Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology

Michael A. Kelberman named a Simons Foundation Fellows-to-Faculty Award recipient

Rachel Sauer — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 20:42:54 +0000

Michael A. Kelberman named a Simons Foundation Fellows-to-Faculty Award recipient Rachel Sauer Thu, 09/03/2026 - 14:42

Hope Kerrigan

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� postdoctoral researcher receives a grant supporting his work on the intersection between social bonds and brain aging

Michael A. Kelberman, a postdoctoral fellow in Zoe Donaldson’s lab in the University of Colorado Boulder Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, has been named a 2026 Simons Foundation Fellows-to-Faculty Award recipient—one of five awardees supported through the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB) this year. The award comes with a three-year, $600,000 faculty research grant.

Michael A. Kelberman, a postdoctoral fellow in Zoe Donaldson’s lab in the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, has been named a 2026 Simons Foundation Fellows-to-Faculty Award recipient.

Prior to his postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado Boulder, Kelberman received his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and earned his doctorate in Neuroscience from Emory University. While a graduate student in David Weinshenker’s lab at Emory, Kelberman used electrophysiology, optogenetic-fMRI and behavioral assays in rodents to uncover how noradrenergic locus coeruleus function is disrupted by dementia-related pathology.

Kelberman joined Donaldson’s lab in October 2023, which uses monogamous prairie voles to understand how disease affects the neural and genetic basis of social bonds. In the Donaldson lab, Kelberman developed a niche, studying the overlap between dementia and social bonds.

The SCPAB Fellows-to-Faculty program represents a natural extension of his research interests, where he will use prairie voles to study how pair bonds and their supporting neural systems evolve over the lifespan and influence cognition.

“I am honored to have been selected as one of this year’s recipients of the Simons Foundation SCPAB Fellows-to-Faculty award,” he says. “I look forward to continuing and expanding my work on how our closest social relationships contribute to healthy aging, with the goal of developing socially informed interventions that prolong health in the face of challenges brought about by aging.”

The Simons Foundation’s Autism & Neuroscience Research Initiative (SFARI) specializes in advancing the basic sciences of autism spectrum disorders. This year, the foundation is funding 10 recipients through SFARI and five through SCPAB to support early-career scientists as they transition from postdoctoral research into an independent, tenure-track faculty position.

Kelly Martin, executive vice president of SFARI, expressed enthusiasm about welcoming this accomplished cohort of scientists into the Simons community: “Their diverse expertise, including clinical insights and computational approaches, reflects the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of basic science, and we look forward to seeing all that they accomplish.”

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��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� postdoctoral researcher receives a grant supporting his work on the intersection between social bonds and brain aging.

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Meredith Betterton awarded Sloan Matter-to-Life grant

Rachel Sauer — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:55:21 +0000

Meredith Betterton awarded Sloan Matter-to-Life grant Rachel Sauer Wed, 08/05/2026 - 14:55

Rachel Sauer

Research aligns with foundation goal to sharpen ‘scientific understanding of the physical principles and mechanisms that distinguish living systems from inanimate matter’

Meredith Betterton, a University of Colorado Boulder professor of physics and molecular, cellular and developmental biology, has been awarded a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Matter-to-Life program.

The two-year, $594,487 grant will support Betterton’s ongoing research on microtubules, the small, long tubes inside cells that serve several functions and that Betterton’s research suggests may be less fixed and static than previously thought.

The Sloan Matter-to-Life program aims “to sharpen our scientific understanding of the physical principles and mechanisms that distinguish living systems from inanimate matter, and to explore the conditions under which physical principles and mechanisms guide the complexification of matter towards life.”

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� scientist Meredith Betterton has been awarded a two-year, $594,487 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Matter-to-Life program.

Betterton and her research colleagues study microtubules in cells, which help maintain cell structure similar to how beams support a building and also act like highways that move traffic along, she explains.

“Because (microtubules) have this important role as highways that things stick to and then move along, people have thought about them as being kind of fixed,” she says. “You build a microtubule, it’s there to be a highway and then it’s pretty static.

“The thought has been that once they’re there (in the cell), they sit there. Our project has to do with the idea that there might be subtle changes within the (microtubule) structure that act as a signal that sends information—so they act in some ways not as a highway, but like a telephone wire that’s sending signals.”

Building with bricks

Microtubules are built of subunits, called tubulin, that can be compared to bricks, Betterton explains. These tubulin “bricks” are known to make small internal changes to their shape and size; what hasn’t been known is what happens to the rest of the tubulin in the microtubule if one changes. “Imagine packing a lot of bricks together in a wall,” she says. “If you change the shape of one, what happens to the others nearby?”

Several years ago, Betterton and her research group, in collaboration with another team of research colleagues including Radhika Subramanian and Sithara S. Wijeratne at Harvard Medical School, were studying “traffic” along microtubules, which is done by motor proteins. These proteins take “steps” along the microtubule. They also can pile up and cause traffic jams, so Betterton and her colleagues were studying those jams to better understand the motors.

The researchers discovered this phenomenon because the math wasn’t working. “In my group we were working on mathematical modeling of this, and we couldn’t get the model to work,” she says. “We put in measurements, and the equations gave us predictions that were really different from what experiments showed. We found the only way we could get the model to make sense was if something was happening where the motors could talk to each other over really long distances.”

While this action happens on a nanometer scale, “if you scaled it up it would be as if, when you’re driving a car, you could know there’s another car two miles away and how fast it’s driving,” she says. “That really was the initial discovery—this weird, long-range effect that we didn’t know where it was coming from.”

Other research had explored the conformational transitions, or structural shifts in tubulin, and how motor proteins can stick to microtubules and change their state if they bind in large numbers. Betterton and her research group are exploring whether a change of state can happen when motor proteins bind in small numbers and send signals over long distances.

How cells process information

A key aspect of this research, Betterton says, is it explores a different paradigm for how to think about these particular molecules in cells and aims for broader understanding of the way cells process information.

For example, she says, much is known about how neurons in the brain send electrical signals—a vital process for information transmission in the brain—but that process “can only happen in that one type of cell, whereas microtubules are in every cell,” Betterton says. “They could be sensing something happening in one part of the cell, so we’re studying this new way that cells could be responding.”

