News

Each spring, the College of Biological Sciences celebrates graduating students whose achievements exemplify the spirit of discovery, leadership, and service that define UC Davis. At the college’s annual undergraduate awards ceremony, students are recognized for exceptional accomplishments in research, academics, mentorship, and community engagement.

Robert D. “Bob” Grey, Ph.D., a pillar of the UC Davis campus and community for nearly 60 years, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, in May at the age of 86.

Frédéric Chédin, a professor and chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and a renowned expert in genome biology, will be the next dean of the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences. Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan selected Chédin to lead the college following a nationwide search. He will start on September 1.

Thousands of times per year, a family’s moment of joy turns to unexpected grief. A seemingly healthy infant stops smiling or making eye contact. Their limbs grow weak. The tiny child suffers seizures and breathing problems.

Jawdat Al-Bassam, an associate professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Davis, often hears from these families. “I’ve gotten emails from folks all over the world,” he said.

Scientific breakthroughs don’t happen in isolation. They are built through mentorship, curiosity and hands-on discovery. In this month’s episode of Face to Face With Chancellor May, undergraduate researcher Azucena “Zucy” Virgen and Celina Juliano, an associate professor of cellular and molecular biology, share how their collaboration is advancing regenerative biology while shaping the next generation of scientists.

Iris Juanico was drawn to science by her innate curiosity.

“I never stop asking questions,” said Juanico, with a laugh. “I was drawn to science as a child because it involves asking a lot of questions.”

For Mark Winey, the path into biology was deeply personal from the start. Watching his sister live with an inherited metabolic disease sparked a curiosity about genetics that would shape his entire career.

He is this month’s guest on Face to Face With Chancellor May. 

Now a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and dean of the College of Biological Sciences, Winey reflects on a journey shaped by both personal motivation and professional passion.

It’s not often that a Nobel laureate visits a UC Davis undergraduate classroom, but this year, a biochemistry class in Kleiber Hall struck “gold”—twice.

Not one, but two Nobel laureates chronicled their scientific careers and answered questions during their virtual visits to UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal’s winter quarter class, “Structure and Function of Biomolecules.”

Fourth-year biological sciences major and Barry Goldwater Scholar recipient Azucena Virgen studies the regenerative biology of Hydra — a freshwater organism known for its ability to regrow entire body parts — at the UC Davis Juliano Lab. What began as a fascination in a high school biology class in her hometown of Woodland, California, grew into a long-term goal to lead a research lab

Can the bend of a banana give us insight into cancer? What does the shape of a rice grain have to do with infertility? The proteins that give plants their shape and structure are also involved in human disease. A team led by researchers at the University of California, Davis, has mapped out the structure of a key player, augmin, in exhaustive detail.