Satoshi Namekawa, a professor of microbiology and molecular genetics whose research has advanced our understanding of fertility, epigenetics and genome organization, has been named chair of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG). He will begin serving in the role on July 1, 2026.
The causes of male infertility can be hard to diagnose, with many tests failing to detect genetic defects. Sometimes, infertility doesn’t even involve the genes themselves. It can arise from improper folding of the father’s DNA in the sperm. If a couple conceives, this mispackaged DNA can damage the lifelong health of the child.
Paul Baumann (1939 - 2026) had a lifelong association with the University of California, earning his BA, MA, and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and spending 38 years on the faculty as a professor of microbiology at UC Davis from the time the current Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics was the Department of Bacteriology until his retirement in 2005. Considering his abysmal early education, this was quite an accomplishment and a testament to his intellectual curiosity and willingness to expend whatever effort needed to reach his goals.
A major new discovery could inspire improved treatments for cancer and genetic diseases.
Coiled within our cells are fragile threads of DNA that contain the codes of life— determining when each of our 30 trillion cells must grow, divide, sit tight — or simply die. This arrangement is precarious. Billions of times per day, our DNA is severed by stray chemical reactions. Our cells must rebuild the broken DNA without making mistakes – or the consequences can be dire.
They are experts in a parasitic amoeba, scientific history, the health effects of stress and more, and now these eight faculty members can add a new title: Chancellor’s Fellow.
The recognition is given each year to early career academics doing exemplary work, and the 2025-26 class will be recognized at a reception next week.
The college is very pleased to have welcomed four new faculty during the 2025 calendar year. Joining the Departments of Microbiology and Molecular, Evolution and Ecology, and Molecular and Cellular Biology, each new faculty member adds expertise and breadth to the college’s research and teaching portfolio.
When a woman becomes pregnant, the outcome of that pregnancy depends on many things — including a crucial event that happened while she was still growing inside her own mother’s womb. It depends on the quality of the egg cells that were already forming inside her fetal ovaries. The DNA-containing chromosomes in those cells must be cut, spliced and sorted perfectly. In males, the same process produces sperm in the testes but occurs only after puberty.
Congratulations to Diedre Reitz and Yuka Kitamura, postdoctoral fellows in the Heyer and Namekawa laboratories, respectively, for being awarded prestigious K99 grants from the National Institutes of Health. These awards support the late stage of their postdoctoral fellowship and provide also funding in the R00 phase for their independent faculty career. The sky is the limit for them.
For his outstanding commitment to ensuring undergraduate students have meaningful and immersive research experiences, Chang‑il Hwang, an associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, has received a 2025 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research.
Each year, the College of Biological Sciences honors its top undergraduates at a special awards ceremony attended by friends, family, mentors, and donors. The 2025 recipients were recognized for their academic excellence, commitment to building community, service to campus and peers, and exceptional achievements in research.
Neil Hunter, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has been elected as a Fellow of The Royal Society in London.
Effective July 1, 2025, Samuel Díaz-Muñoz and Chang-il Hwang are promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure at the University of California, Davis.
The single-celled parasite Entamoeba histolytica infects 50 million people each year, killing nearly 70,000. Usually, this wily, shape-shifting amoeba causes nothing worse than diarrhea. But sometimes it triggers severe, even fatal disease by chewing ulcers in the colon, liquefying parts of the liver and invading the brain and lungs.
Researchers in the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) are driving breakthroughs in one of the thorniest problems in science: understanding and combating cancer.