She adds that there are various potential applications for this avenue of research, including developing more targeted chemotherapy drugs: “There’s one (tubulin) that seems to be resistant to this subtle expansion and contraction. Recent work shows that makes them not as responsive to chemotherapy drugs. Because microtubules are involved in cell division, some first-line chemotherapy drugs for cancer act against microtubules.

“What has been discovered is that some cancers can resist these chemotherapy drugs by switching to this other type of tubulin that doesn’t change shape as well,” she says, adding that understanding more about tubulin expansion and contraction could possibly lead to more effective drugs.

There also could be potential applications in the physics of materials and using microtubules and motor proteins to make new types of materials that are more tunable to specific functions.

“The Sloan program is interested in this research because this specific program is called Matter-to-Life,” Betterton says. “What that’s trying to say of matter is that it’s some collections of molecules, but what about it becomes different between something that’s inert versus something that could be more alive? That’s a really exciting question.”

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Research aligns with foundation goal to sharpen ‘scientific understanding of the physical principles and mechanisms that distinguish living systems from inanimate matter.'

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Top image: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Lee Niswander awarded 2026 Edwin G. Conklin Medal

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:31:43 +0000

Lee Niswander awarded 2026 Edwin G. Conklin Medal Rachel Sauer Fri, 07/31/2026 - 10:31

Mikayla Eppert

The award recognizes the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� developmental biologist for extraordinary research contributions being a mentor who helped train the next generation of outstanding scientists

Lee Niswander has been named the 2026 recipient of the Edwin G. Conklin Medal from the Society for Developmental Biology.

A distinguished professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of Colorado Boulder, Niswander joins a group of researchers recognized for their exceptional contributions to developmental biology and their dedication to training the next generation of scientists.

Named after Edwin G. Conklin, a pioneering developmental biologist and American embryologist, the medal recognizes both scientific impact and mentorship.

Lee Niswander is a distinguished professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��.

“It is a huge honor to receive the 2026 Edwin G. Conklin Medal from the Society for Developmental Biology (SDB). I thank SDB for nurturing my career and the education and careers of my trainees through the years,” said Niswander. “I am extremely pleased to share in the honor of this award with all of my current and former trainees whose research drove our discoveries and revealed the wonders of the embryo.”

This award follows on the heels of Niswander earlier this year receiving the 2026 Hazel Barnes Prize and being elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Niswander is described by her peers and trainees as a generous mentor, thoughtful leader and a disarmingly humble scientist.

“Lee is fearless,” said Maria Barna, Niswander’s former graduate student who now runs her own lab at Stanford. “[She] has instilled that in me."

Niswander’s work has shaped scientists’ understanding of how the body plan arises in early embryos. Her seminal contributions range from work on FGF signaling in limb development to the role of cell cilia during early organ development, and, more recently, efforts to understand the mechanisms underlying human neural tube defects.

'Wow, this is really cool'

Niswander originally became interested in research as an undergraduate at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she first stepped into a lab through a work-study program. “Once I started to do research, I was like, ‘Wow, this is really cool,’” she recalled.

That exposure led Niswander to graduate school at Case Western Reserve University, where she joined the developmental biology program. She remembers thinking, “I don’t know anything about development … I’m going to do that,” before joining the lab of Terry Magnuson, PhD.

Her dissertation work used genetic deletions in mice to probe which regions of chromosome 7 are necessary for embryonic development. She spent time in Sweden learning a specialized technique that helped her complete the work.

“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel if somebody else knows how to do it,” she said. “Go learn from an expert.”

After completing her PhD, Niswander joined the lab of Gail Martin, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, as a postdoctoral fellow. She began working on limb development, a topic no one else in the lab was pursuing at the time, and trained further at University College London with Cheryll Tickle, PhD, a leading expert in the field.

During this work, she found expression of FGF4 in the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) is sufficient for limb outgrowth—a finding that reflected the technical curiosity and willingness to seek outside expertise that would come to define her approach to science.

On her first day as a principal investigator, Niswander walked into an empty lab at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

“It’s just me … I can’t believe they let me do this,” she remembers thinking. This marked the beginning of her independent research career. Soon after, Niswander began a collaboration with Kathryn Anderson, PhD, launching a large-scale forward genetic screen for developmental mutants in mice.

One major finding to emerge from the screen was in identifying ciliary proteins that help integrate Hedgehog signaling during organogenesis, which Barna describes as, “dogma changing.” The findings reconceptualized cilia from passive “cellular antennas” into active signaling hubs that drive decisions about development. “The cilia is not just a boring antenna that's sticking out of the cell but is like a major signaling center also," Barna noted.

I am extremely pleased to share in the honor of this award with all of my current and former trainees whose research drove our discoveries and revealed the wonders of the embryo.”

Seeking the bigger picture

Niswander later returned to the University of Colorado Boulder, where her work expanded from identifying genes linked to neural tube defects to probing the broader underlying mechanisms. "[Niswander] was looking for a way to plug in some of these basic discoveries into human health even more,” said Barna.

Neural tube defects remain a central focus of her current work, reflecting her broader approach to science: “I’d be bored to tears to study anything at one level. I want to see things in that bigger picture,” she explained.

Niswander continues to teach limb development as a way of sharing what she finds most compelling about developmental biology and modeling the mentorship style she values.

“I still teach limb development because I think it's such an easy system for somebody to say, ‘Oh yeah, why are my fingers here and my shoulder there?’” she said.

Although her research has since expanded beyond questions of limb development, her postdoctoral findings still stand out to her. Remove the AER and limb growth stalls; replace its signal with FGF and the limb continues to grow.

“I still find it astounding,” she said, “that you can take off this whole strip of tissue – the apical ridge – and just put back in FGF, and the limb will continue to grow.”

Across her independent career, Niswander has trained nearly 50 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who have gone on to careers in science and beyond: professors, scientists, journalists and editors.

“I have no preconceived notions that somebody’s going to be like me,” Niswander said. “I give people opportunities all the time to pursue the career path that they want."

For Niswander, what has made it all worthwhile comes without hesitation.

