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September 13, 2019
The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine selected Andia Chaves Fonnegra, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biology in F lorida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute as a recipient of its 2019 Early-Career Research Fellowship. Dr. Chaves Fonnegra runs the Laboratory of Integrative Marine and Coastal Ecology at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, which focuses on understanding mechanisms that underlie changes in marine and coastal communities. Her research focuses on enhancing the management of marine ecosystems by determining how ecological interactions are altered by anthropogenic activities and global impacts such as climate change and pollution. Congratulations!  Read More
Randy D. Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of the FAU Brain Institute and a professor of  biomedical science in FAU’s  Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, received the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2019 STEM Innovation Awards. The South Florida Science Center and Stiles-Nicholson Foundation hosted the second annual STEM Innovation Awards on Sept. 7, to recognize leadership, service, and collaboration in the field of STEM.

Laura Vernon, Ph.D., associate dean of academic affairs and research of FAU’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and Yash Bhagwanji, Ph.D., associate professor of Early Childhood Programs are nominated for "Educator of the Year." FAU is a finalist for the "Award for Institutional Excellence." Voting ends on Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. The annual awards program will be held Friday, Sept. 20 at the Norton Museum of Art. Click here to vote. Be sure to share the link with friends and family!  Read More
FAU News
U.S. News & World Report ranked FAU in its list of “Top Public Schools” in the nation for the first time in the university’s history. U.S. News & World Report also placed FAU at No. 45 in the nation in the magazine’s new “Social Mobility” ranking. Read More
Legend has it that millennials, specifically the “Net Generation,” use many technologies simultaneously, masterfully switching from one to the next. They claim that it’s easy and that they can do it much better than older generations. Research, so far, hasn’t proven this claim and the consequences of these incessant interruptions on attention and performance. 
 
Mónica Rosselli, Ph.D., professor and assistant chair of psychology in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, and a member of the FAU Brain Institute (I-BRAIN) is senior author of the study that is first to examine this phenomenon in college-age students. Results of the study, published in the journal Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, show that there is no need to "pardon the interruptions," at least not for Net Genners, since information technology is woven throughout their daily lives. Read More
Student Spotlight
The Brain and Behavioral Research Foundation (BBRF) awarded the prestigious NARSAD Young Investigator Grant to Adele Stewart, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Randy D. Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of the FAU Brain Institute. The foundation is the nation's top, nongovernmental funder of mental health research grants. The grant will provide $35,000 per year for two years to fund Stewart's research fellowship project titled, "Neural Substrates Driving Region-Specific, Sex- Biased DA Homeostatic Perturbations in the DAT Val559 Mouse Model."  Read More
WHC Graduates Study Gene-Editing Techniques
FAU Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College graduates, Roberto Hernandez, and Rubens Tavora recently visited Brown University to learn gene-editing techniques from leaders in the field. Brown Research Associate Scott Gratz, Ph.D., and Kate O’Connor-Giles, Ph.D, an associate professor of Neuroscience developed the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique for fruit flies, a powerful technique for investigating the genetic basis of human disease. Hernandez and Tavora are in the laboratory of Greg Macleod, Ph.D., an associate professor of Biological Sciences at FAU. Hernandez is pursuing a Ph.D. through the Integrative Biology-Neuroscience Doctoral program at FAU Jupiter. Tavora is taking a gap year to prepare for medical school.
FAU Jupiter Events
The ASCEND (Advancing STEM-Community Engagement through Neuroscience Discovery) "NeuroExplorers" fall program is accepting applications for kids grades 6-8 to participate in the program at the STEM Studio in Jupiter.
Lucas Pozzo-Miller, Ph.D.
Hosted by Randy Blakely, Ph.D.
Tuesday, September 24 at 4 p.m.
Room 119, Research Facility MC-17
Submission Deadline is November 1.
Read contest guidelines and submit your photos HERE.
The John D. MacArthur Campus presently enrolls more than 1,500 students and offers groundbreaking programs in research and education. Two of the world’s leading research organizations, the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and Scripps Research Institute are located on the campus and offer high school, undergraduate and graduate students transformational experiences not found anywhere else in the world. The campus is home to the nationally-ranked Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College which provides 440 students with a live-in, all-honors educational experience and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the largest membership program of its kind in the nation. Recognized as a center of scientific activity, the campus also serves as the headquarters for two of FAU’s primary research organizations, the Brain Institute and the Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention (I-HEALTH).