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CU Boulder scholar receives Fulbright support to study fossil mammals in Poland

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 19:23:11 +0000

CU Boulder scholar receives Fulbright support to study fossil mammals in Poland Rachel Sauer Fri, 08/22/2025 - 13:23

Professor Jaelyn Eberle will teach and pursue a hypothesis that a Cretaceous land bridge between Asia and North America was a dispersal route for land mammals at the time

Jaelyn Eberle, a University of Colorado Boulder professor of geological sciences and CU Museum of Natural History curator of fossil vertebrates, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to study the extensive collection of Cretaceous (about 75 million years old) Mongolian mammals housed at the Institute of Paleobiology in Warsaw, Poland.

Eberle will travel to Poland Aug. 31 to begin work comparing the Mongolian mammal collection with fossil mammals that she and her colleagues discovered on the North Slope of Alaska, in the hopes of identifying some of the earliest mammals to cross from Asia into North America via Beringia, a prehistoric land bridge that once connected the two continents. Along with Professor Lucja Fostowicz-Frelik, Eberle also will team-teach a graduate seminar on the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary for the BioPlanet Doctoral School in Poland, which attracts PhD students in biology, geology and biochemistry from across Europe.

Jaelyn Eberle, a CU Boulder professor of geological sciences and CU Museum of Natural History curator of fossil vertebrates, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to study the Cretaceous Mongolian mammals housed at the Institute of Paleobiology in Warsaw, Poland.

“Until now, my research has focused mostly on North American fossil mammals,” Eberle explains. “The Fulbright award allows me to broaden my research to include ancient Mongolian mammals and collaborate with the foremost expert on them, Dr. Fostowicz-Frelik. I am also excited to co-teach a class with Dr. Fostowicz-Frelik; this will build my knowledge of the Eurasian fossil record and inject new content, perspective and teaching styles into my courses at CU Boulder.

“Being immersed in the language and culture of Poland for four months and teaching PhD students from across Europe will also give me perspective on how to better support CU students from international backgrounds, too.”

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals teaching or conducting research in affiliation with institutes abroad. Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions.

“Professor Eberle’s fascinating research is important not only because it advances scientific knowledge, it also expands the Museum Institute’s vibrant international collaborations, helping us to connect with scholars around the globe,” says Nancy Stevens, director of the Museum Institute and professor of anthropology.

Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.

More than 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. In addition, more than 2,000 Fulbright U.S. Student Program participants—recent college graduates, graduate students and early-career professionals—participate in study/research exchanges or as English teaching assistants in local schools abroad each year.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

As a Fulbright U.S. Scholar, Eberle will further her study of fossil mammals, their evolution during past intervals of global warmth and their dispersal across the Northern Hemisphere when polar land bridges connected North America to both Asia and Europe.

“I hypothesize that some of the Cretaceous Alaskan mammals belong to Asian lineages; if true, this would provide direct evidence that Beringia was a dispersal route for land mammals at the time,” Eberle explains. “The Alaskan fauna preserves the northernmost known mammals of the Mesozoic Era (or Age of Dinosaurs), and our team’s latest findings mean it may also include among the earliest mammalian immigrants from Asia to North America.

Jaelyn Eberle (foreground, yellow jacket) and her colleagues quarry for tiny vertebrate fossils in Alaska's Prince Creek Formation. (Photo: Kevin May)

Many of the mammal teeth Jaelyn Eberle studies are the size of sand grains. This is a tooth of the tiny Alaskan mammal Sikuomys mikros (meaning "tiny ice mouse") that lived in northern Alaska about 72 million years ago. (Photo: Jaelyn Eberle)

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Professor Jaelyn Eberle will teach and pursue a hypothesis that a Cretaceous land bridge between Asia and North America was a dispersal route for land mammals at the time.

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Top illustration: James Havens

CU Boulder scientist named 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:34:17 +0000

CU Boulder scientist named 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar Rachel Sauer Tue, 08/19/2025 - 08:34

Biochemist Vignesh Kasinath will receive four years of funding ‘to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease’

Vignesh Kasinath, a University of Colorado Boulder assistant professor of biochemistry, has been named a 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar.