"The people are my legacy,” she said. "None of this would be fun if you didn't have people in your lab. I live vicariously through all the wonderful people that have come through my lab."

Barna saw that approach firsthand.

“She encouraged this kind of bold and free way of doing science in the lab that I try to emulate,” said Barna. “But it’s very difficult to emulate Lee."

Niswander began her work at a single lab bench as an undergraduate, but her career has since evolved into one that has moved across institutions and continents, produced work spanning human disease and developmental biology, and trained dozens of scientists. Yet, Niswander still describes the impact of her work in the same way.

“The research is fun,” she said. “You publish papers and stuff, but to me it’s the people and what they’ve done.”

In recognizing Niswander with the Conklin Medal, the Society for Developmental Biology said Niswander exemplifies the scientific impact and mentorship recognized by the organization through a career defined by curiosity, fearlessness and a deep commitment to training the next generation of scientists.

—Bradley Worrell contributed to this article

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The award recognizes the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� developmental biologist for extraordinary research contributions being a mentor who helped train the next generation of outstanding scientists.

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Undergraduate Isabella Perrin named 2026 Cech Fellow

Rachel Sauer — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 23:12:39 +0000

Undergraduate Isabella Perrin named 2026 Cech Fellow Rachel Sauer Wed, 06/03/2026 - 17:12

The newly established fellowship, named in honor of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Professor Thomas Cech, gives students opportunities for research, professional mentorship and career exploration

Isabella Perrin, a University of Colorado Boulder undergraduate student studying molecular, cellular and developmental biology and public health, has been selected as one of 176 inaugural Cech Fellows by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

The fellowship, awarded to an inaugural cohort of undergraduates from 109 institutions in 36 states and territories, is named in honor of Nobel laureate Thomas Cech, a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� distinguished professor of biochemistry, former HHMI president and current HHMI investigator.

The Cech Fellows will spend nine weeks this summer conducting hands-on research with HHMI scientists at universities and research institutions across the country, as well as at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus in Virginia. They will contribute to research while receiving professional mentorship and exploring potential careers in biological and biomedical research.

"I’ve always believed that getting students into real research environments early is one of the most powerful things we can do for them and for science,” said Cech. “I’m deeply honored that this program carries my name, and I look forward to seeing what this first cohort of Fellows will go on to achieve.”

Leslie Vosshall, HHMI vice president and chief scientific officer, noted that a single summer in the right lab can kickstart a scientific career: “By asking real questions alongside scientists at the top of their fields, this year’s Cech Fellows will have the opportunity to see what a life in science actually looks like.”

Perrin, who is working with researchers at the University of California Berkeley this summer on immunology research about the pathways and mechanisms that relate to autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, has previously conducted RNA research with Robin Dowell, a professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and Mary Ann Allen, a research associate professor with the BioFrontiers Institute.

“As a Cech Fellow, I’m honored and excited to join a diverse community with engaging and curiosity-filled science research,” Perrin said. “I value this opportunity not only to learn from mentors and peers about how to conduct meaningful research but also to engage in research that, at its core, is based in bettering individuals’ quality of life.

“I hope to learn and use new skills to contribute to the field in a rigorous manner, and to use a creative mindset to approach challenging questions. I love learning about the capabilities and quirks of the immune system and am thrilled to be a part of a lab that focuses on applying this work to human health conditions.”

Summer research experiences are “often where undergraduates discover their passion for scientific inquiry,” said Joshua Hall, HHMI lead senior director and scientific program officer at HHMI. “The Cech Fellows Program gives talented students direct access to some of the most exciting science happening anywhere in the country, and we’re thrilled to welcome this inaugural cohort.”

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The newly established fellowship, named in honor of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Professor Thomas Cech, gives students opportunities for research, professional mentorship and career exploration.

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��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� scholars elected members of the National Academy of Sciences

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 01 May 2026 20:47:49 +0000

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� scholars elected members of the National Academy of Sciences Rachel Sauer Fri, 05/01/2026 - 14:47

Lee Niswander and Bethany Ehlmann recognized ‘for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research’

Two University of Colorado Boulder scientists have been elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, joining a cohort of more than 140 scholars around the world who are recognized for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Lee Niswander, a distinguished professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and Bethany Ehlmann, a professor of geological sciences and director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, join an academy whose members include Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Richard Feynman and Jennifer Doudna, among other scientists.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and—with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine—provides science, engineering and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.

Lee Niswander is a distinguished professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology.

Pursuing clinical therapies

Niswander is head of the Niswander Lab, where she and her group investigate mouse models of embryonic development to provide insights into fundamental developmental processes, major human birth defects and potential clinical therapies. Her studies have revealed the molecular mechanisms that control formation of the central and peripheral nervous system, as well as lung, limb and neuromuscular development.

Niswander’s current focus is on early brain formation and birth defects that arise when normal brain formation goes awry, like failure of neural tube closure or maintenance of neural progenitor cells, resulting in spina bifida or microcephaly.

The Niswander Lab uses the mouse embryo and human-induced pluripotent stem cells as models of human development. The lab’s studies encompass genetics, epigenetics, environmental factors and live imaging to couple molecular insights to cell behaviors. Through collaborative efforts, Niswander Lab researchers are also exploring the genetic causes of neural tube defects in humans.

Niswander recently received the Hazel Barnes Prize, which celebrates the enriching interrelationship between teaching and research. It is the largest and most prestigious award funded by the university. This summer she will be honored with an Edwin G. Conklin Medal, which is awarded annually by the Society for Developmental Biology (SDB) to recognize a developmental biologist who has made and is continuing to make extraordinary research contributions to the field and is an excellent mentor, helping train the next generation of outstanding scientists.

Niswander received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, her master’s degree in biochemistry and genetics from University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (now CU Anschutz) and her doctorate in genetics from Case Western University. She performed her postdoctoral training in developmental biology at the University of California San Francisco.

“I am deeply honored to become a member of the National Academy of Sciences,” Niswander says. “I am grateful to the numerous trainees and their research discoveries that provided the foundation of this honor. I am excited to join the Academy in their mission to advise on scientific matters important for human health.”

Bethany Ehlmann is a professor of geological sciences and director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.

