May 26, 2020
Parasitic plant study by Professor Shelley Lumba reveals unexpected pathway to germination of witchweed seeds
The crop fields of sub-Saharan Africa have fallen under a spell cast by the witchweed Striga hermonthica. Every year, this parasitic plant targets and destroys over eight billion dollars worth of staple crops, leading the UN to declare Striga infestations as a major impediment to poverty…
May 6, 2020
CSB researcher awarded Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship
We are pleased to announce that Dr Ian Tobias has won a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship to pursue research at Professor Jennifer Mitchell’s laboratory in Cell & Systems Biology. He will study how growth of stem cells differs between species. Dr Tobias will examine regions of DNA called…
May 5, 2020
Prof Vince Tropepe’s lab using zebrafish as a vertebrate model for Usher Syndrome-linked blindness
CSB Chair Vincent Tropepe has received funding from Fighting Blindness Canada to conduct research using zebrafish to study Usher syndrome, a genetic condition that results in hearing and vision loss. Loss of vision in Usher syndrome is the result of retinal degeneration, but the mechanism through…
May 5, 2020
CSB neurobiologists identify switch that turns muscles on and off during sleep
CSB Professor John Peever, CSB PhD grad Zoltan Torontali and CSB RA Jimmy Fraigne have demonstrated a new link between arousal and muscle paralysis in mice using behavioral, electrophysiological, and chemogenetic strategies in a paper in Current Biology. During REM sleep, muscle paralysis is…
May 5, 2020
Neuroscientist Dr Jessica Pressey joins CSB in 2020 as Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
We are fortunate to have recruited Jessica Pressey to CSB as an Assistant Professor, Teaching-Stream (3-year CLTA) as of Jan 1, 2020. Professor Pressey graduated with a PhD from Dean Woodin's lab in 2015 and completed postdoctoral research at INSERM's Institut du Fer à Moulin in Paris, France.…
April 20, 2020
Researchers delay onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in laboratory models
Learn more about recent research from the laboratories of Prof Junchul Kim and Dean Melanie Woodin, "Cortical interneuron-mediated inhibition delays the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis", in this story from the Faculty of Arts & Science: Researchers delay onset of amyotrophic lateral…
February 14, 2020
Pan-genome effector analysis of Pseudomonas syringae reveals the ways wild plants evade infection
The Guttman and Desveaux labs in Cell & Systems Biology have published a comprehensive analysis of the huge variety of methods used by bacteria to evade the immune system of plants in the latest issue of Science magazine: "The pan-genome effector-triggered immunity landscape of a host-pathogen…
December 16, 2019
Graduate student excellence recognized in the 2019-2020 Graduate Student Awards
The academic excellence, research potential and leadership abilities of Cell & Systems Biology graduate students was recognized in award presentations at the 2019 CSB Holiday Party held in the Madison Avenue Pub on December 6th, 2019. Professor Dinesh Christendat announced the recipients of…
December 6, 2019
The CSB Forefront is a fascinating digital magazine produced by CSB graduate students
The inaugural volume of Cell & Systems Biology's graduate student newsletter is out! The CSB Forefront covers many aspects of life in grad school. Faculty profiles give insights into what motivates CSB professors. Graduate student life is covered in housing profiles, lifestyle surveys and book…
November 29, 2019
Prestigious National Award for CSB PhD Graduate Navroop Dhaliwal
Congratulations to recent CSB graduate Navroop Dhaliwal, for receiving the Graduate Student Research Prize from the Canadian Council of University Biology Chairs. Dr Dhaliwal's research in Professor Mitchell's laboratory provided a significant new insight into the very first steps taken by stem…