Kasinath is among a cohort of 22 early-career scholars who will receive four years of funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts “to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease.”

“For 40 years, Pew has supported young, talented researchers as they take creative approaches to solving big scientific questions,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew’s senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement. “This new class continues that legacy, and we look forward to seeing where their discoveries lead.”

Vignesh Kasinath, a University of Colorado Boulder assistant professor of biochemistry, has been named a 2025 Pew Biomedical Scholar.

The members of the 2025 cohort are all early-career, junior faculty and are the 40th group of Pew scholars to be awarded funding since the program’s founding in 1985.

“Pew-funded scientists have long contributed to biomedical research discoveries that have improved human health,” said Lee Niswander, a 1995 Pew scholar and chair of the program’s national advisory committee. “I’m confident this new class of scholars, with their innovative and creative approaches to scientific research, will continue this tradition.”

Kasinath’s research explores how cells “silence” transposons, which are genetic elements whose movement within the genome can disrupt the function of genes. The human genome, he notes, is riddled with transposons, DNA sequences that promote genetic instability by replicating and integrating into additional chromosomal locations.

To maintain genomic integrity, cells have surveillance systems that distinguish between transposons and normal genes and epigenetically silence the transposons to prevent their replication. “Recently, my group has found that one such system, human silencing hub (HUSH), interacts with specific RNA-binding proteins that have known roles in combating retroviral integrations in the human genome,” he says.

“Now, using cutting-edge techniques in cryo-electron microscopy, biochemistry and RNA-protein interaction mapping, we will determine how RNA-binding proteins aid HUSH in the recognition of transcriptionally active transposons, how HUSH interacts with chromatin and RNA to silence these elements and how mutations in HUSH perturb these interactions.”

Given that HUSH functions as an RNA-mediated gene silencer, Kasinath adds, his work could lead to novel therapeutic strategies for treating cancers and other human diseases associated with transposon invasion, by epigenetically silencing such translocations that often result in gene fusions through with cancer can manifest.

“I am thrilled to be part of the Pew!" Kasinath says. "I have interacted with many Pew scholars who have been incredibly supportive and generous with their time. This Pew award affirms my lab’s commitment to the exciting problems we are pursuing.”

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Biochemist Vignesh Kasinath will receive four years of funding ‘to uncover fundamental insights about human health and disease.'

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CU Boulder instructor named a 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholar

Kylie Clarke — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 23:45:20 +0000

CU Boulder instructor named a 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholar Kylie Clarke Wed, 07/16/2025 - 17:45

Award will allow Associate Professor Katherine Lininger to teach at the University of Trento and conduct research on the Tagliamento River floodplain in Italy

Katherine Lininger, a University of Colorado Boulder Department of Geography associate professor, has received a U.S. Fulbright Scholar award starting in fall 2025 to study and teach in Italy. The award is provided by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Scholarship Board.

The Fulbright award will allow Lininger to investigate interactions among floodplain vegetation, downed wood, water flows and sediment fluxes to better understand and predict changes in floodplains over time. With collaborators at the University of Trento, she will conduct fieldwork, geospatial analyses and numerical modeling to understand ecogeomorphic processes in the Tagliamento River floodplain in northeastern Italy.

Additionally, Lininger will lecture in courses at the University of Trento, lead field trips, give research seminars and mentor graduate students. She said her project will advance ecogeomorphic understanding of floodplains, which provide important ecosystem services, and will support her career trajectory and goals.

Katherine Lininger is an associate professor of geography whose research has mainly focused on large floodplain rivers. Her research methods include fieldwork, statistical modeling and remote sensing.

“I’m honored to take part in the Fulbright program and look forward to building internation connections and collaborations,” Lininger said. “With this award, I will work with researchers at the University of Trento in Italy, investigating interactions between river flows, sediment fluxes and plants to better understand and predict physical and ecological changes in floodplains over time. Our work will inform management and restoration of river floodplains.”

Each year, more than 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, artists and professionals with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad. Notable awards received by alumni include 63 Nobel Prizes, 98 Pulitzer Prizes and 82 McArthur Fellowships.

