News from the Chronicles - March 2023

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The benefits of protective parenting

Being a protective parent could set your kids up for a healthier life as an adult, according to new research from the University of Georgia. The study found that growing up in places where gunshots are common and heat and electricity are unreliable can lead to pain and other physical health limitations in adulthood. But being involved in your child’s life, such as knowing their friends or where they’re hanging out after school,…

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Athenaeum awarded $60,000 from the Andy Warhol Foundation

The Athenaeum, the University of Georgia’s downtown contemporary art space, was awarded a $60,000 Fall 2022 grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to support the exhibition Fabienne Lasserre: Listeners, marking the gallery’s first time receiving this prestigious award. Premiering in January of 2024, the exhibition will feature a series of sculpture/painting hybrid works by the Canadian-born, New York-based…

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Chung studies how microbes shape ecosystems

University of Georgia plant biologist and ecologist, Anny Chung studies the smaller things in life to understand how microscopic organisms can influence entire ecosystems. As an assistant professor jointly appointed in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department of Plant Pathology and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Department of Plant Biology, Chung studies how plant-microbe interactions…

map of Antarctica
Expedition to East Antarctica

In Spring 2023, UGA biologist Holly Bik is leading one of five teams of scientists on a research cruise to one of the most remote and understudied places on Earth. From March 6, the group departed from New Zealand and cruise west along the Antarctic continental shelf to South Africa. In all, more than thirty scientists and graduate students will be part of the two-month expedition aboard the Research Vessel – Ice Breaker, The Nathaniel…

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What a preprint is – and why that matters

New research from the University of Georgia suggests most people don’t understand the difference between a preprint and a published academic journal article. Preprints are research papers that haven’t undergone peer review, the process by which studies’ findings are validated by experts who weren’t involved with the research themselves. The study found the majority of readers have little to no understanding of what a preprint…

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Model mycology: UGA scientists fight fungi for the rest of us

It starts out with a cough and slightly slurred speech. Then come the muscle spasms and dramatic mood shifts. In HBO’s hit show “The Last of Us,” these are the beginning signs that a human has contracted a fungal infection that turns people into zombies and rips through the fabric of modern society. The premise may sound improbable, but it is based on a very real fungus that really does infect brains and bodies, turning its victims into mindless…

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Bensasson uses yeast to unlock life’s greatest mysteries

What comes to mind when you think of yeast? To a baker, it might mean the ability to make their dough rise. A brewmaster might associate it with the fermentation of beer and wine. Many others may associate these types of fungus with one dreaded infection or another. Yeast serves many functions. For the University of Georgia’s Douda Bensasson, it’s all of these—and more. An associate professor in the Franklin College of Arts & Science’s…

photo of two people in lab with samples, rubber gloves
Bacterial genetic fitness help regulate ocean carbon

The world’s oceans are dominated by microscopic organisms that power the Earth’s biogeochemical processes. These microbial ecosystems sustain life in the oceans by forming the basis of the ocean food web and balance the composition of our atmosphere – though scientists are just beginning to understand and study these ecosystems. A new research study led by the University of Georgia examines reproductive fitness of bacteria critical to the world-…

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Two faculty members named University Professors

University of Georgia faculty members John Maltese and Jean F. Martin-Williams have been named University Professors in recognition of their significant impact on the university above and beyond their normal academic responsibilities. Maltese is the associate dean in the School of Public and International Affairs, where he also holds the Albert Berry Saye Professorship of American Government and Constitutional Law and the…

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How the I/O Masters program strengthens one graduate's professional medical career

The UGA Graduate School offers an array of graduate programs to enhance and support current working professionals. The Professional Master’s Program in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (IOMP) is one such program, designed for working professionals seeking to pursue graduate education in a collaborative, practitioner-focused format. To learn more about the program from a graduate student’s perspective, we asked Dr. Beth Duggan…

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