purdy microbiology lab @ amherst college
  • Home
  • Research
  • People
  • Publications
  • Teaching
  • News
  • Outreach & Community
  • Research resources
  • Join us
  • Alumni
  • Alumni

Two papers from the lab in press!

10/3/2018

0 Comments

 
We have two papers in press!  Our paper on a putative acetylation system in V. cholerae was accepted to Applied and Environmental Microbiology and our paper exploring a variety of aspects of CrbS-dependent signaling mechanisms in V. cholerae was accepted to Journal of Bacteriology!  Congrats to everyone involved -- particularly Kalle Liimatta '16, Itai Muzhingi '18, Cecilia Prado, and Mariame Sylla '15, whose work really anchored these publications.
0 Comments

Our move into the new Science Center!

8/30/2018

0 Comments

 
Over the past four weeks our lab has packed, moved, and unpacked into our gorgeous new space in the Science Center!  It's been a whirlwind, but we are ready to get our experiments going again, just as soon as we get the okay!
Picture
Before the move!
Picture
Before the move - we are starting to think about packing!
Picture
The movers arrive to pack us up on August 2!
Picture
And they are done! Just waiting for the boxes to be moved.
Picture
the contents of my office are now in my lab and I begin to wonder whether all of this is going to fit in my new office?
Picture
Our fly incubator JUST barely makes it out of the door to the fly room.... it was close.
Picture
Our new home!
Picture
Beautiful! (Our lab is to the left, on this floor).
Picture
Our BSL2 room is getting packed
Picture
Everything is packed!
Picture
Our -80C freezer makes the trek over to the new building, safe and sound, thanks to the wonderful care of the folks at Pacific Movers (and Cecilia's watchful eye!)
Picture
Our new lab, shared with two other colleagues!
Picture
The view into the lab from the hallway! (yes there is a lot of glass in the new space!)
Picture
The view from the write-up space. There is A LOT of glass. (A few weeks later we are already used to it!)
Picture
Our glassware cabinet (I am so excited this is here finally!!)
0 Comments

The lab attends Vibrio2017 in Chicago

11/21/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Biology senior honors thesis student Sarah Nessen '18 and BCBP senior honors thesis student Itai Muzhingi '18, both working in the lab, traveled to Chicago, IL for Vibrio2017: The Biology of Vibrios, an international conference organized by the American Society for Microbiology.  The conference included researchers from around the world who study the ecology, evolution, pathogenesis, genomics, and symbiotic mechanisms of this important bacterial group.  
 
At the conference, Sarah presented an invited talk entitled, “Regulatory mechanisms affecting consumption of a short chain fatty acid that mediates symbiosis in Vibrio fischeri” on the lab’s new collaboration with Mark Mandel of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to understand molecular mechanisms affecting symbiosis with the Hawaiian bobtail squid.  Sarah also received a travel award from the American Society for Microbiology to present her work!  Others who contributed to the talk included Stephany Flores-Ramos ’17, Kyra Raines ’20, Abigail Mesfin ’20, and Sarah Wishloff ’19. 

Picture
Picture
A couple of images of Sarah giving her talk to a fairly large crowd.  She was the only undergraduate to speak at the conference!
Picture
Itai presented a poster entitled “Regulatory domains in the hybrid sensor kinase CrbS modulate direct activation of acetyl-CoA synthase transcription in the pathogen Vibrio cholerae.”  At the end of the conference, he won an award – for graduate students!  He received the “Outstanding Student Poster Presentation Award in –Omics and Regulation”!  This was just one of five poster awards presented at the conference!  Others contributing work presented in the poster include Cecilia Prado, Duy Nguyen, and Franny Diehl. (Unfortunately Itai wasn't there to receive the certificate, so here he is in our hallway in our hallway in Amherst!

Lastly, Alix Purdy presented work by a number of previous students in the lab, entitled “Protein acetylation alters metabolite-dependent virulence of Vibrio cholerae in a Drosophila model of infection” with co-authors Kalle Liimatta ’16, Emily Flaherty ’19, Gabby Ro ’19, and Cecilia Prado.
 
Congrats everyone on a great conference!
0 Comments

Purdy Lab Hosts BioBreakfast August 2017!

8/16/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

The Purdy Lab Attends the Boston Bacterial Meeting!

7/14/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture

​A small contingent from the lab trekked to Harvard University to attend the Boston Bacterial Meeting on June15 & 16, 2017!  Cecilia gave a great poster, and the Pioneer Valley was well represented with labs from Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges, as well as UMass-Amherst in attendance as well!

0 Comments

The Purdy Lab attends the ASM Microbe meeting in New Orleans!

7/12/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Steph explaining her poster to Mizu Ota '13! Great to see alums at meetings!

Picture
Steph was lucky enough to get a custom pin of the Vibrio-Squid symbiosis made by a very talented ASM staff person!
Picture
We enjoyed the beignets at Cafe du Monde!
Picture
One of the highlights of the meeting -- Ed Yong (of "I Contain Multitudes" fame) interviewing Kathleen Rubins, PhD, a virologist who is now an astronaut!
0 Comments

The lab is now funded by NSF!

7/12/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Our NSF grant in collaboration with Josh Sharp at Northern Michigan University has been funded!  This will bring more opportunities for students to join the lab, a number of new and challenging projects with support from Kevin Griffith at UMass-Amherst and Mark Mandel at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the development of a course-based undergraduate research experience for Biol-271 Microbiology featuring the universally beloved Vibrio fischeri-Euprymna squid symbiosis!  It will also support outreach efforts in our communities of the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as well as the Amherst Association for Women in Science (AWIS) Peer Mentoring Program!  An exciting few years for the lab ahead!

0 Comments

Our paper with the Sharp Lab at NMU is out!

5/19/2017

0 Comments

 
Our paper on the CrbS/R system in non-O1/non-O139 V. cholerae, as well as P. entomophila and P. aeruginosa is out in PLOS ONE here!  Congrats to Anna Rasmussen '13, Paul Tyler '14, Mariah Servos '14, and Mariame Sylla '15, all of whom contributed data and V. cholerae strains to this manuscript!
Picture
0 Comments

The Purdy Lab at the Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium 2017

1/15/2017

0 Comments

 
Duy, Stephany, Jenny, Cecilia, Angelika and SabriAnan and I head over to UMass for the second annual Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium, held January 14, 2017. With three posters and a talk, the Purdy Lab was well represented!
Picture

Stephany was invited to give a talk -- one of just two undergrad talks at the meeting! Great job Steph!
Picture
Picture
Emily's poster!
Duy presenting his poster on his honors thesis work!
Picture
Picture
Cecilia standing by all of the data she's collected in the past year!
Picture
Stephany introduces the Vibrio fischeri system during her talk!

And the Purdy Lab take a Selfie -- great pic everyone!!

Picture
0 Comments

Purdy Lab Holiday Lunch

1/15/2017

0 Comments

 
The Purdy Lab gets out of the lab and heads to Oriental Flavors for a holiday lunch!  A nice break over reading period...
Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Archives

    October 2018
    August 2018
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    July 2015
    March 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Photo used under Creative Commons from NIAID_Flickr
  • Home
  • Research
  • People
  • Publications
  • Teaching
  • News
  • Outreach & Community
  • Research resources
  • Join us
  • Alumni
  • Alumni