Graduate Research

Wine and fungi: The perfect pairing?

A team at WSU Tri-Cities is researching the impact that a type of fungus could have on vineyard growth and associated nutrient uptake, which could lead to less watering and less fertilizer required for a successful grape crop. Tanya Cheeke, assistant professor of biology, was awarded a two-year $40,000 grant to support a field experiment […]

More economic worries mean less caution about COVID‑19

Workers experiencing job and financial insecurity are less likely to follow the CDC’s guidelines for COVID-19, such as physical distancing, limiting trips from home and washing hands, according to a study led by WSU Vancouver psychology professor Tahira Probst. “We all have a finite set of resources at our disposal, whether it’s money, time or […]

Bear butter: Studying tiny moths as a rich food source

A team of international scientists led by a WSU graduate student are trekking the high peaks of the greater Glacier National Park ecosystem this summer to better understand a tiny but important food source for grizzly bears—the army cutworm moth. Erik Peterson, a master’s student in the School of the Environment, partnered with WSU professor […]

Study indicates stereotypes can lead to workplace accidents

Fears of confirming stereotypes about pregnant workers as incompetent, weak or less committed to their job can drive pregnant employees to work extra hard, risking injury. “The pregnancy stereotype is a silent stressor. It is not always visible, but it really impacts women in the workplace,” said Lindsey Lavaysse (’20 PhD), lead researcher for WSU […]

Fellowships expand options for PhD students

Living in Pullman while working on her graduate degree, Tabitha Espina yearned for the people, and the lumpia and adobo, that she grew up with in Guam. That all changed when she joined the first cohort of WSU’s grant-funded project, “Reimagining the 21st Century Land-Grant PhD” and began working with a community of Filipino and […]

Mapping natural and legal boundaries to help wildlife move

Wildlife need to move to survive: to find food, reproduce and escape wildfires and other hazards. Yet as soon as they leave protected areas like national forests or parks, they often wind up on a landscape that is very fragmented in terms of natural boundaries and human ones. To help create more corridors for wildlife […]

History project to share stories of fallen WWII Cougars

A legendary quarterback, class president, and triple-sport letterman turned husband, father and high school coach. A first-generation college student and son of a modest farming family. A business major, fraternity brother, and newlywed turned Wildcat fighter pilot. An international scholar who left the Philippines to attend college 7,000 miles away … and never returned. The […]

PhD student creates LGBTQ digital history exhibit

Brian Stack, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History, introduced his digital Palouse LGBTQ history project during a guest speaker presentation at Neill Public Library in Pullman. Stack’s digital exhibit consists of articles, photographs, and other artifacts relating to queer history in the Palouse region from the 1970s to today, and addresses topics that […]

NIH protein biotechnology program renewed with $2.3M grant

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health has awarded the WSU NIH Protein Biotechnology Training Program $2.3 million over the next five years to support training of Ph.D. graduate students. Renewing this competitive grant brings the total NIH investment into the program to more than $10.4 million since it […]