“The benefits extend beyond the individual recipient, raising the profile of their home institutions. We hope University of Colorado Boulder can leverage Katherine Lininger’s engagement abroad to establish research and exchange relationships, connect with potential applicants and engage with your alumni in the host country,” the Fulbright Program said in its award announcement.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

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Award will allow Associate Professor Katherine Lininger to teach at the University of Trento and conduct research on the Tagliamento River floodplain in Italy.

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CU Boulder instructor named a 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholar

Kylie Clarke — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 17:26:19 +0000

CU Boulder instructor named a 2025-2026 Fulbright Scholar Kylie Clarke Tue, 07/15/2025 - 11:26

Award will allow Teaching Professor Caroline Conzelman to teach and conduct research on sustainability in Murcia, Spain

Caroline Conzelman, a teaching professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Residential Academics Program (RAP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, has received a Fulbright Senior U.S. Scholar Program award in international affairs and environmental studies for fall 2025 in Spain. The award is provided by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Scholarship Board.

Conzelman’s Fulbright project is titled “Participatory Action Research on Urban-Rural Sustainability Challenges in Murcia, Spain.” Partnering with the Universidad de Murcia, Conzelman will work with undergraduate students to examine sustainability challenges in urban and rural areas of the valley of Murcia.

Trained as a cultural anthropologist, Conzelman’s objectives are to provide students with mentorship and training in applied ethnographic research methods to study how civil society, business and government leaders define and promote sustainable business goals. Additionally, she will give a series of workshops and organize a symposium on campus to present her findings and highlight innovative local solutions as well as meaningful career paths.

“I am honored to have this opportunity and am excited to work with and learn from the faculty and students at MU, and to help facilitate relationships between our universities in support of sustainability through social innovation, entrepreneurship and community engagement,” Conzelman said. “I appreciate the many and varied experiences I have had at CU over the last 28 years that allowed me to be a successful candidate.”

“The benefits extend beyond the individual recipient, raising the profile of their home institutions. We hope University of Colorado Boulder can leverage Caroline Conzelman’s engagement abroad to establish research and exchange relationships, connect with potential applicants and engage with your alumni in the host country,” the Fulbright Program said in its award announcement.

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Award will allow Teaching Professor Caroline Conzelman to teach and conduct research on sustainability in Murcia, Spain.

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CU Boulder biochemist wins prestigious fellowship

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 18:45:06 +0000

CU Boulder biochemist wins prestigious fellowship Rachel Sauer Mon, 06/30/2025 - 12:45

Blake Puscher

Postdoctoral researcher Nathan Bullen announced as a 2025 Jane Coffin Childs fellow, supporting his research on how organisms survive when their RNA is under attack

A University of Colorado Boulder postdoctoral researcher specializing in biochemistry is one of 29 to be awarded a Jane Coffin Childs fellowship in 2025.

Nathan Bullen, a postdoctoral scholar in the CU Boulder Department of Biochemistry and the Aaron Whiteley Lab, studies how organisms survive when their RNA is under attack. As a Jane Coffin Childs (JCC) fellow, he will receive three years of salary funding to support his research out of the almost $8 million the JCC has committed to its fellows this year.

The Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research (JCC Fund) is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious postdoctoral fellowships in the United States. Established in 1937 to honor the memory of Jane Coffin Childs, who died from breast cancer in 1936, and to support cancer research, the JCC Fund has since expanded its mission to include fundamental basic scientific research into the causes and treatment of human disease.

Nathan Bullen, a postdoctoral scholar in the CU Boulder Department of Biochemistry and the Aaron Whiteley Lab, was awarded a 2025 Jane Coffin Childs fellowship.

Each year, the JCC Fund selects between 25 and 30 early-career postdoctoral fellows from a pool of more than 350 applicants and, to date, has helped more than 1,800 researchers to pursue a cure for cancer and other human diseases. Bullen and his Whiteley Lab colleagues are working toward this goal by studying immune systems and infectious diseases to develop next-generation therapeutics.

