Happy September! Each year brings new opportunities to grow, learn, connect with biodiversity-loving colleagues and to share our ideas with each other. This email has some welcoming and organizational information that might be useful for long-time BRC members and new members alike. Please share this with new students in your lab. We very much look forward to seeing you around the BRC and to meeting new BRC members. Lots of exciting events and updates listed at the bottom of this email, so please persevere and stay with me to the end.
SEMINARS:
Our Biodiversity Research Seminar series is one of our main BRC events. This year the majority of our BRS talks will be in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum auditorium unless otherwise noted. The seminars are Wednesdays at noon, coffee and snacks at 11:30 in the BRC Black Hole. Don’t miss the first one - September 16th by visiting speaker Jimmy McGuire. We have a tradition of introducing new students and postdocs in person at this first seminar, so if you are new to the BRC, it’s good to be there in person. And, please consider coming in person whenever you are in town and healthy. It’s the best way to connect across career stages and thematic groups, and say a brief hello to your great colleagues. It’s also a show of respect for our speakers who have prepared a talk and in some cases who have given us days of their time to travel here to look out in the audience and engage with us LIVE. And, Free Lunch for participating Students and Postdocs with the visiting speakers after each seminar. All are welcome and encouraged to attend, these are truly excellent ways to meet others and to network. Usually there are also other opportunities to meet with speakers, and all students, postdocs and faculty are encouraged to join these. BLISS is our legendary internal seminar, organized by the great Katie Florko and Rowan Green, is already underway.
SAVE THE DATES:
- Thursday November 17th - 7:00 pm, Biodiversity Public Lecture with Drs.Pamela and Douglas Soltis
- November 11-13, Eco/Evo retreat at Loon Lake Lodge and Retreat Centre. All BRC members are welcome to register, and this is a superb way to connect with each other and our colleagues at SFU, UVic, UBC-O for fun, nature and research.
- Watch your inboxes for other fun fall events, including the Halloween Party and Pumpkin Carving Contest.
BRC - Molecular Biology Lab (MBLab) – a shared resource for research and training.
If you would like to improve your lab skills and learn useful methodologies that will strengthen your competency in genomics, cell and molecular biology and you’re a BRC member, this resource is for you.
Dr. Natalia Bercovich leads the MBLab which provides space, infrastructure and support for BRC researchers. Natalia leads workshops and also provides one-on-one consultations. Please, contact her if you have questions or want to learn more. Also, visit the MBLab website for updated info on coming workshops.
We will be having an 'open house' and lab orientation (workshop 0) happening on the 5th of October, especially useful for new comers followed by a coffee social so please come by. More details on this will follow soon. Natalia is looking forward to connecting with you all!
WHO IS THE BRC?
The Biodiversity Research Centre is the group of biodiversity UBC Faculty and Research Scientists who are formally members of the BRC, and their research groups. That means, if you are a student or postdoc, and your PI is a member of the BRC, you are too! If you know a faculty interested in becoming a member, please have them contact me (judith .mank@ubc.ca).
WHAT GOES ON AT THE BRC?
We have many activities - scientific activities including seminars and discussion groups, as well as social events like ice cream socials, holiday parties and Friday afternoon socials. Our website has some of these. See you this Friday afternoon at Beveraginos!
HOW DO YOU FIND OUT ABOUT WAHT'S GOING ON?
List servs. BRC listservs have migrated from ZCU to UBC lists. You can self-subscribe or contact BRC Administrator Katie Beall (katie.beall@ubc.ca) to join the lists.
- BIODIVERSITY-RESEARCH@LISTS.UBC.CA (for BRC announcements)
- BIODIVERSITY-BUILDING@LISTS.UBC.CA (for building related announcements, usually for occupants only, anyone who has an assigned office is automatically added by Katie)
- BIODIVERSITY-AUTOCLAVES@LISTS.UBC.CA (for anyone who uses the Biodiv autoclaves)
To self-subscribe to the Research mailing list, send an email to listserv@lists.ubc.ca from your own account with "subscribe biodiversity-research" in the body with no quotation marks (and nothing else, make sure to delete your signature). Follow the same pattern to subscribe to the other lists as needed.
