News

Two smiling people in a lab wearing gloves and holding lab containers.

Thanks to URSI, Scientific Research is Going Strong at Vassar

Deep cuts in government funding for scientific research have forced many colleges and other institutions to curtail or even eliminate many research programs. This is not the case at Vassar. The College’s Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) ran right on schedule this summer.

Front of the Taylor Hall Gate, a large stone building with a central arched gateway and tall clock tower, surrounded by blooming pink, purple, and white tulips in the foreground.

Vassar Celebrates Eight Faculty Members Granted Full Professorships

Vassar’s Board of Trustees has voted to award full professorships to eight members of the faculty, Dean of Faculty Brian Daly announced.

Colin Echeverría Aitken wearing navy shirt with high collar against a gray background.

Colin Echeverría Aitken, Assistant Professor of Biology, Awarded Renewed NIH Funding

Colin Echeverría Aitken, Assistant Professor of Biology, was awarded renewed funding by the National Institutes of Health for his ongoing research project, The Role of the mRNA-entry Channel Arm of eIF3 in mRNA Recruitment.

Dr. Michelle Monje ’98, a person with long blond hair and a dark dress, sits in a room talking to some other people.

‘Genius Award’ Alum Gives Inspiring Talk on Her Work to Cure Pediatric Brain Cancer

“Genius Award” winner Dr. Michelle Monje ’98 returned to her alma mater to deliver a lecture on her breakthroughs in cancer research.

A group of adults of various ages stand by a fence in a sunny field.

Getting to the Heart of Human Physiology

Students enrolled in Professor of Biology Kate Susman’s Human Physiology class learned real-life applications to their work by volunteering for four community-based organizations.

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Convening in Edinburgh, International Group of Education Leaders Collaborate on Liberal Arts Initiatives

In March, representatives of Vassar, the University of Edinburgh, University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda, and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay convened on the campus of the revered University of Edinburgh in Scotland to collaborate on initiatives incorporating the principles of the liberal arts.

Visiting Scholar Elizabeth Thiele receives funding from The Carter Center

Elizabeth Thiele, Visiting Scholar in the Department of Biology, has been a Technical Consultant for The Carter Center since 2015, and recently received the Center’s renewed support toward her ongoing research into the population genetics of Dracunculus medinensis (Guinea worm).

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NSF Funds State-of-the-art Confocal Microscope for Research and Teaching at Vassar

Principal Investigator Hadley Bergstrom, Associate Professor of Psychological Science, and co-PIs Bojana Zupan, Associate Professor of Psychological Science, and Jennifer Kennell, Associate Professor of Biology, received a Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant from the National Science Foundation to purchase a new state-of-the-art confocal microscope platform for basic research and teaching at Vassar, which will fundamentally transform faculty research, faculty-mentored undergraduate research, and advanced-level teaching.

Dianne Pater has Secured a Grant from the National Science Foundation

Dianne Pater, Assistant Professor of Biology, has secured a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support her project “BRC-BIO: Investigating ecophysiological strategies and drought tolerance of temperate lianas.”