On September 8th, the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology held it's 13th Annual Scientific Retreat at the Terry Trueblood Recreational Area. The day opened with remarks from Interim Chair and Professor, Dr. Kris DeMali, followed by presentations from keynote lecturers, graduate students, and faculty. Throughout the day attendees visited scientific posters presented by undergraduate research assistants, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, scientific staff, and faculty. Keynote lectures were given by Dr. Jeffrey Hardin, PhD (University of Wisonsin-Madison) on "Strengthening the ties that bind: Cadherin-based adhesion during morphogenesis" and Dr. Eric Weiss, PhD (Northwestern University) on "Adventures at the heart of Hippo signaling systems". The Retreat ended with a social reception at Big Grove Brewery. Cover image: This image highlights a study published by...
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Congratulations to Emily Lavering for being selected for the Best Oral Presentation at the 13th Annual Biochemitry and Molecular Biology Scientific Retreat! Emily's talk was titled "Establishing Nucleolar Domains".
Isabella Perales, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Geyer Lab Distortion of the germline stem cell nuclear lamina alters nuclear architecture with minimal impacts on oogenesis Rebecca Splitt, Graduate Research Assistant, Biochemistry Program, DeMali Lab Investigating E-Cadherin Mediated Mechanotransduction Julianna Hernandez, Research Assistant, Geyer Lab Active interphase centrosomes correlate with stem cell loss
Emily Herum (left) from Dr. Madeline Shea's laboratory, Grace Johnson (right) from Dr. Stefan Strack's laboratory, and Lucy Siwicki (middle) from Dr. James Shepherd's laboratory. Rex Montgomery Scholarships recognize sophomore or junior undergraduate students for their outstanding academic record and commitment to research. The purpose of this scholarship is to ease the recipient's financial load at the University of Iowa during his/her undergraduate education and research training.
Cade Rahlf has been awarded the 2022 Montgomery Scholar's Prize for his outstanding research accomplishments and excellent presentation at the Lata Symposium. This prize was established by mentees, colleagues, and friends of the late Dr. Rex Montgomery, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Montgomery began his career at the University of Iowa in 1955, and is admired for his impact as a researcher, teacher and mentor. Dr. Montgomery retired in 2005 after more than 50 years on the faculty. Congratulations!
18th Annual Lata Symposium Presentations
The 2022 Rex Montgomery Scholarships were awarded to: Emily Herum, Dr. Madeline Shea's laboratory Grace Johnson, Dr. Stefan Strack's laboratory Lucy Siwicki, Dr. James Shepherd's laboratory Rex Montgomery Scholarships recognize sophomore or junior undergraduate students for their outstanding academic record and commitment to research. The purpose of this scholarship is to ease the recipient’s financial load at the University of Iowa during his/her undergraduate education and research training. This scholarship was established in 2014 by the late Dr. Rex Montgomery, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Montgomery began his career at the University of Iowa in 1955 and was admired for his impact as a researcher, teacher and mentor. Dr. Montgomery was an internationally recognized carbohydrate biochemist and textbook author. While on the faculty,...
The Wittmann and Khorana Scholar awards are given to a male and female Biochemistry major, respectively, recognizing their exceptional understanding of biochemistry and its value to society. Lanchi Nguyen is the winner of the 2022 Professor H.G. Khorana Scholar Award. Lanchi is doing research in Dr. Dona Hammond's lab, studying the effects of nicotinamide riboside on chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy. Spenser Johnson is the winner of the 2022 Professor H.G. Wittmann Scholar Award. Spenser is doing research in Dr. Douglas Spitz's lab, studying the use of SOD mimetics as an adjuvant therapy to standar of care radio- and chemotherapies in head and neck squamous cell cancer. The Professor H.G. Wittmann Scholar and The Professor H.G. Khorana Scholar awards were established in 2013 and are sponsored by Dr. Alap Subramanian. Dr. Subramanian earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the...
Quinn Mattison presented his research on “The localization of the RuvB complex formed by RuvBL1 and RuvBL2 in the Xenopus laevis nucleus” March 30, 2022 at the ICRU Spring Undergraduate Research Festival (SURF). Quinn is and IBA/LSAMP student fellow and a Biochemistry Major working with Dr. Dan Weeks. Maunika Gandhamaneni presented her research on “Identification of Protein Features That Direct Compartmentalization in the Nucleolus” March 30, 2022, at the ICRU Spring Undergraduate Research Festival (SURF). Maunika is a Chemical Engineering major working with Dr. Dan Weeks. Maunika Gandhamaneni was awarded an ICRU 2022 summer fellowship for her project: "Identification of protein features that allow assembly and function of the nucleolus: the cellular factory that makes ribosomes." Maunika is a Chemical Engineering major and will be doing her research in Biochemistry and Molecular...
Dr. Christopher Ball, who completed his PhD with Dr. David Price, was awarded the 2022 Subramanian Award for the best PhD thesis in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The Subramanian Award is made possible by a gift from Dr. Alap Subramanian, a 1964 PhD student from the department, who parlayed his training with the late George Kalnitsky, (and with Irving Klotz at Northwestern and both Bernard Davis and Herman Kalckar at Harvard Medical School), into a highly successful career at the Max-Planck-Institute. Dr. Ball's thesis was entitled, "Mechanisms of transcriptional control during HCMV infections". Chris is currently at Jeannie T. Lee's Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School as a Postdoc. Congratulations Dr. Ball!