Drs. Wallrath and Drack receive gift for newly established Wallrath Research Fund

Dr. Ashley Spies receives NIH R01 grant

Dr. Sean Tompkins, who completed his PhD with Dr. Eric Taylor, publishes his first author paper in Cell Reports. The article is entitled, "Disrupting Mirochondrial Pyruvate Uptake Directs Glutamine into the TGA Cycle away from Glutathione Synthesis and Impairs Hepatocellular Tumorigenesis." Dr. Tompkins is currently doing residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago.

The article can be found here .

Congratulations Dr. Tompkins!

Department of Biochemistry collaborates with Department of Physics at UNI

Department of Biochemistry holds 11th Annual Retreat

Dr. Joseph Walder awarded The Distinguished Friend of the University Award.

Congratulations to our Summer 2020 Biochemistry Graduate

Marc Wold co-authored an article titled “A slipped-CAG DNA-binding small molecule induces trinucleotide-repeat contractions in vivo” that was published in, and featured on the cover of, the February, 2020 issue of Nature Genetics (volume 52, issue 2, page 146).

Dr. Charles Brenner steps down as chair of Department of Biochemistry; Dr. Kris DeMali will serve as inteim chair and DEO.

On July 20, 2020 the Biochemistry Department held a farewell celebration for Dr. Charles Brenner and the Brenner Lab. Join us in wishing our colleagues well on their next opportunities and all their future endeavors.

Sean Tompkins, Tingting Duan, and Julio Sanchez receive their PhDs.

Hannah Campbell, who completed her PhD with Dr. Kris DeMali, was awarded the 2020 Subramanian Award for the best PhD thesis in the Department of Biochemistry.

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.

Brianna Lupo was awarded 2020 Montgomery Biochemistry Scholar’s Prizes for their outstanding research accomplishments and excellent presentations at the Lata Symposium.

The 2020 Rex Montgomery Scholarships were awarded

Benjamin Hinz, a Biochemistry undergraduate in the Wallrath laboratory, received a Summer ICRU Fellowship.

Six students presented at this year’s Undergraduate Honors Program.

Department of Biochemistry 2020 Publications since April 30, 2020

Tiwari, M. Lopez-Redondo, L. Miguel-Romero, et al., The SrrAB two-component system regulates Staphylococcus aureuspathogenicity through redox sensitive cysteines, PNAS (2020), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921307117 Zhang, H. T. Rube, C.A. Vakulskas, et al., Systematic in vitro profiling of off-target affinity, cleavagre and efficiency for CRISPR enzymes, Nucleic Acids Research (2020), https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaa231 Pufall, A.M. Wilson, An idea to explore: A collaboration and cross training in an extended classroom...

Francesca Spencer, graduating senior in Biochemistry and Italian at the University of Iowa, is coauthor of a paper appearing in Nature Scientific Reports.

Brian Krueger, Associate Vice President, Technical Director, R&D, LabCorp and a 2009 PhD graduate of the Department of Biochemistry, has been at the forefront of COVID-19 DNA testing. On January 12, 2020, China published the first DNA sequence of the coronavirus genome from patients with COVID-19. By March 16, 2020, in unprecedented record time, Dr. Krueger and his co-workers developed the first FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) approval for a clinical DNA diagnostic test. On April 21, 2020, they were the first to receive EUA approval for the first at-home test kit based on nasal...

Jacintha Thomas, a Research Assistant in Dr. Lori Wallrath’s lab, was featured in the May 7th UIHC publication called “The Loop”.

Arpit Sharma, a 2018 Biochemistry PhD student in Dr. Eric Taylor’s lab, recently published an article in Science.

Will Hacker, a Biochemistry Graduate Student in the Elcock lab, has been awarded the Graduate Research Excellence Award.

Nicholas Luedtke has been awarded an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award by the Council on Teaching for his excellent work in Experimental Biochemistry (BIOC3140).

Dr. Pam Geyer has been elected to the AAAS Electorate Nominating Committee, starting her three-year membership in February 2020.

Dr. Kris DeMali received a NIH R35 MIRA grant for her project entitled, “Molecular Mechanisms Underlying E-cadherin Mechanotransduction.”

Alicia Salvi, a Biochemistry Graduate Student, was awarded a NIH F31 Pre-doctoral Fellowship.

Dr. Ernesto Fuentes, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, was awarded the 2019/2020 CCOM Innovation Research Grant.

Lori Wallrath, PhD and Benjamin Darbro, MD/PhD (Pediatrics) received an NIH R21 grant to study genetic modifiers of lamin-associated muscular dystrophies.

Dr. Marc Wold was inducted into the Wall of Scholarship on February 12, 2020.

Dr. John Dagle (Pediatrics-Neonatology and secondary faculty in Biochemistry) was selected as recipient of the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Congratulations to Dr. Brenner for being awarded the Mary Swartz Rose Senior Investigator Award by the American Society for Nutrition.

Congratulations to Dr. Marc Wold for receiving the Carver College of Medicine Faculty Service Award.

Congratulations to Dr. Madeline Shea for receiving the Carver College of Medicine Collegiate Teaching Award.

Tori Cassady, a Biochemistry BA student, and Paula Valino, a Biochemistry BS student, are featured in the Dare to Discover campaign.

Brenner lab’s clinical trial on the effects of NR in humans shows the compound safely increases levels of important cell metabolite