Our planet’s surface and all life forms on it are composed mostly of water. Yet, survival at extremely low water content, anhydrobiosis, is essential for organisms across all kingdoms of life. The Water and Life Interface Institute (WALII) will study how life interacts with water from the molecular to the organismal level across plants, fungi, and animals, considering reduced water across the entire spectrum.
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Muscles (red), nuclei (purple), and enlarged lipid droplets (green) are labeled in this tardigrade specimen. Photo credit: Thomas C. Boothby

Breaking News

5 December 2022
WALII team member Hugo Tapia explains in this news interview how his lab's research into tardigrades' stress resistance and yeast's ability to survive without water could help humanity, as it deals with climate change and having to grow food with fewer water resources.

31 October 2022
WALII will be onsite at #ABRCMS2022 November 9-12 in Anaheim, California! The Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists is one of the largest communities for underrepresented scientists in STEM. Come by booth #521 to chat with Sterling Field and Evan Saldivar about WALII's commitment to diversity, inclusion, and retention for undergrad, grad, postbac, and postdoc trainees. And check out our open positions!

24 October 2022
WALII’s Selena Rice and Elena Lazarus will be at the @SACNAS National Diversity in STEM Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 27-29. If you're onsite, come by the PCA booth (#1725) to say hello, and learn about our new job postings! #2022NDiSTEM 

14 September 2022
Catch WALII team members Marisa Otegui, Sue Rhee, and Thomas Boothby at 9:45 am PT with WPRs The Larry Meiller Show as they discuss the science and aims of WALII!

30 August 2022
The University of Wisconsin-Madison published a nice press release on WALII featuring team member Marisa Otegui.

23 August 2022
The WALII website launched and the new Biology Integration Institute was recognized by the Carnegie Institution for Science.

15 August 2022
The U.S. National Science Foundation announces funding award for the Water and Life Interface Institute (WALII).