Lab News!

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1 April 2024: We're really excited that Mariya Savinov will be working with us (jointly with Ed Munro) next fall! Mariya's postdoctoral research will be supported by the NITMB and the Chicago Fellows Program. Welcome, Mariya!

25 November 2024: Kaci and Jessica join the lab as undergrad researchers to work with Erin on locomotion in salticid spiders! Kaci's project is supported by the Quad Research Fellowship. Welcome Kaci and Jessica!

11 November 2024: We're really excited to be collaborating with Alasdair Hastewell, an NITMB Fellow. Alasdair is working on developing model inference frameworks for both our jumping spiders and our bacteria!

4 October 2024: Haibei wins a travel award to present her work on bacterial motility in complex environments at the 2025 Bacterial Locomotion and Signal Transduction Conference. Congratulations Haibei -- have a BLAST in Cancun!

16 August 2024: Congratulations, Diana and Gaby on fantastic presentations of your research at UChicago and at conferences in Hartford, CT and the Marine Biological Laboratory. It was super to work with you both this summer!

1 July 2024: The lab was awarded a collaborative grant with the Nord Lab at CNRS-Montpellier to study the Campylobacter flagellar motor. We are looking for graduate students interested in studying the biophysics and evolution of this fascinating molecular machine in a super cool, non-traditional bug! Please reach out if interested!

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16 June 2024: Gaby Morin joins the lab as summer researcher! Gaby will work on protist motility in collaboration with Luis Galindo as part of the Non-traditional Model Organisms Summer Program at UChicago. Welcome, Gaby! 11 June 2024: Diana Bernal joins the lab as a summer researcher! Diana will work with Erin on jumping spider locomotion as part of the Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program. Welcome Diana! 18 March 2024: Alissa Domenig joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher! Alissa is a third-year UChicago Compuer Science and Biology student and will work with us on bacterial swimming in complex environments. Welcome Alissa!

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1 March 2024: Erin's work was highlighted at the Physics of Life symposium for students and postdocs at the Center for the Physics of Biological Function in New York City. Congrats, Erin!

23 February 2024: Haibei was awarded funding from the Graduate Council and the Center for Living Systems to present her work, Bacterial motility patterns adapt in response to spatial confinement and disorder, at the Annual March Meeting of the American Physical Society. Congrats, Haibei!

1 January 2024: The lab was awarded a Pilot Project Grant from the NSF and Simons Foundation through the NITMB in collaboration with the Kóvacs Lab at Northwestern to work on bacterial motility in complex environments!

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6 November 2023 We hosted a lab party and had a great time! Thanks to everyone who came and helped us warm up our new space :)

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18 October 2023: Maria will officially be supported by the Quad Faculty Research Grant, a fantastic program within The College to support undergraduate scholars at UChicago. Congratulations, Maria!!

16 October 2023: Wow! Haibei was chosen as a finalist for the Grier Prize in Biophysics, which supports Biophysics students who propose exciting high-risk projects. Haibei will present her innovative thesis proposal, "Unraveling the evolution of bacteria motility in complex environments", as part of the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar series. Congratulations!!

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1 October 2023: Maria Manyama joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher! Maria is a second-year UChicago Biology student and will work with us on all things panarthropod. Welcome Maria! 1 September 2023: Erin Brandt joins the lab as a postdoctoral scholar! Erin is excited about biomechanics, communication, and sexual behavior in spiders...and we're excited to welcome her to Chicago! 26 July 2023: We're thrilled to welcome to Haibei Zhang, who joins the lab as a PhD student in Biophysical Sciences! Haibei will be co-advised by Ed Munro. 26 June - 24 July 2023: Haibei Zhang rotates with us! Haibei is working on understanding bacterial motility in complex environments. 18 April 2023: The Journal of Experimental Biology does an ECR Spotlight on Jasmine -- check it out here. Thank you, JEB! 1 January 2023: The lab officially opened in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago! We are so excited to be here!!