Gopher Visit to Mt. Saint Helens has Lasting Effect on the Soil and Vegetation

In 1983, three years after the eruption of the Mt. Saint Helens volcano, professors Mike Allen of UC Riverside and James McMahon of Utah State University traveled to a devastated area on Mt. Saint Helens and released gophers into fenced enclosures for one day.  They returned six years later and documented that the areas where the gophers had been released contained thousands of plants whereas the untouched plots remained barren.  Now, forty years later Mike Allen, an emeritus professor (and former ETOX faculty member) and Emma Aronson, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology and a current ETOX faculty member, returned and demonstrated that the gopher plots had dramatically different and improved soil microorganisms.  Their work was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiomes and was highlighted in UC Riverside News.  It was also featured in many other news reports such as this report in IFLScience.  Our congratulations to Mike, James, Emma and colleagues for their interesting work and the attention that it has received.  [The photo above is of a gopher and plant near the gopher enclosure fence from 1982. It is from Mike Allen and was published in the UCR News Article.]

Professors Dillman, Cranor and Eastmond in the News

Below are brief descriptions of ETOX faculty members whose work and activities were described in the media over the past year.  Some of these were published some time ago and I am just catching up.  

A tarantula-killing nematode named after the actor Jeff Daniels by Professor Adler Dillman and his research group was spotlighted in a People Magazine article entitled, "19 Species Named After Your Favorite Celebrities...".

Distinguished Professor Carl Cranor, chaired the committee that oversaw the building of the Humanities and Social Sciences Building on the UC Riverside campus.  Cesar Pelli, the renowned architect of the building (who was recruited by Carl to design the building), and the building were the focus of an article in the Press Enterprise where Carl is quoted extensively.   

Professor David Eastmond was prominently quoted in an article published earlier this year by Dan Charles in the journal Science entitled "Taking the Stand: For scientists going to court as an expert witness brings risks and rewards".  The graphic above is from the Science article.

Visit with ETOX Alumni Balakrishnan, Kwok and Sankaran in Sacramento

On Dec. 18-19, I (Dave Eastmond) traveled to Sacramento to a science advisory meeting for OEHHA (part of California EPA).  While there I have able to have dinner with Eric Kwok (Ph.D. 1993) and Sharada Balakrishnan (Ph.D. 2002) and get together with Gayatri Sankaran (Ph.D. 2012).  It was great to catch up on their lives.  They are all doing well in their positions at CalEPA - Eric and Gayatri at the Department of Pesticide Regulation and Sharada at the Department of Toxic Substances Control.  Below are two photos from my visit.  

Update on Alumnus Homero Camacho

After completing his Ph.D. and working for a couple of years, Homero decided to enroll in medical school at the Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico.  Upon graduation, he entered a in residency program in psychiatry at the UCLA-affiliated Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, CA.  After completing his residency, he worked via telemedicine helping hundreds of patients, many of them on Medi-Cal, and was recently recognized with a substantial loan-repayment award by Physicians for a Healthy California for his work helping Medi-Cal patients.  Recently, he has begun working as an independent psychiatrist at the California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster, California evaluating and treating inmates struggling with mental health problems.  He recently passed his board exams and is now a certified psychiatrist by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.  Outside of work, he continues to live in the Los Angeles area. He enjoys traveling and has made several trips to Europe in recent years.  The photo above was from a recent trip to Paris.  He asked me to do a shout out to Drew, Maik, Shambhu, Leslie, Kristy, Wanyoike and other ETOX alumni saying that if anyone wishes to talk about anything, he's available.  Our congratulations to Homero for having received his board certification and for his new position.  

If other alumni would like to update the ETOX community on their lives and achievements, please contact me at david.eastmond@ucr.edu.  

Prof. Julia Bailey-Serres Recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher

Prof. Julia Bailey-Serres, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences and an ETOX faculty member, has again been selected for inclusion on the 2024 Highly Cited Researcher list compiled by Clarivate Analytics.  The list contains the researchers who have published multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science.  According to Clarivate Analytics, they are also considered to be in the top 0.1% of scientists. More information can be found on the Inside UCR website. Julia has been on the Highly Cited Researcher list every year since 2014. Our congratulations to Julia for again receiving this impressive recognition.

Probiotic Seen to Counteract Adverse Flame Retardant Effects in Mice

A research team led by Maggie Curras-Collazo, Professor of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology and ETOX faculty member, has observed that supplementing the maternal diet of mice with the probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri (LR) can help prevent negative effects from exposure to PBDE flame retardants.  Treatment of pregnant mice with LR corrected most of the behavioral and metabolic abnormalities caused by PBDE exposure such as delayed weight gain in the adult male offspring and exaggerated digging, hyperactivity and altered glucose metabolism and insulin levels in adult female offspring.  More information about their results and their research can be found in a recent UCR News article.  Our congratulations to Maggie and her research group for this promising research advance.  

Prof. Mihri Ozkan Selected as a Ambassador for the National Academy of Inventors

Mihri Ozkan, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and ETOX faculty member, has recently been selected to serve as an Ambassador for the National Academy of Inventors and will be traveling across the country to promote academic innovation. The Ambassador Program which works in partnership with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has a mission to celebrate the impact of academic invention, expand access to invention education and resources, and inspire the next generation of inventors, according to the academy. More information on Dr. Ozkan's appointment can be found in this UCR News article.  Our congratulations to Mihri on this nice recognition.