Research & Academics

Sept. 24, 2019

Despite the fact that Daryn Erickson’s research regularly involves making what she refers to as “mosquito smoothies”—preparing mosquito samples in the blender for testing–she loves her work. She has been working at NAU’s Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI) for two years testing mosquitoes for the viruses that cause West Nile, Zika and dengue fever.

Erickson, who is majoring in microbiology and minoring in chemistry, will graduate in December. When she began her research, she worked with assistant professor… Read more

Sept. 19, 2019

Chad Trujillo, assistant professor at Northern Arizona University, has been awarded the 2019 Paolo Farinella Prize by the Europlanet Society for his contributions in the field of planetary science concerning “The Trans-Neptunian Population.”

Along with collaborator Scott Sheppard from the Carnegie Institution for Science, Trujillo was honored at an award ceremony on Sept. 16 at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Shepard and Trujillo presented the Farinella Prize Lecture entitled “Completing the Inventory of the Solar System” as part of the award… Read more

Sept. 16, 2019

Scientists with the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research have received a four-year, $859,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to assess how cottonwood trees have evolved to tolerate environmental stresses, including changing temperature and insect herbivory. The results will aid ongoing river restoration projects across the Southwest by helping identify which trees will continue to support healthy ecosystems in a changing world.

Along rivers in the southwestern United States, cottonwood trees provide shade, habitat and food for a wide range of species. As such, cottonwoods influence… Read more

Sept. 13, 2019

After sequencing more than 400 different genomes of the West Nile Virus, an NAU scientist discovered the two reports of West Nile Virus in Coconino County came from two different places. One migrated north from the Phoenix area. The other is a bit more of a mystery.

It started with samples from throughout the western United States arriving at the lab of evolutionary biologist Crystal Hepp, who works with both the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems and the Pathogen and… Read more