The Latest
Undergraduate Researcher Explores How Viruses and Their Parasites Evolve Together
Viruses evolve quickly, often finding ways to escape antiviral drugs. A new study led by WID undergraduate Shiv Muthupandiyan explores whether new antiviral therapies could evolve alongside them. The research focuses on defective interfering particles, or DIPs, mutant viral particles that act as parasites of viruses. DIPs cannot reproduce on their own, so they use a virus’s replication machinery and consume resources inside infected cells, slowing viral growth. By modeling how viruses and DIPs adapt to one another over time, the study offers a new way to think about antiviral therapies that may be better able to resist viral escape.
Local Funnyman Discovers Formula for More Effective Communication
Rush’s approachable, low-pressure improv activities allow participants to practice speaking spontaneously, responding to mistakes, and adapting their message. He is leading workshops through the Illuminating Discovery Hub this summer.
Andrew Hryckowian receives Vilas Early Career Investigator Award
Hryckowian was among eighteen professors receiving Vilas Faculty Early Career Investigator Awards, recognizing research and teaching excellence in faculty who are relatively early in their careers. The award provides flexible research funding for three years.
Aiyana Manglona earns Sophomore Research Fellowship
Supported by the Provost’s Office and the Hilldale Fund, this fellowship provides undergraduate students with $4,000 to pursue an independent research project under the mentorship of UW–Madison faculty or staff. Her project, One Size Does Not Fit All: Challenging the Use of Overarching Guidelines for Data Visualizations will be mentored by Karen Schloss.
