Cal State Los Angeles Biological Sciences

Hi Family and Friends - I hope you are all doing well. We have a new paper from my lab about urban remote sensing and birds. The paper was led by graduate student Christian Benitez, with input from Sevan Esaian (former grad student) and colleague, Michael Beland.

The paper is open access and you can check it out at the link below.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24003571

I also wrote a short Twitter thread about it if you want an overview of the research.
https://x.com/LA_Naturalist/status/1773853587929698535?s=20

x.com

We have a new blog post that I wrote about our research on redlining and birds in LA. If you're interested, you can see it at the link below:

Wing Beat: City birds tend to be for the rich — and there is a historical element to this as well While driving around Greater Los Angeles (L.A.), one cannot help but notice that there are many trees in some, but not all, residential neighborhoods. The uneven distribution of trees in the city can be explained by the distribution of income throughout the area.

At the start of the pandemic I posted about an online resource that can be used to give students an opportunity to learn the principles of genetic inheritance through virtual experimentation. It is called FlyLab JS. It is free to use and there are no advertisements on the site. I have recently updated this resource to include accessibility support (keyboard alternatives and screen reader enhancements) and information for students and instructors. The latter can be reached from the links at the top of the page. This is not a commercial web site. FlyLab JS is a follow up to other online resources developed with funding from NSF. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments or email me from the Contact links at the top of the applet. Thanks for your interest!

https://sciencecourseware.org/FlyLabJS/

Robert A. Desharnais, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Biology
Department of Biological Sciences
California State University, Los Angeles
Email: [email protected]
Web: Desharnais.org

FlyLab JS FlyLab JS fruit fly genetics simulator

Interested in working towards a career in the biotech industry? The application due date for our Biotechnology Certificate Program is April 15th, 2022!

https://www.calstatela.edu/research/hxu3/biotech-certificate

We are looking to hire an Assistant Professor, Cell Biologist to join the faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences! See link below for details!
https://csucareers.calstate.edu/detail.aspx?pid=86725

The application due date for our Biotechnology Certificate Program is April 15th, 2021!

https://www.calstatela.edu/academic/biol/post-baccalaureate-biotechnology-credit-certificate-program

Dr. Edith Porter
2020 Andreoli Faculty Service Award
This year at the CSU Biotechnology Symposium, Dr. Edith Porter was awarded the 2020 Andreoli Faculty Service Award. This award, made in honor of Dr. Anthony Andreoli, recognizes a CSU faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the development of biotechnology programs in the CSU system. Additionally, the Andreoli Faculty Service Award recognizes a faculty member who has made significant efforts to provide access to Biotechnology to underrepresented and non-traditional students.

Since joining Cal State LA in 2001, Dr. Porter has made substantial improvements in courses tied to the biotechnology industry and has served the CSU through participation in grant review and various activities at the annual CSU Program for Education & Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB) symposia. Furthermore, Dr. Porter has mentored over 60 students engaged in research in her lab – many of whom belonged to URM. Dr. Porter’s students have gone on to complete their PhD or MD degrees from prestigious institutions, while others have joined the biotech industry making significant contributions in both the academic and industrial world. Her accomplishments include being the recipient of the 2020 ASM (American Society for Microbiology) Award for Education and being named Outstanding Faculty Mentor for the College of Natural and Social Sciences in 2016.

Tyler Powell
2020 Don Eden Graduate Student Research Award
Tyler Powell is a 2nd-year Biological Sciences M.S. student in Dr. Edith Porter’s innate immunology lab. This year, Tyler secured the Don Eden Graduate Student Research Award at the annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium. This prestigious award recognizes graduate students who made contributions to original and innovative research in biotechnology. This award also recognizes graduate students who demonstrated their ability to successfully communicate scientific concepts to a general audience. This year at the symposium, Tyler gave an oral presentation explaining the importance of his research and tested his ability to communicate science to a general audience.
Since Tyler began as a graduate research student, he has studied the effects and modes of action of the antimicrobial peptide, human beta defensin-2. This peptide has specific modes of action on Mycobacterium smegmatis, which is used as a model organism for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The Porter research lab uses this model in hopes that it will lead to novel therapeutics to combat tuberculosis.

Attention Biology MS students

Please see the attached flyer for an exciting research opportunity!

Earlier this fall, Dr. Howard Xu was recognized by Cal State LA as one of four recipients of 2019 Outstanding Professor Award for significant achievement in scholarly inquiry or creativity, as well as professional activities and community service (http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/ppa/publicat/cal-state-la-announces-outstanding-faculty-fall-convocation-2019). Dr. Xu directs an applied microbiology and biotechnology lab at Cal State LA, where students conduct research on novel antibiotics and elucidation of mechanisms of pathogenesis of bacterial pathogens. He has mentored master’s, undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students, resulting in more than 40 peer-reviewed publications from his lab. He is also the director of incubator development and programming for Cal State LA BioSpace, which is leading the university’s collaboration with private-sector firms and government agencies to promote inclusive entrepreneurship, innovation, workforce development, and commercialization of the regional bioscience industry in the heart of Los Angeles. You may view a short video about Dr. Xu uploaded by the university on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvUZQJg9Ofo

Congrats to Dr. Xu!

Job Opportunity - Please Share!

Organization: Kite Pharma

Position: QC Technician

About: This person will be responsible for performing tests of raw materials, and final products by following bioassays. Operating equipment & instruments that are supporting bioassays, flow Cytometry, ELISA, and PCR assays. Review and revise SOP's, validation, protocols and reports.
•6 Month Contract to Hire
•Max Pay Rate: $20.00/HR
•Schedule: 4/10 Wednesday-Saturday (40 Hours)

Qualifications:

Bachelor or Master’s degree in biotechnology or related field.

Experienced in analytical techniques such as Flow Cytometry, ELISAs, qPCR, and/or cell bioassays and other applicable methods to the testing of biopharmaceuticals. Not all are needed but at least proficiency in one!

Application: Interested candidates should contact Diana Norris,recruiter, at (213)404-4140 and send resume to [email protected].