Michael Sakamoto, performing arts curator and director of the Asian and Asian American Arts and Culture Program for the Fine Arts Center has been awarded a $15,000 fellowship in choreography from the Mass Cultural Council.

The UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS) has awarded seven pilot grants to faculty and research collaborators to accelerate the translation of basic discoveries into practical, cost-effective solutions that improve human health.

Katya Makeyeva, a native of Kazakhstan, moved to the United States after high school to further her education in science.

“For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a genetic engineer,” said Makeyeva, a PhD student in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. “The reason I’m so fascinated by the field is because I always wanted to target the root of human disease instead of treating symptoms.”

Makeyeva studied biology at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin.

Elinor Karlsson, PhD, offers insights into various applications of modern comparative genomics in a perspective piece published by the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. The paper is part of a special feature in PNAS on the Earth BioGenome Project, a global effort to map the genomes of all plants, animals, fungi and other microbial life on Earth.

UMass Chan Medical School alum Christine Cassel, MD’76, has made her mark as a clinical, education and policy leader, and now as a benefactor to her alma mater. The Christine K. Cassel MD’76 Faculty Scholar Award has been established with a gift of $200,000, which will endow an annual award recognizing an assistant or associate professor for accomplishments related to medical ethics, human rights and social justice.

UMass alumni Dan and Diane M. Casey Riccio, PhD, have pledged $15 million to UMass Chan Medical School to further expedite and support advances in neuroscience research. The gift includes $10 million for what will be named the Riccio ALS Accelerator Initiative and $5 million to expand and endow the Riccio Fund for Neuroscience, providing seed money for research collaborations.

The Boston Teachers College Scholarship Fund recently surpassed its $1 million goal.

UMass Boston’s online bachelor’s degree and online graduate programs, including the MBA and master’s in education, were listed among the nation’s best in the U.S. News and World Report Best Online Programs rankings, released today.

Most notable among the rankings was the university’s online bachelor’s degree, which jumped 54 spots.

The new top 100 rankings include:

Natalicia Tracy’s career speaks for itself.

A double Beacon who went on to earn her PhD, become a UMass Boston professor, and lead Boston’s Brazilian Worker Center as executive director, she has spearheaded labor initiatives in Boston and around New England, and now has the chance to affect change on a national scale.

The Sustainable Solutions Lab at UMass Boston has released new research exploring the question of what is necessary for true community and climate resilience in East Boston.