December 18
Biological Sciences Ph.D. Student Receives a 2015 Love of Learning honor by Phi Kappa Phi
Jonathan R. Belanich is receiving an award from the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. He is pursuing a doctoral degree in Biological Sciences-Microbiology and a master's in Applied Anthropology. See full article at this link

http://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2015/12/high-achieving-msu-grad-student-receives-honor-society-award - external link

November 16
Pieter Both Receives 2015 Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Pieter Both, senior Biochemistry major, received a 2015 Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to conduct research in the lab of Dr. Donna Gordon, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences.

November 3
Fall 2015 Society of Scholars Inductees
Congratulations to all the recent Society of Scholars Inductees, especially our Biological Sciences students: Madison Milhoan (Pre-Medicine), Sydney Duran (Pre-Dental), and Caitlin Henley (Pre-Medicine). See the full story @ the following link. - external link

May 7
Congratulations Carter Holland
Carter Holland recently won the Student Poster Competition at the 2015 Southern Biological Engineering Convention.

Carter began working in the Stewart lab as a Shackouls Honors College and Biological Sciences Directed Independent Student (DIS) in Spring 2013 Semester.

His work entitled “AGEs and Aging: Eliminating RAGE extends Lifespan” is a joint graduate project being conducted in the Stewart and Gordon labs.

April 27
8th Annual BURP Symposium
The Biological Sciences Department hosted the 8th Annual Biology Undergraduate Research Program (BURP) Symposium in Harned Hall on Friday, April 10. The keynote speaker for this showcase of undergraduate research efforts was Dr. Diane Roberts, 2014 Arts & Sciences Alumni Fellow.

Nineteen undergraduate students presented their research posters to a panel of judges (Faculty and graduate students) representing the disciplines of Biological Sciences, Microbiology, Ecology/Evolution, Cell and Developmental Biology, Biochemistry, Plant & Soil Sciences, Molecular Biology, Entomology, Plant Pathology, Bioinformatics, Environmental Toxicology, Biological Engineering, and Biomechanics.

Judging Criterion: Poster Appearance, Skills of Presenter, Knowledge of Presenter, and Overall-Quality of Research/Clarity of Presentation/Significant Topic

First Place
Sally J. White
"Characterizing the Growth of Listeria monocytogenes Exposed to Bile Salts at an Acidic pH"
First Place Mentor: Dr. Janet Donaldson

Second Place
Sabrina Moore
"Hydrogen peroxide and hemolysis phenotypes in Streptococcus pneumonia"
Mentor: Dr. Justin Thornton

Third Place
Sarah Albarado
"Protease Cleavage Potentiates the Effects of Pneumolysin from Streptococcus pneumonia"
Mentor: Dr. Justin Thornton

April 22
Dr. Brown Named Arts & Sciences Researcher of the Month
Dr. Matthew Brown, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, was recently named the College of Arts & Sciences Researcher of the Month for April-May. Congratulations to Dr. Brown!

Read about his research at
http://www.cas.msstate.edu/research/ - external link

April 6
Dr. Kaplan Named 2014 SCRC Coach of the Year
The Southeastern Collegiate Rugby Conference (SCRC)named Dr. Evan Kaplan (Instructor in the Department of Biological Sciences) the SCRC Rugby Coach of the Year. The SCRC is currently comprised of 11 SEC Universities and is divided up into East and West divisions. The SCRC 15's conference champion advances to the American Collegiate Rugby Championships Bowl Series.
Evan and Coach Randy Pannell led the Bulldogs in a fantastic fall season that included a West Division Championship and their first ever appearance in the SCRC Championship Tournament. In Spring 2013 Mississippi State was 0-6 in conference play and was outscored by over 250 points. 18 months later MSU finished the Fall 2014 campaign with a 5-1 record and a West Division Championship. Evan and Randy's hard work is a testament to the fact that a team can achieve in the conference with solid recruiting, a student athlete commitment to training and a dedicated coaching staff.

Congratulations Dr. Kaplan and the MSU MADDAWGS Rugby team!!