News from the Chronicles - September 2020

graphic of map showing district and other boundaries, Washington, DC
The color of food deserts: dollar store locations track real estate redlining practices

New research from the University of Georgia shows significant association between proximity to dollar stores and patterns of racial segregation in major U.S. metropolitan areas. Though the patterns vary across retail chains, the research shows racial classification to be a key predictor of store location. The new research by Jerry Shannon, associate professor of geography in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was published August 27…

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Peña, Bensasson, awarded Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study

Plant Biology Doctoral Student Jacqueline Joye Peña and her advisor Assistant Professor Douda Bensasson received the Gilliam Graduate Fellowship Grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The award provides Peña the opportunity to travel to important scientific conferences and meetings in her field, professional development workshops, and a competitive stipend in addition to allowance for diversity and inclusion activities at the…

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Amazing student Alec Murphy

From teaching paddleboarding on Lake Herrick to leading trips through the Outdoor Recreation Center, Franklin double-major Alec Murphy (biology/psychology, Spanish minor) is committed to improving the lives of people around him. A future physician, he hopes to incorporate positive psychology research with medicine to make others happier and healthier: I volunteered at St. Mary’s Hospital in radiology and neurology departments and the wound…

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Liu receives NIH Career Award

The National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health recently granted a Career Award to Jiaying Liu, assistant professor in the department of communication studies. Career Awards are given to researchers to allow time for intensive development and training in biomedical, behavioral and clinical sciences. The five-year, near $1 million grant will allow Liu to gain additional training in functional magnetic…

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Religion & Common Good Seminar: Disrupting Racism

The department of religion presents the next Religion & Common Good seminar on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. with Jerry Taylor, director of the Center for Race Studies and Spiritual Action at Abilene Christian University. Dr. Taylor's presentation is “The Influence of White Supremacy on the Church in the South.” Founding Director of the Carl Spain Center, [Taylor] is Associate Professor of Bible, Missions and Ministry at Abilene…

photo of woman on mountain hike, with walking stick
The Invisible Backpack We Carry

The UGA Graduate School magazine features one of our newest colleagues in the Franklin College Office of Student Academic Services and 2019 TEDxUGA Student Idea Showcase presenter Kestrina Shrestha, who took the TED stage with a black backpack that she had carried into the Annapurna Himalayas during an ambitious climb in December of 2017: Taking the stage at UGA’s Fine Arts Theater, Shrestha plunked down a large backpack. She…

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Georgia Groundbreakers: Valentine Nzengung

Early research in explosives remediation to clean soil contaminated with perchlorate, an oxygen-adding compound used in the manufacture of solid rocket fuel, created a path for Valentine Nzengung, professor in the department of geology, to become one of UGA's most visionary inventors and a true Georgia Groundbreaker: He has spent countless hours in his laboratory studying the properties of some of humanity’s most dangerous…

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Separating weather forecasts from pain

Millions of Americans suffer from pain-inducing conditions such as fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. New research from the University of Georgia shows significant association between warm, tropical air masses and emergency room visits for these conditions. But not in the way we might think: The new research by Christopher Elcik, lecturer of geography and atmospheric sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences,…

group photo of men and woman outdoors
UGA part of $52M NIH study on early detection of schizophrenia in young people

Researchers from the University of Georgia are part of an international investigation led by the Yale Department of Psychiatry to better understand the cause and effect of schizophrenia in some high-risk adolescents and young adults. The research, funded by a $52 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, will fund the development of the Psychosis Risk Outcomes Network, or ProNET. The consortium will be based at 27 institutions, where…

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Kudos, September 2020

Congratulations to our many colleagues on recent accolades and achievements, inspiring our work with their excellence in teaching, research and outreach: Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory by Claudio Saunt, Richard B. Russell Professor in American History, was named to the nonfiction Longlist for the 2020 National Book Award Three University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and…

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