Supporting early-career scientists

In addition to furthering important biomedical research and improving human health, the JCC also helps its fellows advance their careers. Current JCC Fund fellows attend an annual symposium that includes career-development sessions and other activities intended to improve their scientific, communication and networking skills. Since its inception, the JCC Fund has produced many scientific leaders in their respective fields, including numerous Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators and seven Nobel laureates.

“These sorts of postdoc fellowship are important for trainees like Nathan because they demonstrate their ability to secure competitive funding,” says Aaron Whiteley, CU Boulder biochemistry assistant professor, head of the Aaron Whiteley Lab and a past JCC postdoctoral fellow. “They are an important step in building the resume required to run your own research group. Fellowships also help the labs that the fellows belong to, as they cover some of the cost of personnel, saving funding for experimentation.”

Bullen’s work in the Whiteley lab aims to shed new light on highly conserved systems related to RNA repair.

“Our lab is broadly focused on conserved immune pathways shared between bacteria and eukaryotes (organisms whose cells have a membrane-bound nucleus),” Whiteley says. Because bacteria are easy to study, they provide a novel way to gain insight into the way these elements work in the human immune system.

According to Whiteley, the proteins involved in RNA repair are conserved between bacteria and humans. This is similar to how certain immune pathways are conserved, as outlined in a review article he and Hannah Ledvina wrote.

“While much of our work centers on immune pathways,” he says, “we’ve found that these similarities extend into more fundamental processes.”

One example of this is RNA repair, which is essential because of the vital roles that RNA plays in cells, including helping to produce proteins. Bullen is working in this area, specifically investigating how organisms survive when their RNA is under attack.

This project is still in its early stages, Whiteley says, but “we’re making strong progress and excited about where it is heading.”

Advancing research

The JCC fellowship recognizes not just the proposed research, but who the researcher is as a scientist. According to Whiteley, Bullen has a passion for pursuing interesting and meaningful questions. “That might sound obvious for a scientist, but it’s honestly not always the case,” he says. “A big part of being successful in research is knowing what makes for a good question, and I think Nathan has a well-tuned compass in that regard.

"My goal now is to live up to the opportunity and discover something genuinely cool about how the natural world works."

“He’ll probably say he’s very lucky to have been selected as a JCC fellow, which is true, but I’ll also add that Nathan did excellent work during his PhD and has big ideas for his postdoc. He has absolutely earned this opportunity. I’m very excited about the work he’s pursuing in the lab and I’m looking forward to the discoveries he’ll make over the next few years with the support of the JCCF.”

Bullen earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Waterloo and a PhD in biochemistry from McMaster University. He has been working at CU as a postdoctoral fellow since 2024.

“I’m incredibly honored to have been selected as a Jane Coffin Childs fellow,” Bullen says. “It’s hard to turn your passion into a career. Academia isn’t an easy road, and it comes with a lot of uncertainty. Awards like the JCCF are more than financial support; they’re a real vote of confidence in early-career scientists like me.

“These types of awards are basically saying: we like your ideas, and we think you can do something great. At this stage, that vote of confidence makes a huge difference. My goal now is to live up to the opportunity and discover something genuinely cool about how the natural world works. I am hopeful that the discoveries I make during my postdoc will serve as the foundation for my own independent research group in the future.”

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Postdoctoral researcher Nathan Bullen announced as a 2025 Jane Coffin Childs fellow, supporting his research on how organisms survive when their RNA is under attack.

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College of Arts and Sciences and Office of Registrar win award for efficiency improvements

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:27:57 +0000

College of Arts and Sciences and Office of Registrar win award for efficiency improvements Rachel Sauer Mon, 06/23/2025 - 11:27

Award was one of five given by the CU Office of University Controller for demonstrating a commitment to streamlining operations

A collaboration between the University of Colorado Boulder College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Office of the Registrar to automate the major/minor declaration process has won an Office of University Controller 2025 CU Innovation & Efficiency Award and a $1,000 prize.

By partnering with the Office of the Registrar, A&S was able to automate and streamline the process by which students update their majors/minors, eliminating paper forms and manual data entry, according to A&S representatives, who said the end result was improved student communication and increased staff productivity.

