as MSA Fellow

University of Georgia faculty member Michelle Momany has been selected as a Fellow of the Mycological Society of America. Momany, professor of Plant Biology and associate dean in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was announced as an MSA Fellow at the organization’s first-ever virtual meeting in mid-July. The Mycological Society of America Fellow Award is granted to an outstanding member of the society for extended service and…

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$23M NSF grant accelerates glycomaterials research

Glycomaterials are produced by every living organism. They contain chains of sugars, called glycans, that have critical roles in health and disease. Of the four building blocks of life — glycans, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids — glycans are the most complex and most challenging to understand. The tool set for understanding these glycans, so crucial to life itself, lags far behind those available for understanding DNA, RNA and proteins.…

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Physical basis of language comprehension

With an assist from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, researchers are getting a better handle on where and how the brain assembles individual words into full sentences when a person listens to a story being read. In a new study, an international team of researchers, including a UGA cognitive scientist, report that a computational model based on the concept of "phrase structure” most closely matches functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)…

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Cyanotracker created to detect toxic algae

Outbreaks of harmful algae have increased in recent years due to warming trends and longer summer seasons. Also called cyanobacterial algal blooms or CyanoHABs, these large-scale ecological disturbances are often caused by increased urbanization, nutrient pollution, poor waste management and warming weather. The algae can produce toxins that are harmful to humans, pets and aquatic ecosystems. The CyanoTRACKER project, a collaboration between…

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Preparing for hurricane season during COVID-19

As COVID-19 cases continue to increase, the South faces another hazard in what experts are predicting to be a more active than normal hurricane season. The University of Georgia’s Marshall Shepherd shares what we need to know about preparing for the brunt of storm season during a global pandemic: Hurricane season 2020 is already shattering records, and it’s only July. The average hurricane season has about 12 named storms.…

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New leadership in UGA plant sciences

University strengths in plant sciences, genetics and across the life sciences attract world-renown expertise to campus that has built the UGA Plant Center into a research powerhouse. This summer, the plant sciences community welcomed two new leaders, as Jim Leebens-Mack and Wayne Parrott were named directors of the Plant Center and the Integrated Plant Sciences program, respectively, effective July 1: Taking over from interim director C.J.…

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Students pursue summer research through virtual REUs

REUs or Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs, funded by the National Science Foundation, typically offer students hands-on research experience through campus-based programs dedicated to a variety of topics. Shady Kuster is participating in an REU focused on genomics and computational biology that’s led by Jonathan Arnold. Additional REUs hosted online at UGA this summer include programs on nanotechnology and biomedicine, led by…

aerial photo of coastline in daylight
Ancient oyster shells provide historical insights

An interdisciplinary team of scientists studying thousands of oyster shells along the Georgia coast, some as old as 4,500 years, has published new insights into how Native Americans sustained oyster harvests for thousands of years, observations that may lead to better management practices of oyster reefs today. Their study, led by University of Georgia archaeologist Victor Thompson, was published July 10 in the journal Science…

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EMPOWER Lab receive $1 Million SAMHSA Grant

The EMPOWER Lab in the department of psychology - Engaging Minorities in Prevention Outreach Wellness Education and Research – is an important new development within our campus community. Racial stressors, the verbal, behavioral, or environmental stressors that individuals experience because of their race, may include being ignored or insulted by White coworkers, not being considered for jobs or positions, being told that…

photo of sunflowers growing in desert sand, with sky, day
Research unlocks genetic key to sunflower resilience

How do sunflowers grow in the desert? Wild sunflowers display extensive variation, both between and within species, and scientists have now reported that variation is preserved by blocks of “supergenes” that permit adaptation to different environments. Such evolutionary changes are normally broken apart across generations of mating. Considered one of the world’s most important oilseed crops, this finding should improve breeding of the…

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Krause receives IOM honor

The International Organization of Mycoplasmology has selected Duncan Krause as the 2020 Emmy Kleineberger-Nobel award for research in Mycoplasmology. The award for Dr. Krause, Professor Emeritus in the department of microbiology, was announced by the IOM in June.  Emmy Klieneberger-Nobel (February 15, 1892 – September 11, 1985) was a German Jewish microbiologist and a founder of mycoplasma bacterial research. She…

photo of two people on opposite site of lab table, with gloves, coats and masks
Resuming research

Under Phase 1 reopening protocols, the UGA research enterprise is up and running, marking the end of three anxious months for researchers across the university who had to suspend their work as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic: With its 17 schools and colleges spanning hundreds of scholarly and creative disciplines, UGA’s research enterprise is nearly as varied as its faculty. Anticipating the issues and concerns…

undersea photo of burrowing activity on sea floor
Burrowing animals control carbon cycling on the sea floor

Researchers from ETH Zurich and UGA show that the activity of burrowing worms, clams, and shrimp are the most important driver of the community structure of microorganisms in the Earth's biggest carbon sink: continental shelf sediments. The results were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Sediments underlying the world’s oceans and shelf seas cover >70% of the Earth’s surface area. These…

photo of man with MNR machine
Great Commitments: GRA Eminent Scholar Art Edison

As part of the CCRC and the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, Art Edison's wide-ranging expertise in metabolomics – used to characterize and identify the molecules that make up an organism, tissues, or cells – is an important resource for faculty collaborations in a range of critical research areas, including COVID-19: “Metabolites are the things that are responding to what’s going on in a…

still image from undersea video game, with diver and whale
Joye consults on new video game ‘Beyond Blue’

In a gaming experience that takes players into the near future to explore the mysteries of the ocean, “Beyond Blue” is a new video game launched by E-Line Media in conjunction with the BBC and the researchers behind its “Blue Planet II” series. The game allows players to become part of a new research team using groundbreaking technologies to see, hear and interact with the ocean in a meaningful way. University of Georgia Regents’ Professor…
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