Candace Sousa, B.S., Physiology, 1973; M.S., Physiology, 1974, received her veterinary degree from UC Davis in 1979. Sousa was board certified as a dermatology specialist in 1985 by the American Veterinary Medical Association after completing a two-year residency program; she is one of only about 150 veterinarians in the United States who are board-certified dermatology specialists. Sousa has been treating skin diseases exclusively since 1988 at her clinic in Sacramento, Calif., seeing 10 animals, or so, a day. Sousa's patients have a wide range of problems, such as allergic diseases, infectious diseases, and parasitic conditions like scabies.

While at UC Davis, Michael Lee Jones, M.A., Zoology, 1982, assisted a doctoral candidate with his research on the social behavior and ecology of vampire bats in Costa Rica. He received a second master's degree in radiation ecology from Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, in 1988. Says Michael, "After that I commenced my career in environmental consulting. I'm now working for CH2M HILL in Pt. Arthur, Texas. My areas of specialization are ecological risk assessments, ecotoxicology, and environmental assessments. I love my chosen career, despite its often hectic and stressful nature. I miss Davis very much and wish that I were able to visit more often." Michael is pictured collecting animal specimens for contaminant analysis and ecological risk assessment at the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. The respirator mask is being worn as a precaution against Hanta virus possibly carried by deer mice.

After deciding as an undergraduate that she didn't want to attend veterinary school, Hannah Nielsen, B.S., Zoology, 1984, had to ask what she did want to do. As she relates, "That question landed me in the Midwest teaching outdoor environmental education to fifth- and sixth-grade students. I thoroughly enjoyed the work for nearly three years, but then returned to my home state of California. Luckily for me I was hired by California state parks for a part-time position in Santa Cruz. Later a full-time position opened up in our district, and I was hired as a park interpretive specialist. I now work at Natural Bridges State Beach and Wilder Ranch State Park. During the winter the Monarch butterflies overwinter at Natural Bridges and I spend much of my time giving school and public tours of the Monarch grove. In the spring, Wilder Ranch comes alive and I guide historical ranch tours, often dressed in Victorian-era clothing. During the summer, the 200 kids that attend our Ranger Explorers day camp keep me busy. It's hard to imagine a job that could be more fun than mine!"

David Gellerman, B.S., Biological Sciences, 1991, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved with his family to London when he was 15 years old. He returned to study at UC Davis and after completing his undergraduate degree entered the combined M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of Southern California. He completed his doctorate in 1996 and received his M.D. in May 1998. He is now a resident in psychiatry at UC Davis Medical Center. While living abroad Gellerman read The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, which he credits for engendering his interest in psychiatry, "I was fascinated by Peck's descriptions of his patients and decided that psychiatry would be an interesting profession." His current career interests are forensic psychiatry and research, "Especially looking at the neurobiological correlations with violent behavior."

A first-generation immigrant from India, Pallavi Sharma, B.S., Microbiology, 1995, says, "I really enjoyed microbiology but my biggest passion was the campus newspaper I helped found, Asian Spectrum." Sharma started the paper because "I saw journalism as an important means to connect with other first- and second-generation Asian immigrants who were facing the same issues I was; it seemed all of us were facing them alone." Sharma continues, "After college, I founded STIRmag.com, using the Web to reach a larger audience and provide a forum for Asian Americans. It has been exciting to interview people such as Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri and Assemblyman Mike Honda. But the greatest part is when I get an e-mail from someone who has benefited from our articles on domestic abuse or racism. I know taking the time to explore certain issues has strengthened my ties with my family as well." Sharma is now considering launching a South Asian Web site. Pallavi is looking forward to the most exciting event she has yet to experience, her marriage to Vishal Tayal in September.

In fall 1999, Steven Vasquez, B.S., Biological Sciences, 1996, was appointed as the UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor for Fresno County. Vasquez, a native of Salinas, Calif., received a master's degree in plant pathology from UC Davis in 1999. For six years Vasquez worked in Cooperative Extension plant pathologist Doug Gubler's UC Davis laboratory, assisting in lab and field research that focused on grapevine diseases. Vasquez will conduct applied research and extend research-based viticulture production information to an estimated 4,300 vineyard owners, operators and managers.

Students

Plant biology graduate students Nathan Alder, Sharon Kessler, and Minsung Kim each received an Elsie Taylor Stocking Memorial Fellowship. C. Ralph Stocking, professor emeritus of plant physiology, established the fellowship fund to honor his late wife, Elsie. A former chair of the UC Davis Department of Botany, Stocking came to the campus shortly after World War II.

Tom Rost, professor of plant biology and associate dean of the Division of Biological Sciences, joined the botany department when Stocking was chair and recalls that Elsie and Ralph welcomed students into their home with an unforgettable warmth and graciousness. He remembers Elsie as a wonderful, down-to-earth person and an accomplished cook. Rost co-authored four textbooks with Stocking; one of which remains a primary text for general plant biology.

Nathan Alder is studying how proteins synthesized in a plant cell's cytoplasm are transported across the chloroplast's thylakoid membrane. His work will also provide the first direct measure of the energy required to transport proteins across membranes in eukaryotic cells. Minsung Kim studies the molecular and genetic mechanisms that regulate compound leaf development in the tomato by examining mutants named "wiries." These mutant plants form no leaf blades, producing instead needle-like leaves. Sharon Kessler's research focuses on the molecular and genetic factors that control the shape of leaves, which affect the productivity of plants.

Stocking says he is pleased to have established an endowment that will ensure the continued excellence of UC Davis' world-renowned program in plant biology.

Chris Dillon was one of 88 recipients, selected from 1,123 nationwide applicants, of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowship in Biological Sciences. Dillon finished his undergraduate degree in biochemistry this past March. The award grants him $31,000 per year for the next five years for his graduate studies, which he'll begin this fall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. The fellowship promotes "excellence in biomedical research by helping prospective researchers with exceptional promise to obtain a high-quality graduate education."

Faculty

Assistant Professor Sean Burgess in the Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology is one of 16 scientists nationwide selected this year to receive a research award by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. As a Beckman Young Investigator, she will receive $200,000 over three years to support her studies on the three-dimensional space of the nucleus. The award provides research support for "the most promising young faculty members in the early stages of academic careers in the chemical and life sciences."

William Lucas, professor of plant biology, has been elected a foreign member of the French Academy of Sciences, or Académie des Sciences, to honor the "importance and innovative features" of his research on cell-to-cell communication and the movement of viruses and macromolecules in plants. He will travel in June to the Institute de France in Paris to attend a ceremony honoring new members. Lucas has also been invited to hold the prestigious Interuniversity International Francqui Chair in Belgium. The position was established by the Francqui Foundation to support higher education and research in Belgium. During the six-month position, which begins in February 2001, Lucas will teach scientists at Belgium universities about his field of research. He is the first plant biologist to receive this honor.

John Stachowicz joined the Section of Evolution and Ecology in March. He studies marine ecology and invertebrate biology. Stachowicz received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in 1998. Prior to coming to UC Davis, Stachowicz was at the University of Connecticut.

Martin Usrey is a new neurobiology, physiology, and behavior faculty member, who researches the neurobiology of vision. He received his Ph.D from Duke University, N.C., in 1994. He was in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School before coming to Davis in January.

Staff

Diane Forrest joined the dean's office staff in January and will be overseeing the donor campaign for the new Sciences Laboratory Building as well as strengthening the division's alumni relations. Forrest served the UC Davis Library with distinction for two decades, launching several successful fundraising campaigns for the library and building strong volunteer relationships with the Library Associates Development Advisory Board.