In place of paper forms, the new process includes an online OnBase form for A&S undergraduate students to declare an A&S minor, and a robot to automate and record changes, associated academic advisor assignments and student notification upon the completion of the request. As a result, A&S representatives said this process requires significantly less manual work to ready the spreadsheet for the robot system. Also, the OnBase form allows for immediate notification to the student when the change has been made and automatically saves the request form to the student’s electronic dean’s file.

“I’m extremely proud to be part of a team dedicated to innovation and student success. The A&S Academic Operations team motto is ‘Student Success is Our Success,’ and the development of the change-of-major robot allowed us to deliver on that by improving service for students and staff, as well as streamlining processes. Winning this award is truly an honor, as there were many other incredible submissions,” said Megan Stephenson, director of academic operations and student records for A&S.

“This award means the world to me, especially considering the large amount of other deserving projects that were submitted. Our nomination alone recognizes that our dedication to improving processes is not only noticed but modeled across campus. I am constantly grateful and thankful to work with this winning team,” added Donna O’Neill-Mika, A&S operations technician in the dean’s office.

Representatives said this process improvement is notable in part because A&S is the largest college on the CU Boulder campus and is responsible for processing upwards of 6,600 student-initiated academic-record update requests per year in Campus Solutions.

The Innovation & Efficiency Award was one of five total awards given out by the Office of University Controller, which said each one “demonstrates a powerful commitment to streamlining operations, enhancing service and delivering measurable impact.” For more information on other award winners, click on this weblink.

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Award was one of five given by the CU Office of University Controller for demonstrating a commitment to streamlining operations.

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CU Boulder scientist receives $1.25 million award for cancer research

Rachel Sauer — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 17:12:44 +0000

CU Boulder scientist receives $1.25 million award for cancer research Rachel Sauer Wed, 06/18/2025 - 11:12

Edward Chuong is one of five researchers nationwide awarded funding to pursue ‘daring, paradigm-shifting research’ on cancer immunotherapy treatment

Edward Chuong, a University of Colorado Boulder assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and a BioFrontiers Institute scientist, has been awarded $1.25 million by the New York City-based Cancer Research Institute (CRI) to pursue his cancer immunotherapy research.

Chuong was one of five researchers nationwide who received the unrestricted funding over a five-year period, which CRI said is designed to allow researchers to pursue high-risk, high-reward projects that could redefine cancer treatment. The organization called the researchers “scientific leaders poised to reshape cancer immunotherapy through daring, paradigm-shifting research.”

Edward Chuong, a CU Boulder assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and a BioFrontiers Institute scientist, recently was awarded $1.25 million by the Cancer Research Institute to pursue cancer immunotherapy research.

“These are people who are hitting their stride scientifically and career-wise, and this is where you really want to put some jet fuel in the tank as they are getting established,” said Dr. E. John Wherry, associate director of CRI’s Scientific Advisory Council.

Echoing Wherry’s sentiment, Dr. Alicia Zhou, CRI chief executive officer, added, “Each of these researchers brings fearless curiosity and a willingness to challenge assumptions – the very qualities that drive breakthroughs. They aren’t just advancing cancer science; they are reinventing it.”

Chuong said he was surprised and honored to receive CRI funding for his research.

“As someone from an evolutionary biology background, this award means my outsider ideas are being welcomed into the cancer research community. It’s a huge boost,” he said.

Chuong’s research focuses on the role that ancient viral fragments in human DNA, called transposons, play in regulating immune cell signaling.

“Our lab started out exploring the evolution of transposons—bits of DNA derived from genetic parasites—and discovered they may function as hidden switches in our immune system,” Chuong said. “With this support, we’ll investigate how cancer cells hijack these switches to escape detection, and use that knowledge to develop new markers and therapies that make immunotherapy work better for more patients. I’m grateful to the Cancer Research Institute for supporting this unconventional perspective and I’m incredibly excited to see where it leads.”

Each year, CRI awards funding for scientists to pursue their research through its grant-making program honoring its founding scientific and medical director, Lloyd J. Old. The organization said its Lloyd J. Old STAR program—Scientists TAking Risks—is designed to provide long-term funding to mid-career scientists, giving them the freedom and flexibility to pursue research “at the forefront of discovery and innovation in cancer immunotherapy.”