Studying space

Ehlmann is a planetary scientist who, in addition to her roles as director of LASP and professor of geological sciences, holds the faculty roles of Provost’s Chair in the Research and Innovation Office and affiliate professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences. Her research focuses on water in the solar system, the evolution of habitable worlds and remote sensing techniques and instruments for planetary missions.

Ehlmann is a science team member of multiple missions, including the Jupiter-bound Europa Clipper; the Earth-orbiting EMIT imaging spectrometer; the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover; the Mars2020 Perseverance rover; the ExoMars rover; and orbiting and landed spectrometers for the Artemis lunar program. Previously, she was a science team member for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CRISM instrument, the Dawn mission during its exploration of the asteroid Ceres, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity and principal investigator of Lunar Trailblazer.

Active in science policy and outreach, Ehlmann is president of the board of directors of The Planetary Society. She served as a member of the National Academies Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey and the National Academies Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science. She is a fellow of both the American Geophysical Union and the Mineralogical Society of America, and has authored a children's book, “Dr. E's Super Stellar Solar System,” with National Geographic.

Ehlmann earned a bachelor’s degree from Washington University, where she double majored in earth and planetary sciences and environmental studies with a minor in math; two master’s degrees from the University of Oxford, in environmental change and management and geography; and master’s and doctoral degrees in geological sciences from Brown University.

“Election to the National Academy of Sciences is an honor,” Ehlmann said. “I’m grateful for this recognition and look forward to supporting the Academy’s mission to guide and advance scientific discovery, especially at a moment when humanity is extending our scientific exploration of the Moon, Mars and other planets.”

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Lee Niswander and Bethany Ehlmann recognized ‘for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.’

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Sometimes you just feel like a mango

Rachel Sauer — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:48:12 +0000

Sometimes you just feel like a mango Rachel Sauer Wed, 04/15/2026 - 08:48

Rachel Sauer

In new mid-grade novel Confessions of a Mango, writing team Katheryn Lumsden and Nathan Pieplow explore the challenges of navigating middle school with a dyslexia diagnosis

Have you ever felt like the mango in a line of lovebirds? Sure, you look like you fit in—same general shape, same red, yellow and green coloring—but, well, you’re a mango and everyone else is a bird.

That’s how Ruby Emmerson feels at Benton Academy, where she’s starting sixth grade with her twin brother, Bryce. But while Bryce is an academic high achiever who likely will excel at the competitive charter school, Ruby’s diagnoses of dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia mean that reading, writing and math are tough for her.

And when she fails her first test at Benton, wow, does she feel like a mango. She even writes a brief blog post about it: “I dont belong at Benton Acadamy. I’m an imposter. I walk beside you in the halls every day. But I’m not smart enuff to stay much longer. Theres so much work. Im failing.”

Nathan Pieplow (left) and Katheryn Lumsden (right) are the authors of Confessions of a Mango, a new mid-grade novel that explores questions of belonging.

Except . . . so many of her classmates relate. Just as readers likely will.

Ruby’s are the confessions in Confessions of a Mango, a mid-grade novel published this week and written by Katheryn Lumsden, a University of Colorado Boulder molecular, cellular and developmental biology alumna, and Nathan Pieplow, an associate teaching professor in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric.

But for the purposes of this book, they are Kate and Nate, a writing team with way too many ideas and way too little time, and a shared passion for telling honest stories with humor and empathy.

“This is the first creative partnership I’ve been in that works,” Pipelow says. “We bicker like siblings, but the beautiful thing about writing with Katheryn is she’s an idea factory. She can write 2,000 words in an afternoon, then she sends them to me, and I don’t have to start with a blank page.”

“I’m the sloppy copy,” she says.

“I contribute ideas,” he says.

“He’s the atmosphere and the voice. Ironically, Mango didn’t have my voice until he added it.”

It just works, they conclude.

A writing partnership is born

Pieplow and Lumsden met, unsurprisingly, in a Boulder writing group six years ago. Lumsden, a pharmacist by profession, was a longtime group member who wanted a community of support to help her wrangle her boundless ideas. Pieplow, who had authored two field guides to bird sounds, wanted to delve into fiction writing.

“Everyone was like, ‘Why is he here? He doesn’t have plots,’” Lumsden recalls. “But I didn’t have pretty writing and he does, so I decided, ‘I’m gonna ask Nathan if he wants to meet'—for me it was so that he could teach me how to write better, and for him it was so I could teach him how to plot.”

Author event

Katheryn Lumsden and Nathan Pieplow will talk about Confessions of a Mango Thursday evening at Boulder Bookstore.

What: Book discussion of Confessions of a Mango

Who: Authors Katheryn Lumsden and Nathan Pieplow

Where: Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St.

When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16

Reserve a spot

And so, a writing partnership was born. Their first book was a young adult historical fantasy that was good enough to get them their agent, Sarah Fisk, but it wasn’t bought by a publisher. The next novel wasn’t, either.

“If you want to be a fiction writer, you write several (books) and if one doesn’t get published, you move on to the next,” Lumsden says.

“(Confessions of a Mango) is definitely our debut,” Pieplow adds. “The first two were not quite at this level; with our first ones we were playing with form and voice.”

In fact, Fisk told them that the most important thing to get right when writing mid-grade or young adult fiction is the voice, Lumsden says, “and fortunately, voice has always been one of the things I do well.”

The idea for Confessions of a Mango germinated from many seeds. Lumsden grew up in Boulder with a twin brother who, like Bryce, was considered the “smart” one. Lumsden struggled with reading, and their mom, not wanting to make Lumsden feel bad, took both of them for dyslexia testing, explaining it away with “people are interested in twins.”

She did learn to navigate dyslexia, however, so when she was 12, her mom brought home a cake as a sort of “Congratulations for outgrowing dyslexia!” celebration. “Except it wasn’t until much later that I found out you don’t actually outgrow dyslexia,” Lumsden says.

She also read Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz and ideas began percolating. So, when Pieplow went on a birding trip for a month, Lumsden grew impatient waiting for his return and started writing a book.

Making it realistic and relatable

“Part of it was that I was so angry,” she explains. “So often, these kids (diagnosed with dyslexia) don’t know how smart they truly are, and that’s so unfair. Plus, they never see themselves in books because dyslexia just isn’t something that gets written about in mid-grade fiction.

