LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 8, 2022) — David Weisrock, professor and chair of the Biology Department in the University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences, has received one of the the 2022 Excellent Undergraduate Research Mentor Award. The award recognizes exceptional leadership and support of student researchers.
Michael Long is the Thomas and Susanne Murphy Professor of Neuroscience at the NYU School of Medicine. He completed his graduate studies with Barry Connors at Brown University where he investigated the role of electrical synapses in the mammalian brain. During his postdoctoral work with Michale Fee at MIT, Long began to study the songbird model system to uncover the cellular and network properties that give rise to learned vocal sequences. Since beginning his laboratory in 2010, Long has focused his attention on the neural circuits underlying skilled movements, often in the service of vocal interactions. To accomplish this, the Long lab has taken a comparative approach, examining relevant mechanisms in the songbird, a newly characterized neotropical rodent, and humans. In addition to federal funding, the Long lab has also received support from NYSCF, the Rita Allen Foundation, the Klingenstein Foundation, and the Herschel-Weill Foundation.
Abstract: Vocal communication is central to our everyday lives, facilitating social exchange. Despite significant recent discoveries, the neural mechanisms underlying coordinated vocal exchanges remain poorly understood. We examine the brain processes involved in interactive vocal behaviors, focusing on forebrain circuitry in the songbird and the rodent, and we relate these to emerging human studies that employ a range of methods to manipulate and monitor cortical areas relevant for speech.
PhD student in Dr. David Weisrock's lab studying the gut microbiomes, population genomics, and habitats of wild lemurs in southeastern Madagascar.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2022) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto has selected four student representatives to speak at the UK Commencement Ceremonies May 6-7, at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Each speaker will address her or his respective ceremony in person. The speakers are:
Amy Luu Ngo
Ashley Seifert, associate professor of biology in the University of Kentucky's College of Arts & Sciences, has been researching how African spiny mice have "impressive wound-healing abilities." His work is discussed in the online article "How a mouse could help humans heal better" by Chris Baraniuk. You can read the full article here.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 26, 2022) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center is honoring seven students with its annual research awards.
Four graduate students received the James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia, and two graduate students and one undergraduate student received the center's Eller and Billings Student Research Award.
By Ryan Girves
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 13, 2022) — The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has selected undergraduate students as new scholars for the Gaines Fellowship Program.