CRI said its awards are given out based upon its “exceptional track record of identifying and supporting people who have had a major impact in immunotherapy.” The organization said its grants are not tied to a specific research project but rather support outstanding researchers based upon the quality and promise of researchers’ overall work.

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Edward Chuong is one of five researchers nationwide awarded funding to pursue ‘daring, paradigm-shifting research’ on cancer immunotherapy treatment.

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Farm-diversification research wins top international prize

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:03:33 +0000

Farm-diversification research wins top international prize Rachel Sauer Tue, 06/17/2025 - 10:03

Clint Talbott

CU Boulder’s Zia Mehrabi is one of three researchers named international champions of the Frontiers Planet Prize for research that finds environmental and social benefits of agricultural diversification

Widespread agricultural diversification could improve the health of the world’s environment and that of its people, a landmark study published last year found.

Zia Mehrabi, assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been named one of three international champions in the Frontiers Planet Prize, the Frontiers Research Foundation announced today. Mehrabi and his team will receive $1 million in funding to advance their research.

The Frontiers Planet Prize celebrates breakthroughs in Earth system and planetary science that “address these challenges and enable society to stay within the safe boundaries of the planet’s ecosystem.” The prize puts scientific rigor and ingenuity at its heart, helping researchers worldwide accelerate society toward a green renaissance, the Frontiers Research Foundation says.

Zia Mehrabi, a CU Boulder assistant professor of environmental studies, has been named the U.S. national champion for the Frontiers Planet Prize. (Photo: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder)

Professor Jean-Claude Burgelman, director of the Frontiers Planet Prize, said the planet faces immense threats that require bold, transformative solutions rooted in evidence and validated by science.

“Innovative yet scalable solutions are the only way for us to ensure healthy lives on a healthy planet,” Burgelman said. “By spotlighting the most groundbreaking research, we are helping scientists bring their work to the international stage and provide the scientific consensus needed to guide our actions and policies.”

Mehrabi, who leads the Better Planet Laboratory, was recognized, alongside his co-authors, for an article published last year in the journal Science titled “Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture.”

Laura Vang Rasmussen of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and Ingo Grass of the University of Hohenheim in Germany were lead authors of the paper, which had 58 co-authors. Claire Kremen of the University of British Columbia was a senior author and co-principal investigator on the study.

The researchers found that diversifying crops and animals and improving habitat, soil and water conservation on individual farms can improve biodiversity while improving or, at a minimum, not coming at a cost to yields. Additionally, diversified farming can yield social benefits and improve food security—showing improved food access or a reduced number of hungry months, for example, particularly in smallholder systems.

The more diversification measures farms employed, the more benefits accrued, researchers observed. Essentially, the team found evidence to move toward agriculture that more closely reflects natural systems.

“If you look at how ecosystems operate, it’s not just plants growing alone. It’s not just animals or soil,” Mehrabi said last year. “It’s all of these things working together.”

Using data from 2,655 farms across 11 countries and covering five continents, the researchers combined qualitative methods and statistical models to analyze 24 different datasets. Each dataset studied farm sites with varying levels of diversification, including farms without any diversification practices. This allowed the team to assess the effects of applying more diversification strategies.

Diversified farming differs from the dominant model of agriculture: growing single crops or one animal on large tracts of land. That efficient, “monoculture” style of farming is a hallmark of agriculture after the Green Revolution, which reduced global famine by focusing on high-yield crops that rely on fertilizers and pesticides.

“The Green Revolution did many, many great things, but it came with a lot of costs,” Mehrabi says, noting that synthetic fertilizers and pesticides harm the environment.

Also, to increase labor productivity, large farms rely on mechanization, which tends to “replace people with machines.”

“So, the idea of trying to engineer nature into our agricultural systems is somewhat antithetical to the whole way we think about agricultural development,” Mehrabi says.

