Department of Biology Graduation 2024
The Department of Biological Sciences extends deepest congratulations to all 2023-2024 graduates, and we wish you the best with your future endeavors. We also express our deepest gratitude to the faculty, staff, students, family members, and volunteers whose dedication and support contributed to the success of this year's UAlbany’s graduation ceremonies.
The University at Albany hosted a series of ceremonies to honor over 4,650 graduate and undergraduate students from Thursday, May 9, through Sunday, May 12.
On Thursday, May 9, and Friday, May 10, the University at Albany held its Undergraduate Recognition Ceremony at the Broadview Center celebrating the achievements of UAlbany’s undergraduate majors from all departments and programs. This year’s Recognition Ceremony for approximately 180 graduating Baccalaureate Biology majors was scheduled Thursday from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Subsequently, three Biology Doctoral candidates were honored during the Doctoral Hooding Ceremony on Saturday, May 11, while four Biology Department’s Master’s students were acknowledged on Sunday, May 12.
The Department of Biological Sciences proudly congratulates Dr. Pheonah Badu as the recipient of the University at Albany’s 2023-2024 Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation Award. This prestigious award recognizes the most outstanding dissertation across all disciplines within the University at Albany’s College of Arts and Sciences. Dean Jeanette Altarriba commended Pheonah’s dissertation, entitled " Transcriptional control of the antiviral response during Zika virus infection," which was nominated by Dr. Cara Pager and emerged as the top dissertation in this year's College competition. Dean Altarriba described Pheonah’s dissertation as “exceptional work that not only earned recognition from our faculty but also garnered acclaim from peers in the field”.
Congratulations Dr. Badu!
Doctorate Degrees:
Doctorate Student: Pheonah Badu
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Cara Pager
Thesis Title: “Transcriptional control of the antiviral response during Zika virus infection”
Doctorate Student: Jesus Frais
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Andy Berglund
Thesis Title: “Probing the mechanism of action of small molecule therapeutics in DM1”
Doctorate Student: Kahini Sarkar
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Prashanth K. Rangan
Thesis Title: “Bookending the Germ Cell to Maternal Transition: Dynamics of Gene Regulation in Drosophila Oogenesis”
Master’s Degrees:
Master’s Student: Milan Pfister
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Cheryl Andam
Thesis Title: “Population genomics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from bacteremia across five states in the United States”
Master’s Student: Aram Alaxanian
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Tom Begley
Thesis Title: “Searching for Regulators of Catalase Activity Using Enzymatic Screens”
Master’s Student: Isreal Onifade
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Bijian Dey
Co-Dissertation Chair: Dr. Andy Berglund
Thesis Title: “The Role of m6A RNA Methylation in Skeletal Muscle Regeneration”
Master’s Student: Quetsia Jean-Baptiste
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Melinda Larsen
Thesis Title: "Senescence and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype in salivary hypofunction”