Confessions of a Mango tells the story of Ruby Emmerson, a sixth grader at Benton Academy whose diagnoses of dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia make her feel like she doesn't fit in at the competitive charter school.

“So, when Nathan got back, I sent him what I’d started and he was like, ‘This is actually very good.’”

Lumsden had an advantage because when the two began writing Confessions of a Mango three years ago, her son was 10 and her daughter was 12—she had a front-row seat to the joys and concerns of children entering and navigating middle school.

Pieplow says it was important to them to write a book that was realistic and relatable: The parents may be occasionally clueless, but they want what’s best for their kids. The teachers and administrators at the school are supportive, and the other kids may be squirrelly sometimes, but they’re otherwise normal, decent kids.

“I grew up in Boulder and my husband and I are raising our kids in Boulder, and the parents here are fantastic, but sometimes there can be this feeling of life or death if you don’t do well (in school),” Lumsden says. “There isn’t a lot of room to fail, and people sometimes won’t even say the word ‘fail’ to kids. But it’s important that kids know sometimes they’ll fail and it’s not the end of the world.”

When Fisk began pitching their draft to publishers—after suggesting they excise this chapter and add that chapter, and put in more about Ruby’s quirky best friend, Thea—Little, Brown was the first to make an offer and was the publisher they ultimately chose.

Part of that decision, they say, was the kindness that Little, Brown staff showed them throughout the publishing process—how included they felt in every step and how Little, Brown representatives embraced the dyslexia angle of their story. In fact, Confessions of a Mango is printed in the Lexend font, which improves reading performance and reduces visual stress for people with dyslexia.

They even had a significant say in the vibrant book cover, which shows a girl seated in the shadow of a huge mango with a lovebird perched on its leaf. When they and artist Andy Smith settled on two cover finalists, they asked Lumsden’s son and his friends to vote for their favorite one.

Now, in publication week, a three-year process is finally tangible with the book in readers’ hands. It’s a book close to their hearts, Lumsden says, and they’re proud of the story it tells and the children to whom it gives a literary voice.

But, well, on to the next. They already have several books in progress, and “one of the things I love about working with Katheryn is that eventually we’re going to write something in every genre, because of the exploration of (writing) and how it’s like travel,” Pieplow says. “I love seeing new places, and that’s what I’m doing through the books we’re writing.”

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In new mid-grade novel Confessions of a Mango, writing team Katheryn Lumsden and Nathan Pieplow explore the challenges of navigating middle school with a dyslexia diagnosis.

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��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� scientists honored as AAAS fellows

Rachel Sauer — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:20:24 +0000

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� scientists honored as AAAS fellows Rachel Sauer Thu, 03/26/2026 - 08:20

Scholars Rebecca Safran and Tin Tin Su recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for excellence in research, teaching and interpreting science to the public

Rebecca Safran, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who has led groundbreaking research on the evolution of new species, and Tin Tin Su, professor and chair of molecular, cellular and developmental biology whose research is leading to novel cancer therapies, have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The AAAS fellowship is among the highest honors in the scientific community, recognizing a distinguished cohort of scientists, engineers and innovators who “have been recognized for their achievements across disciplines, from research, teaching and technology to administration in academia, industry and government, to excellence in communicating and interpreting science to the public,” AAAS officials note.

“This year’s AAAS Fellows have demonstrated research excellence, made notable contributions to advance science and delivered important services to their communities,” says Sudip S. Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “These Fellows and their accomplishments validate the importance of investing in science and technology for the benefit of all.”

Rebecca Safran is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who has led groundbreaking research on the evolution of new species.

A study of swallows

Safran, whose passion for biology took root in a plant taxonomy class during her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, and her research team, study the evolution of new species, focusing on the causes and consequences of individual variation across different scales of time and space.

Because studying the formation of new species can be difficult—given that most species are millions of years old and what caused them to diverge from their ancestors often can’t be determined—Safran and her team study barn swallows, a very closely related group of populations of migratory birds that are currently diverging. This allows Safran and her team to study the process of speciation in real time.

Safran won a National Science Foundation Early Career Development award to study speciation in barn swallows across their entire, expansive breeding range throughout the Northern Hemisphere and Middle East. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when it wasn’t possible to conduct research in other countries, Safran and her research team began focusing on the rapid decline in the population of barn swallows and its implications. For their work, Safran and team study the birds using a highly integrative approach including behavioral, physiological and genetic perspectives.

Among other discoveries, Safran and her team found that sexual selection, or the process by which organisms choose mates based on traits they find attractive, drives the emergence of new species. Her team’s research has been published in more than 120 peer-reviewed journals, including Science, Nature and Current Biology. She also co-edited a recent book on speciation (2024, Cold Spring Harbor Press).

“None of this work is possible without the incredible collaboration with students, colleagues at CU and around the world, private landowers who allow us to study populations of barn swallows on their properties and continuous funding support by the National Science Foundation and other agencies,” Safran says. “I am especially honored to have worked with so many talented undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students."

Studying fruit flies to treat cancer

Su, who attended Woodstock School in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, credits her experiences there, in part, with helping her understand that her ideal environment is one in which “you do respect the elders or people who have had more experience or authority. But at the same time, if it doesn't seem right, you question it.”

Tin Tin Su is a professor and chair of molecular, cellular and developmental biology whose research is leading to novel cancer therapies.

Throughout her career, Su and her research colleagues have sought to develop new ways of attacking cancer. Through research on how tissues and organs in fruit flies regenerate after being damaged by X-rays, they synthesized the chemical SVC112, which helps prevent cancer cells from regrowing following radiation exposure. Su and her colleagues focused on the fruit fly because this insect shares more than 70% of disease-relevant genes with humans.

SVC112 is based on the chemical bouvardin found in the firecracker bush (Bouvardia ternifolia) that grows in the Southwest United States and Mexico. Su and her colleagues discovered that bouvardin can prevent regeneration of tissues in fruit flies.