Making a case for a different way of doing agriculture is one thing. Implementing it on a widespread basis is something else. The dominant view, fostered by “big ag” (short for agriculture), is that “if you want to do ag, you’ve got to do it this way,” Mehrabi says.

“If you look at how ecosystems operate, it’s not just plants growing alone. It’s not just animals or soil. It’s all of these things working together,” says Zia Mehrabi.

“Our work challenges that idea, but it’s a bit of a David-and-Goliath situation,” he adds. “We have the stone, but it hasn’t yet landed.”

But it’s necessary to confront Goliath, Mehrabi contends, noting that agriculture affects all the things people care about environmentally, including climate change, water security, biodiversity, pollution, land use and habitat destruction.

A third of the Earth’s land is used for agriculture, and about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions stem from agriculture, he notes. Climate change has reduced agricultural yields by as much as 5% to 10% in the last four decades, research has shown.

“If we want to do something about environmental issues, agriculture is one of the big buckets that we need to really, really start in.”

Separate from the research published in Science, Mehrabi has done modeling of the future state of agriculture globallyif the world continues business-as-usual farming. He found that in the next century, the number of farms is likely to be cut in half and the average size of farms would likely double.

Given that, along with what scientists know about the loss of natural ecosystems as farm sizes increase, “the future looks a little bit bleak,” Mehrabi says. But this new research shows it could be different.

Though he does not suggest that all farms must be small farms, he does advise that agriculture strive to diversify systems that have been “massively depleted and massively simplified.”

��Ĺ��ý the Frontiers Planet Prize, Mehrabi says he and his team are gratified to be recognized as one of three international champions. Additionally, he underscores the importance of the Frontiers Research Foundation’s financial commitment to this kind of research, calling it a “signal” to other funding entities that might follow suit.

“We need to really think about innovation in agriculture,” Mehrabi said. “We all need food to eat. We really need to innovate, and we should put money behind that. It’s worth it.”

Launched by the Frontiers Research Foundation on Earth Day 2022, the prize encourages universities worldwide to nominate their top three scientists working on understanding and putting forward pathways to stay within the safe operating space of nine planetary boundaries that are outlined by the Stockholm Resilience Center.

These nominations are then vetted at the national level, and the top scientists face an independent jury of 100—a group of renowned sustainability and planetary health experts chaired by Professor Johan Rockström—who vote for the National and International Champions.

Read a guest opinion by Zia Mehrabi and co-authors at this link. See a Q&A with Mehrabi about adding carbon-footprint labels on food at this link.

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CU Boulder prof named Boettcher Investigator

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 18:38:17 +0000

CU Boulder prof named Boettcher Investigator Rachel Sauer Fri, 06/06/2025 - 12:38

Assistant Professor Jennifer Hill is one of seven Colorado researchers to be recognized by the Boettcher Foundation for their pioneering biomedical research

The Boettcher Foundation and Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) have named Assistant Professor Jennifer H. Hill with the University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and BioFrontiers Institute as one of seven outstanding early-career biomedical researchers.

Each scientist will receive a $250,000 grant through the Boettcher Foundation’s Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program to support up to three years of independent scientific research, with total grant funding reaching $1.75 million.

CU Boulder scientist Jennifer Hill, an assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, has been named a 2025 Boettcher Investigator.

“It’s a huge honor to be selected as one of this year’s Boettcher Investigators, especially given the depth of groundbreaking biomedical research in Colorado,” Hill said. “The award gives my lab the resources to explore the relevance of our work in human tissues, bringing us closer to our goal of preventing type 1 diabetes in children. As a young investigator, receiving funds like these goes a long way to help offset some of the anxiety and uncertainty in the current federal funding landscape.”

This year’s class represents the next generation of scientific excellence and marks another milestone in Boettcher Foundation’s 16-year commitment to strengthening Colorado’s biomedical research ecosystem, according to the Boettcher Foundation. The Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards provide crucial early-career support and position recipients to compete for additional private, state and federal research funding.

