• How Fungi Make Nutrients Available to the World

    A recent article by the US Department of Energy reviews research and breakthroughs in biotechnology related to the conversion of woody biomass residues to useful bioproducts and biofuels. Professor Barry Goodell’s research in the UMass Microbiology department is discussed along with that of several other leading researchers in the field. Goodell’s work has led to the discovery on a unique, and highly efficient, non-enzymatic mechanism that fungi use to deconstruct wood. Read more »

  • Morita Lab Studies Glycolipid Biosynthesis as a Potential Drug Target

    The American Lung Association recently awarded Dr. Yasu Morita a grant to advance research to identify a protein involved in the production of glycolipids that can be targeted by new drugs. Read more »

  • Applied and Molecular Biotechnology (AMB) Master's Program in its Fifth Year

    The Applied and Molecular Biotechnology Program welcomed its fifth class in Fall 2017. Read more »

  • Holden Studies Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents in Northeastern Pacific

    One of the many research projects currently underway in the Holden Laboratory is the study of geomicrobiology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Read more »

  • Derek Lovley

    Lovley Invention Boosts the University's Number of Patents Recorded in One Year

    Derek Lovley, Distinguished University Professor, and Kelly Nevin Lovley, Research Assistant Professor, have developed and licensed a new technology, microbial electrosynthesis, which led the University of Massachusetts to record 62 patents in 2015 which is a record-high for the University. Read more... Read more »

News & Announcements

8th Annual Life Sciences Graduate Research Symposium

October 2018: The 8th Annual Life Sciences Graduate Research Symposium will be held on Friday, November 30, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Life Sciences Laboratories S340. The event will feature research talks throughout the day and a poster and social session from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.

Holden Receives NASA Research Grant

September 2018: Jim Holden, Professor and Microbiology Department Head, has received a three-year grant from NASA to develop spectroscopy techniques to detect evidence of life beyond Earth. He will work with mineralogist Darby Dyar at Mount Holyoke College on the three-year project. Read more...

Morita Awarded NIH Grant

September 2018: Yasu Morita, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, has been awarded a two-year award from the NIH for a research project, "Membrane Domain Dynamicc in Mycobacterium tuberculosis."

Kristen DeAngelis and Gina Chaput Receive Award from DOE

August 2018: Dr. Kristen DeAngelis and Ph.D. candidate, Gina Chaput, have received an in-kind award from the DOE Environmental Molecular Science Laboratories. Entitled "Iron Chelator-Mediated Biotransformation of Lignin by Novel sp., Tolumonas lignolytica BRL6-1, in Anoxic Conditions,” this award has the estimated value equal to $59,236.00 and will provide equipment and analyses for Gina’s dissertation. Gina is currently studying how the bacteria Tolumonas lignolytica BRL6-1 modifies plant material known as lignin under conditions that lack oxygen. These analyses will allow her to look at compounds produced by BRL6-1 specifically in response to lignin as well as detect changes to the lignin structure over time. 

Goodell & Jellison Paper Cited for 'Outstanding Results'

July 2018: Microbiology Professor, Barry Goodell and Center for Agriculture Director, Jody Jellison, and other researchers recently had their paper chosen as one of the "outstanding results" in its area. The paper, “Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy enables multiscale spatial visualization of ions involved in fungal lignocellulose deconstruction,” appeared in Scientific Reports and will be abstracted in Argonne National Laboratory's annual report for 2018. Read more...

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