More recently, Su, who also is a member of the CU Cancer Center, and her colleague Antonio Jimeno, co-leader of the CU Cancer Center’s Developmental Therapeutics Program, used SVC112 to target cancer stem cells in head and neck cancers. They are in the process of applying to the FDA to test SVC112 in human trials.

Su also has participated in the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Community Perspectives Program, conducting outreach in several rural Colorado communities that led to a research collaboration with Colorado State University Pueblo to assess the effect of heavy metals on the genome in fruit fly and human cells.

“I do what I do because I love science,” Su says. “The potential to help cancer patients in Colorado and beyond makes it even better. So, to be named a AAAS Fellow is really the cherry on top!”

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� the AAAS Fellowship

The AAAS began naming fellows annually in 1874, people nominated by the AAAS Council to recognize those whose “efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished.”

Safran and Su join a cohort of more than 80 ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� faculty members who previously received the honor, as well as a broader cadre that includes Thomas Edison, W.E.B DuBois, Maria Mitchell, Steven Chu, Ellen Ochoa and Irwin M. Jacobs.

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Scholars Rebecca Safran and Tin Tin Su recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for excellence in research, teaching and interpreting science to the public.

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Scientist lives by the Serengeti Rules

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 02:17:06 +0000

Scientist lives by the Serengeti Rules Rachel Sauer Mon, 03/16/2026 - 20:17

Rachel Sauer

Author, filmmaker and scholar Sean B. Carroll, formerly a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� postdoctoral researcher, will deliver the Rose M. Litman Memorial Lecture in Science April 7

When Sean B. Carroll came to the University of Colorado Boulder in 1983, right out of graduate school and newly hired as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of molecular, cellular and developmental biologist Matt Scott, he was somewhat indifferent to Drosophila melanogaster, better known as the fruit fly and Scott’s research focus.

“I was coming from an immunology background, working with furry animals, and my attitude was that studying fruit flies wouldn’t teach us anything general,” Carroll recalls. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with humans or important things, or so I thought. But that was a really narrow view, because it turns out that all these genes that build fruit fly parts are in us—they build parts in us—so fruit flies became a passport to the whole animal kingdom.”

Scientist, author and filmmaker Sean B. Carroll, a former ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� postdoctoral researcher, will deliver the Rose M. Litman Memorial Lecture in Science April 7.

And with that passport, Carroll has roamed the planet as an evolutionary developmental biologist and award-winning author and filmmaker, observing life from individual cells to continent-spanning populations. Through his observations and experiences emerged what he came to call “The Serengeti Rules,” based on the idea that everything in the living world is regulated.

He will discuss the discovery of The Serengeti Rules, on which he elaborates in his book of the same name, during the Rose M. Litman Memorial Lecture from 4-5 p.m. April 7 in the CASE Chancellor’s Hall Auditorium.

The Serengeti Rules, as he describes them, are ecological rules that regulate the numbers and kinds of animals and plants in any given place, and how they are being applied to restore some of the greatest wildernesses on the planet.

“Every cell contains a society of molecules, every organ a society of cells, every body a society of organs, every habitat a society of organisms,” he writes in The Serengeti Rules. “Understanding the interactions within each of those societies are the primary aims of molecular biology, physiology and ecology.”

Diversity in the animal kingdom

Before he had roamed the globe as a scientist and filmmaker, however, Carroll was the kid growing up in Toledo, Ohio, flipping over rocks to see what was under them. “I have a love for the entire animal kingdom,” he explains, which guided him to a bachelor’s degree in biology from Washington University and a PhD in immunology from Tufts University.

During his graduate studies, he became very interested in the question of how animal bodies evolve—in understanding how all the diversity in the animal kingdom came about. So, he hatched a plan to solve the mysteries of development.

“Changes in development are what lead to changes in form,” Carroll says. “The whole diversity of the animal kingdom is rooted in development, so we had to crack the black-box mystery of development to get any traction in understanding how the physical diversity of the animal kingdom evolved.”

Thus, the fruit flies. He wagered that studying them could be a key to unlocking the diversity of the animal kingdom—and the genes that govern development—and came to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� determined to pick the lock on that black box.

If you go

What: 2026 Rose M. Litman Memorial Lecture in Science—The Serengeti Rules: The Regulation and Restoration of Biodiversity

Who: Sean B. Carroll

When: 4–5 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, with reception to follow

Where: Chancellor’s Hall Auditorium, Center for Academic Success & Engagement (CASE)

Learn more

“During this time, 1983, oh my god—how an egg turns into a complex creature was a mystery,” he says. “It was a spectacular pageant we could watch from the outside, but we didn’t know what was going on inside. We needed to identify the genes that are necessary for that process, figure out what the genes did.

“It’s hard to overstate both how deep the mystery was but how thrilling these clues were as they started to unfold. Those days were incredibly exhilarating and intense, the lab was a beehive, people worked all days and nights and weekends because, first of all, we were fascinated. Also, we felt we had a shot at some really fundamental discoveries. Looking back, these times don’t happen very often in science where you really have a black-box mystery, and it breaks open—and it broke open partly because of what we did in Matt’s lab and partly because of what our peers around the world did.”

One eureka moment from Carroll’s time in Boulder came about 18 months into his research. He had taken on the task of seeing genes in action inside developing fruit fly embryos, working every day in the lab, trying this technique and that technique until his bag of tricks was almost empty; he was no closer to understanding which genes caused wings to grow, for example, or determined their shape.

He remembers a particular time when he took his samples down to a borrowed microscope, flipping on an ultraviolet light because he was looking at fluorescence, “and the best thing I can say is that it was a ‘holy sh^t!’ moment. I remember looking down, and I saw these embryos that had these beautiful green rings circling them, which is the mark of a gene that turns on every other segment.

“That’s the day when the dam broke, the door blew open, the clouds parted. It’s almost overwhelming because now so many things are possible. I went from having nothing to show anybody to essentially having the tools that would allow me to really untangle this puzzle.”

During his April 7 lecture, Sean B. Carroll will discuss the Serengeti Rules, the ecological rules that regulate the numbers and kinds of animals and plants in any given place, and how they are being applied to restore some of the greatest wildernesses on the planet.

A discovery of wings

After completing his ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� postdoc, Carroll joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin Madison, where he continued studying the genes that control animal body patterns and play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity. There he “saw something in the microscope that nobody had ever seen before,” he remembers.