“We are delighted to support our 2025 Boettcher Investigators, and as champions of their work, we are confident that these researchers will continue to spark new discoveries and drive innovation in medicine,” said Katie Kramer, president and CEO of the Boettcher Foundation. “The far-reaching impact of our Investigators’ research extends well beyond the lab—each advancement sets in motion a ripple effect that benefits patients, strengthens Colorado’s scientific community, and inspires future breakthroughs. We are proud to invest in these remarkable scientists, whose dedication and creativity are shaping a healthier future for all.”

Hill is a microbe scientist who studies the connection between the pancreas and microbes in the gut, examining microbiota in the development of insulin-producing beta cells. Four Boettcher Investigators with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and two with Colorado State University are pursuing research into fields including osteoarthritis, autism spectrum disorder, cancer and autoimmune diseases, and developmental and neurological disorders.

Since its inception, the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program has supported 113 Boettcher Investigators, including this year’s class, and awarded close to $27 million in grant funding. These researchers have gone on to secure more than $150 million in additional research funding from federal, state and private sources, according to the Boettcher Foundation.

“Colorado BioScience Association is grateful to the Boettcher Foundation for its continued investment in the next generation of scientific leaders in our state,” said Elyse Blazevich, president and CEO of Colorado BioScience Association. “The Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards provide essential early-career funding that empowers researchers to remain in Colorado and advance their discoveries within our world-class academic and research institutions. We are honored to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2025 class of Boettcher Investigators.”

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Assistant Professor Jennifer Hill is one of seven Colorado researchers to be recognized by the Boettcher Foundation for their pioneering biomedical research.

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College finance chief wins prestigious fellowship

Rachel Sauer — Thu, 22 May 2025 15:08:06 +0000

College finance chief wins prestigious fellowship Rachel Sauer Thu, 05/22/2025 - 09:08

Amy Lavens, the College of Arts and Sciences’ vice dean of finance and administration, is one of 17 professionals to win this recognition

Amy Lavens, vice dean of finance and administration for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, is one of 17 business and financial professionals named as fellows of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), the group has announced.

NACUBO’s immersive leadership development program prepares higher education professionals who are seeking a chief business officer (CBO) position in their next role, the organization said.

Amy Lavens, vice dean of finance and administration for the College of Arts and Sciences at CU Boulder, has been named a fellow of the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

Over the course of a year, NACUBO fellows will work with higher education presidents, provosts, CBOs and other experts as they expand their management, communications and leadership skills and strengthen the core competencies needed to succeed as senior leaders.

The 2025-26 fellows were selected from the largest applicant pool in the program’s history, and the incoming cohort is one of the largest since the program was founded in 2016.

"We are thrilled to welcome the 10th cohort of NACUBO’s prestigious Fellows Program—a milestone made even more meaningful because this group was selected from one of the most competitive applicant pools in our program’s history,” said Kara D. Freeman, NACUBO president and CEO, adding:

“These new fellows’ talent, diverse experiences and passion for higher education reflect the best of the future of college and university business administration and leadership. We look forward to supporting these and all our fellows’ continued growth and impact.”

At the CU Boulder College of Arts and Sciences, Lavens oversees financial strategy, budget planning and finance operations for the largest academic unit on campus. Before joining higher education, Lavens led financial and operational strategies in diverse environments, including clinical research, start-ups, manufacturing and a successful initial public offering. This background allows her to challenge conventional approaches, promoting creative and pragmatic solutions that marry financial stewardship with an institution’s overarching mission.

Her successes are built on the foundation of listening and learning, being authentic and translating complex concepts into clear, accessible language. She prioritizes transparency and avoids jargon that obscures meaning, fostering trust and collaboration, NABUCO noted.

Lavens holds an executive MBA and a bachelor of science in biochemistry from Colorado State University.

NACUBO’s fellows program is one in a suite of professional development programs aimed at preparing the next generation of chief business officers. Its offerings also include the Emerging Leaders Program and the New Business Officers Program.

Founded in 1962, NACUBO is a nonprofit professional organization representing chief administrative and financial officers at more than 1,700 colleges and universities across the country. It works to advance the economic vitality, business practices and support of higher education institutions in pursuit of their missions.

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Amy Lavens, the College of Arts and Sciences’ vice dean of finance and administration, is one of 17 professionals to win this recognition.

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