Fall 2020 DEDE

Message from DEDE Leadership

Laura Zimmerman, chair.dede@sicb.org; Ken Field, secretary.dede@sicb.org; Cynthia Downs, dpo.dede@sicb.org

We are excited to participate in the Virtual Annual SICB Meeting this January and February! Although virtual meetings can be quite a different experience than what we are used to, the virtual meetings have the potential to be more inclusive and just as interactive as physical meetings.

DEDE is hosting a best student presentation symposium that will stream live on Sunday, Jan 3rd. Be sure to check out the best students posters that are integrated into the broader poster sessions. DEDE sponsored 4 symposia:

  1. Biology’s best friend: Bridging disciplinary gaps to advance canine science, organized by Caleb Bryca and Ana Jimenez;
  2. The integrative biology of pigment organelles, organized by Florent Figon, Jérôme Casas, and Leila Deravi;
  3. Biology beyond the classroom: Experiential learning through authentic research, Design, and Community Engagement, organized by Alexandria Hansen, Lisa Whitenack, Patrice Connors, and Hayley Lanier; 
  4. Blinded by the light: Effects of light pollution across diverse natural systems, organized by Meredith Kernbach, Stephen M. Ferguson, Valentina Alaasam, Colleen Miller, and Clint Francis.

If you have ideas for a symposium for the 2022 meeting, please email the division’s program office at dpo.dede@sicb.org.

At the end of the meeting, two new officers will be taking the reins in our division, Patricia Lopes will be taking over as DEDE Secretary and Laura Mydlarz will be the new Program Officer. We look forward to their contributions to divisional leadership.

We will be having two elections next year for positions within our division: Secretary and Program Officer. If you are interested in serving in one of these important positions, please contact any member of the Division Executive Committee.

Finally, our standard reminder that although our newsletter only comes twice a year, you can always use the Monthly Member Updates to share information about meetings, workshops, or other opportunities in ecoimmunology and disease ecology. If you have announcements or information you’d like to share with DEDE members, please send that to the Division Secretary (Secretary.DEDE@sicb.org) no later than the 4th of any given month. If you are on Twitter, you can always reach us @SICB_DEDE.

Speaking of news related to divisional members, we are happy to share the following information. Some of us are working on COVID-19 related projects:

  • Patricia Lopes recently had an article published contrasting human behavior under COVID-19 and the behavior of otheranimals when disease is around. “We Are Not Alone in Trying to Be Alone”

  • Ken Field is a Co-PI on an NSF RAPID grant looking at the responses of bats to coronavirus infections. “Bats carry coronaviruses but don’t get sick. Could their secret help us fight COVID-19?”