A message from Department Chairs Markus Friedrich and Haidong Gu, March 2025
Dear BioRhythm reader,
The somewhat more timely arrival of this year’s newsletter is a welcome testimony to the fact that the department has come closer to returning to its regular swing of things in the long recovery from the Thanksgiving morning fire in 2023. Defining this swing, however, continues to be a challenge. Day-to-day operations continue to feel like the vibrations in a car driving on a bumpy road.
While the restoration of the fire-destroyed second-floor lab is finally coming along, occasional room temperature drops, rainstorm-enforced water intrusions and elevator shutdowns ensure entertainment and remind us of our critical infrastructure upgrade needs.
I am, therefore, pleased to inform you that 2025 is expected to see the completion of several projects: A building-wide fire protection modernization, the upgrade of our temperature control to digital, the replacement of both of our elevators, the application of a new building coat, the redesign and renovation of our main office suite, and the renovation of lab space in the basement. These endeavors are pursued in regular meetings with WSU Facilities Planning & Management, which has become a much-appreciated partner. Equally appreciated are the efforts of custodial services, which succeeded in deploying two new staff members to our building, resulting in a dramatic improvement in daily maintenance.
A third party that has come to the fore with building improvement initiatives is our Biological Sciences Graduate Student Association (BSGSA), which single-handedly updated one of our lecture rooms with a pleasantly refreshed look, sporting window plants and a fabulous suite of WSU storage-sourced chairs. A second BSGSA initiative filled the display cases of our lobby with samples of the yearly winners of the BSGSA t-shirt design contest, which have become highly sought-after presents and can be ordered online.
2024 also saw the arrival of our new Assistant Professor, Dr. Eleni Gourgou, who gave a debut short talk at our Annual Research Retreat in October. Further new arrivals included three M.S. and 12 new Ph.D. students at the beginning of fall semester.
Equally strong enrollment was seen at the undergraduate student level with 246 newly enrolled students plus 61 transfers in the biological sciences program complemented by 93 new enrollments and 48 transfers into the neuroscience program. The latter is now under the directorship of Professor Mark VanBerkum, who took over the inaugural lead of retiring Psychology Professor Tom Fischer.
As we keep renovating, innovating, and teaching, the department’s research momentum has not slowed down, as I hope the following pages will convince you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Markus Friedrich, chair and Dr. Haidong Gu, associate chair