2016-2017 ADVANCE Scholars Awarded
2016-2017 ADVANCE Scholars Awarded: JoAnne Engebrecht, Annaliese Franz, and Sharon Strauss
The ADVANCE Scholar Award and lecture series highlights and celebrates the contributions women STEM faculty at UC Davis have made to their fields through outstanding scholarship and mentorship. The three ADVANCE Scholars were selected for 2016-17:
- JoAnne Engebrecht, Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Annaliese Franz, Associate Professor, Chemistry
- Sharon Strauss, Professor, Evolution and Ecology
The ADVANCE Scholars presented their research on November 9, 2016 and May 4, 2017 in the Student Community Center-Multi Purpose Room.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016 from 2:30pm-5:00pm
“Designing New Catalysts and Methods on the Path to Discovery for Medicines and Biofuels,” Annaliese Franz, Associate Professor, Chemistry
“Combining Historical and Contemporary Approaches to Learn about Natural Communities and Biodiversity,” Sharon Strauss, Professor, Evolution and Ecology
Thursday, May 4, 2017 from 12:30pm-1:30pm
“Sex, Sex Chromosomes and Checkpoints,” JoAnne Engebrecht, Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Biographies
JoAnne Engebrecht received her Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography where she analyzed genes required for bacterial bioluminescence. As a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University she studied meiosis in yeast. Dr. Engebrecht has continued to study various aspects of meiosis in yeast and worms in her faculty positions at Stony Brook University and since 2003 at the University of California, Davis.
Annaliese Franz is an Associate Professor in the Chemistry Department. Her research program is focused on synthesis of bioactive molecules, catalysis, and sustainable biofuels from microalgae coupled with wastewater remediation. She has received several awards, including a prestigious NSF CAREER award, the American Chemical Society WCC Rising Star Award, and the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Consortium for Women & Research at UC Davis. She is an author of 42 papers and one book chapter.
Sharon Strauss is an evolutionary ecologist who has been on the faculty at UC Davis for over 20 years. She studies how evolutionary history shapes the traits and ecology of species. Her goals are to use ecological and evolutionary processes to understand mechanisms that allow species to coexist in complex and diverse assemblages in nature, and to also understand how evolutionary processes of adaptation and speciation influence species’ niches.