He and the other researchers in his lab isolated the handful of genes that are activated in caterpillars to become butterfly wings. This discovery, published in the journal Science, garnered a feature in The New York Times, an interview on PBS News Hour and an invitation to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

From there, Carroll built a career that marries both research and discovery with science communication—as an investigator and vice president for science education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and head of the HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, where he executive produced or was executive in charge of more than 30 documentary films, including the Oscar-nominated and Peabody-winning All That Breathes. He has won three Emmys and been nominated for an additional five.

During that time, “I decided, ‘I’m telling the same story again and again, so I probably should write this down,’” he says. “So, I wrote a book, then I wrote another book.” He has written six books, including Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species, which was a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award for nonfiction, and The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters, which will be the foundation for his ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� lecture.

Carroll, who is a distinguished university professor and the Andrew and Mary Balo and Nicholas and Susan Simon Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland, credits the depth and success of his career in large part to the collaborations of which he’s been a part. “I like to think my toolkit has grown over the years, but it doesn’t happen all at once and it doesn’t happen alone. I didn’t write a full-length book until I was 45 and truly an expert in my field.

“I think people might look at my portfolio and say the science portfolio is pretty good, the external indicators are good; the writing career, there’s been a fair amount of output; the film career has been good. But in no way could I have done it alone. Science is a hugely collaborative thing; filmmaking’s even more collaborative. An individual like me gets a lot of credit for a body of work owned by an enormous community.”

Through it all—from his extensive travels through the Serengeti to the red carpet at the Academy Awards to the quiet moments in the lab—the joy of discovery and mystery-solving has never ebbed, he says. “I love science because I love nature and I love trying to figure out how nature works. I love the privilege and thrill of peeking into that box and going, ‘Oh, my gosh, that’s how it is.’”

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� the Rose M. Litman Memorial Lecture in Science

The Litman Lecture celebrates the legacy of an exceptional scientist and educator with a lifelong passion for research and a firm commitment to keeping rigorous inquiry at the heart of university life.

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Author, filmmaker and scholar Sean B. Carroll, formerly a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� postdoctoral researcher, will deliver the Rose M. Litman Memorial Lecture in Science April 7.

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Three ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� faculty named 2026 Sloan Research Fellows

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 16:05:06 +0000

Three ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� faculty named 2026 Sloan Research Fellows Rachel Sauer Tue, 02/17/2026 - 09:05

Fellowships provide $75,000 in funding for early-career researchers in fields including chemistry, physics, neuroscience and mathematics

Three University of Colorado Boulder faculty members have been selected to receive prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships in 2026. Winners receive a two-year, $75,000 fellowship that can be used flexibly to advance their research.

The three College of Arts and Sciences faculty members are:

Erica Nelson, assistant professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, for physics.
Andres Montoya-Castillo, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, for chemistry.
Kelsie Eichel, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, for neuroscience.

“The Sloan Research Fellows are among the most promising early-career researchers in the U.S. and Canada, already driving meaningful progress in their respective disciplines,” said Stacie Bloom, president and CEO of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, in announcing the winners Tuesday. “We look forward to seeing how these exceptional scholars continue to unlock new scientific advancements, redefine their fields and foster the wellbeing and knowledge of all.”

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� researchers (left to right) Erica Nelson, Andres Montoya-Castillo and Kelsie Eichel have been named 2026 Sloan Research Fellows.

For 2026, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation named 126 early-career researchers—including Nelson, Montoya-Castillo and Eichel—as Sloan Research Fellowship award winners. Fellows from this year’s cohort were drawn from 44 institutions across the United States and Canada.

Since the first Sloan Research Fellowships were awarded in 1955, 60 faculty from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� have received one, including this year’s winners, according to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

“I’m delighted and honored to receive the support of the Sloan Foundation,” Montoya-Castillo said. “I’m especially grateful to my group, mentors and senior colleagues, both at CU and beyond, who have been immensely supportive and kind.”

“It’s a big honor to be recognized by the Sloan Foundation,” Eichel agreed, adding that she is appreciative of the funding for her research. “My lab studies a fundamental question in cellular neuroscience—how neurons build and maintain their polarized architecture. This polarized architecture enables the nervous system to communicate, adapt and ultimately generate behavior. By uncovering the core principles that govern neuronal function, our work will lay the groundwork for developing new strategies to restore neuronal function in neurological diseases.”

Nelson said she is thrilled to be named a Sloan Research Fellow and added that the fellowship funding will be a valuable asset to her research.

“We’ve discovered mysterious red objects in the early universe with the James Webb Space Telescope that challenge what we thought we knew about the first galaxies and black holes. This fellowship provides crucial support to determine what these objects really are: Are they massive galaxies or a never-before-seen phase in the formation of supermassive black holes? Whatever the answer, it will fundamentally reshape our understanding of cosmic dawn in our universe,” she said.

Sloan Research Fellowships are considered one of the most prestigious awards available to young researchers—in part because so many past fellows have gone on to become distinguished figures in science. To date, 59 fellows have won a Nobel Prize, 72 fellows have received the National Medal of Science, 17 have won the Fields Medal in mathematics and 25 have received the John Bates Clark Medal in economics.

Open to scholars in seven fields—chemistry, computer science, Earth systems, economics, mathematics, neurosciences and physics—more than 1,000 researchers are nominated by their fellow scientists each year, according to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The organization said winners are selected by independent panels of senior scholars based upon their research accomplishments, creativity and potential to become leaders in their fields.

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Fellowships provide $75,000 in funding for early-career researchers in fields including chemistry, physics, neuroscience and mathematics.

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Grad’s work fuses the arts and sciences

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 20:14:26 +0000

Grad’s work fuses the arts and sciences Rachel Sauer Fri, 12/12/2025 - 13:14

Bradley Worrell

Olivia Neilly, who is earning a double major in English and molecular, cellular and developmental biology with a perfect 4.0 GPA, is named the college’s outstanding graduate for fall 2025

When Olivia Neilly stepped onto the University of Colorado Boulder campus four years ago, she thought she had her future mapped out.

