Great job all around to the Kayser Lab at the 2017 Penn Sleep and Chronobiology Retreat -- Leela received the best poster presentation award, while Samy and Milan gave fantastic talks. Drinks on Leela!
Accolades for Austin
Congrats to undergrad Austin Borja on being named the 2017 Outstanding Solon E. Summerfield Scholar from the Phi Kappa Psi Foundation. More importantly, congrats on being cover boy for the Penn website for a day. We have our priorities in order.
CURFs all around
Undergrads Austin and Ivan both landed University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) Research Grant Awards for the summer. Great job guys!
February happenings
We are pretty sure that 40 years ago, Matt's parents and Leela's parents were hanging out and decided their future children (to be named Matt and Leela) should lead parallel lives separated by exactly 12 years. Fast forward to February 16, 2017, and here they are sharing a birthday. A few months from now, Leela will be wed on Matt's 12th Anniversary. And you should have been at Matt's Bar Mitzvah in 1991 (Top Billboard song: Gonna make you sweat (everybody dance now)) and of course, Leela's Bat Mitzvah in 2003 (Top Billboard song: All I have, By J Lo). Really, the cake says it all.
Happy new year!
2017 is starting off swell: Welcome Maria (neuroscience graduate student rotation) and Savannah (work study student)! Ben does have a horrific tooth infection, but we won't let that get us down.
Lab Festivus
While 2016 was a terrible year for the world (Prince, Bowie, Democracy), it was a great one for the lab. Here's to 2017 being even better!
Fall festivities
It's been a busy few months, lots of exciting science, a new rotation student (Mike!), and plenty of other things to keep us busy. But not too busy for a Friday afternoon lab screening of R Kelly's "Trapped in the closet" while fly pushing. Because why not?
MD/PhD selfie
Another friday evening lab BYOB, this time only the MD/PhDs remain...
Summer sad happy hour
We bid Dave goodbye with parting gifts, off to Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research. We'll miss you big guy, thank you for all you've done for the lab. BUT, welcome Charlette, our newest research tech!
Pre-school pre-scientists
Matt's daughter Mabel and her classmates joined us today for a lab visit! They learned all about the fruit fly life cycle, negative geotaxis, sleep, aggression, and played "guess how many flies in the vial". Clearly some future scientists in this group.
IDDRC New Program Development Award
The Kayser Lab has received the New Program Development Award from the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)! This funding will help support exciting new work in lab that we just aren't ready to tell you about yet...
Hearst Foundation Fellowship to Samy
Congrats to Samy who received a Neuroscience Graduate Group Hearst Foundation Fellowship for 2016! This recognizes Samy's overall outstandingness.
Matt is featured on U of Iowa DeLTA Center podcast
During a great visit to University of Iowa in April, Matt joined a DeLTA center podcast with Mark Blumberg and Erik Jackson. Prepare to be riveted.
Prelim success
Congrats to Samy and Leela for both passing their prelim exams within the past 2 days!! Now get back to work.
Birthdays, Hummus, and Nachos
Ben doesn't like sweets (?) so hummus birthday cakes for Ben and Milan (sorry Milan)! After late day fly pushing, we made up for it with lab happy hour.
Emilia named a McMorris Fellow
Congratulations to Emilia for receiving a McMorris Autism Research Award!
Austin is awarded the BBB summer internship
Congratulations to Austin for receiving the Biological Basis of Behavior (BBB) Summer Research Internship, awarded to 1 undergrad each year at Penn. Way to go Austin!
2016 Sloan Research Fellowship
Matt is named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in Neuroscience!
Lab night out
So many good things to celebrate...Samy is engaged, Leela is engaged; birthdays for Emilia, Leela, Matt; Madeline joined the lab, Elelbin is rotating, Natalie is rotating....whew!
Samy and Leela sign on the dotted line
That's right. These two jokers are joining the lab for their PhDs. Happy holidays indeed.
