Notes from the Director, Spring 2025

Dear QBioS Community,

As we enter spring 2025, I find myself reflecting on both the remarkable achievements of our students and the increasingly challenging landscape of scientific research funding that lies ahead.

The recent changes to federal research funding policies represent a significant disruption to the academic research enterprise, threatening how universities conduct research and potentially undermining the United States' position as a global leader in scientific innovation. These changes may limit crucial opportunities for students to participate in research experiences that are fundamental to developing the next generation of scientific leaders. While none of us can predict how these funding challenges will ultimately resolve, we can ensure our voices are heard by governmental representatives, help the public understand the vital importance of scientific research, and most importantly, continue our fundamental mission of extending the light cone of human knowledge through our research.

Against this backdrop of uncertainty, I am especially proud to highlight the extraordinary accomplishments of our QBioS students over the past year. Five of our doctoral candidates have successfully defended their dissertations and secured impressive positions: Pablo Bravo has started a postdoctoral position in the Yunker Lab; Aaron Pfennig will join Princeton University's Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics; Athulya Ram has accepted a lecturer position at Stanford University; Mengshi Zhang will pursue postdoctoral research at the University of Washington; and Katie MacGillivray has begun her postdoctoral work studying plant-infecting bacteria in Tiffany Lowe-Power's lab at UC Davis.

Our students continue to earn prestigious external recognition as well. Zach Mobille was awarded the ARCS Foundation Fellowship in August 2024, and Ryan Lowhorn received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in September 2024. These competitive awards reflect the exceptional quality of research being conducted by our students.

I'm also delighted to announce this year's QBioS award recipients. Christopher Zhang received the Best Paper in Cellular and Molecular Biosciences for his work on the Type VI Secretion System in Vibrio cholerae. Ethan Wold earned the Best Paper in Organismal Behavior and Physiology for his research on moth resonant mechanics. Marian Dominguez Mirazo was recognized with the Best Paper in Ecology, Evolution and Population Biology for her study on virus-host dynamics. The QBioS Student Government Association—comprising Sayantan Datta, Ray Copeland, Alfie Brownless, Elisa Rheaume, and Luis Felipe Cedeno Perez—received the Community Outreach and Service Award for fostering camaraderie and inclusion through various student events.

I would also like to acknowledge Marian Dominguez Mirazo for her service on the organizing committee for the Women+ in Computational Biology mentorship program and Chris Zhang for leading the inaugural Georgia Tech CMDI seminar day. Their contributions to our community extend beyond their impressive research accomplishments.

As we navigate the evolving funding landscape, the collaborative ethos of our QBioS community gives me confidence in our continued success. The interdisciplinary nature of our program remains our greatest strength, allowing us to adapt to challenges and pursue groundbreaking research regardless of external constraints.

I invite you to join me in congratulating our graduates and award winners, and I look forward to seeing the impact of their continued contributions to quantitative biosciences.

Will Ratcliff