“I really wanted to go to medical school,” she recalls. “I thought I’d keep my head in the books for four years and then move on.”

However, in pursuit of courses that would prepare her for the medical field, Neilly joined Professor Zoe Donaldson’s neuroscience lab in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB)—and that one experience changed everything for her.

Olivia Neilly is the Fall 2025 College of Arts and Sciences outstanding graduate. (Photo: Julie Chiron)

“I discovered that research is not just about data—it’s about asking questions, embracing creativity and finding joy in discovery,” Neilly says. “It literally changed the trajectory of what I want to do with my life, and now I can’t imagine wanting to do anything else.”

Donaldson and Jenny Knight, professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, became important mentors for Neilly, whom she credits with fostering creativity and curiosity in the lab. Additionally, PhD graduate Mostafa El-Kalliny helped shape her thinking about research as well as issues outside of science.

“From day one in the lab I worked with Mostafa, who shaped how to think about science—and other subjects,” she says. “Our conversations weren’t just about experiments—they were about philosophy, literature and life.”

Embracing neuroscience with a passion

For her honor’s thesis, Neilly wrote a 71-page research paper investigating how a small part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens helps animals form close social bonds, research that has potential implications for humans. Her paper specifically explored the neuroscience of social bonding on prairie voles, a small species of furry rodents.

“We study prairie voles because they form lifelong pair bonds, like humans,” Neilly explains. “My project focused on nucleus accumbens, a brain region tied to reward. I used chemogenetics (a technique that makes use of engineered proteins) to turn off specific interneurons during bond formation. When those cells were silenced, voles couldn’t form pair bonds. This suggests one cell type can influence complex social behavior, which has implications for psychiatric disorders.”

Neilly began her lab work with the voles before the start of her sophomore year and spent two summers working full time in the lab. This past summer, she completed the experiment underlying her thesis and spent the school year analyzing the data and writing. While the work was very time consuming, Neilly adds, “It never felt like a burden—I loved the process.”

In addition to that work, Neilly authored a manuscript for the scientific journal Nature Communications as well as a second manuscript currently being considered for publication.

Earning high praise from faculty

Neilly was nominated for the outstanding graduate award by Christy Fillman, chair of the MCDB Honors Committee, and Donaldson, who praised her undergraduate student for her curiosity, intellect and strong work ethic.

“I would often find Olivia in the lab at all hours, eager to contribute and learn new skills. By this time last year, she was already operating at the level of a graduate student despite being only a junior. She accomplished this while also maintaining a 4.0 GPA in two majors and maintaining her involvement in other activities, including the American Lung Cancer Society Screening Initiative,” Donaldson wrote in her letter recommending Neilly for the outstanding graduate honor. Donaldson added, “She is the most impressive undergraduate I have had the chance to mentor or interact with across institutions I have worked at.”

Neilly says receiving the outstanding graduate award is both exciting and humbling.

“My mentor (El-Kalliny) hinted that I might get nominated, but honestly, I was so focused on graduating and finishing classes that I didn’t think much about it. When I got the email and Donaldson announced the award in our lab group chat, I was really touched,” Neilly says. “I’m emotional by nature, so it meant a lot that people I respect recognized my efforts. I usually just put my head down and work, not for recognition, so this felt validating. I was proud—and excited to tell my mom first.”

Olivia Neilly (second from left), Fall 2025 College of Arts and Sciences outstanding graduate, chats with, left to right, Daryl Maeda, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Irene Blair, dean of natural sciences; and Jennifer Fitzgerald, interim associate dean for student success. (Photo: Julie Chiron)

Balancing science and the arts

Neilly’s academic path has proven to be as unique as her research. Initially focused on MCDB, she opted to add an English degree to feed her artistic side.

“At first, I thought there was no overlap,” she recalls. “I started with MCDB for medical school or research but then added English because I missed my artistic side. Over time, I realized they overlap in surprising ways. In science, clear communication is essential—especially now, in a media environment riddled with so much misinformation."

As a creative writer and fan of modern fiction, Neilly applauds how people are pushing the boundaries of language in the same way that scientists are pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge—celebrating the unbounded exploration of both art and science.

“Writing skills from English help me convey research effectively. Creativity is key in both fields. The best scientists are often the most creative.”

Life beyond the lab

Despite her demanding academic schedule, Neilly says she made time for extracurricular activities. She wrote articles for the online magazine Her Campus, attended film festivals and organized a lung cancer awareness event at Boulder’s historic Chautauqua Park.

She says she feels fortunate to have partaken in many cultural events offered by ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� and by the local community, and she encourages her fellow students to do the same, adding, “Connecting with your community matters as much as academics.”

As for any advice for incoming CU students, Neilly says, “Wherever you are, you can make the most of it if you put in the time and energy. Be willing to try new things and embrace discomfort—it’s how you grow.”

Right where she was supposed to be

Neilly says she’s grateful for her time at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� and is now looking forward to what comes next as she prepares to embark on a scientific career. After graduating later this month, Neilly will join Stanford University as a research technician in Boris Heifets’ lab, where scientists study how psychoactive compounds can help treat severe psychiatric disorders.

“I’m passionate about improving mental health and social functioning, so this feels like the right next step before starting grad school,” she says.

Perhaps ironically in retrospect, Neilly says she wasn’t initially committed to attending ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��. She earned good grades in high school and had a number of options when it came time to select a university.

“I have a long family history with CU; my mom, sister and grandfather all have ties here. At first, I thought I wanted to break the pattern, but my mom reminded me that education is what you make of it,” says Neilly, who spent much of her childhood in Aurora. “CU ended up being the best decision. I found incredible mentors and research opportunities I wouldn’t have had elsewhere.

“I don’t regret a thing. I’ve used CU to the absolute ends of what it could offer.”

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Olivia Neilly, who is earning a double major in English and molecular, cellular and developmental biology with a perfect 4.0 GPA, is named the college’s outstanding graduate for fall 2025.

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Top photo: Olivia Neilly (second from left), Fall 2025 outstanding graduate, with, left to right, Daryl Maeda, interim dean of the college; Irene Blair, dean of natural sciences; and Jennifer Fitzgerald, interim associate dean for student success

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