There is a community-hosted BRC slack channel for unofficial communication: Please join at:
https://join.slack.com/t/biodiversityr-yke9768/shared_invite/zt-n0pg5r1…
Please note that this channel is unmoderated.
EXPANDED SPACE
We are fully in and working in the expansion, if you have not checked it out, come check do so! All BRC members can book meeting rooms (if you have questions about this or arranging card access, please just ask Katie). Please note that these rooms are not for classes or undergrad activities. Booking Rooms in the BRC | Biodiversity Research Centre
WHO IS INVITED TO ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS?
All BRC members, and usually also everyone else. If you are receiving this email, please check that your lab group is informed too.
We have a code of conduct, aligned with UBC’s respectful workplace policy. Now is a good time to refresh on this; it applies to all BRC events, formal and informal.
We have a wellness committee. They run inclusive, fun and community building events throughout the year.
We like to keep the BRC and shared spaces clean and welcoming. When you use a shared space – a kitchen, a lounge, a printer – please leave it a little tidier than you found it.
BRC LEADERSHIP, ADMINISTRATION AND 2026-2027 ACADEMIC YEAR COMMITEE SERVICE:
The BRC works mostly through volunteer service and the dedicated work of our administrator, Katie Beall. Thank you everyone for all that you do, in official and unofficial roles! And I know you’re out there in roles developed by the community (rather than by the BRC admin, which are listed below). These include our discussion group leaders (EDG, LET, BDG, Florum), social event coordinators, wellness committee members, BGSA, ZGSA members, coffee co-op managers, seminar cookie makers, and more.
Director: Mary O’Connor (on sabbatical July 2026-June 2027)
Interim Director July 2026-June 2027: Judith Mank
Associate Directors: Patrick Keeling and Rachel Germain
Director’s Advisory Committee: Sean Michaletz, Jennifer Williams, Juliet Kiester, Katie Beall, and Patrick Keeling
Building administration (and so much more): Katie Beall, with amazing assistance from Winnie Cheung
Communications Coordinator: Sylvia Heredia
Biodiversity Research Seminar committee: Doug Altshuler (Chair), Chris Harley, Asher Leeks, and Jacob Moutouama, with AV support from Caleigh Charlebois, Lucia Combrink, and Yasmine McDonough
Molecular Biology Lab Steering Committee: Judith Mank, Loren Rieseberg, Rick Taylor, Jeannette Whitton, Natalia Bercovich, Winnie Cheung, and Katie Beall
BRITE Internship committee: Sally Otto (chair), Diane Srivastava, and Risa Sargent
Hesse Grad Award committee: to be filled
BRC Postdoc Fellowship Committee: to be filled in 2027
Beveraginos: Parker Lund, with support from many grad volunteers
NEW BRC FACULTY MEMBERS (2026):
Kendall Calhoun, Assistant Professor, Zoology
Cynthia Kallenbach, Associate Professor, Land and Food Systems
Morgan Piczak, Assistant Professor, Forest & Conservation Sciences
Thea Whitman, Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Immunology
CURRENT BRC POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP HOLDERS:
Rowan Green
Katie Florko
CURRENT BIOINFORMATICS POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP HOLDER:
Else Mikkelsen
MEETING ROOMS
All BRC members can reserve meeting rooms in the building for biodiversity related research activities (loosely defined though these are not spaces for undergraduate teaching). The schedule can be found on the BRC website. CWL is required for reservations. For rooms in the expansion, card access is required and Katie can do that for you if you ask (if you are not already based in the BRC).
FOR BUILDING RELATED ISSUES
Including Access cards, keys, facilities issues, or general BRC inquiries, please contact Katie Beall (katie.beall@ubc.ca) and she will assist you.
I will send out Updates from the Director to the research list. If you have a suggestion for something to include, please email me any time.
See you around!
Judith Mank
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Professor of Evolutionary Genomics
Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre
University of British Columbia
Lab website