Welcome to Molecular and Integrative Physiology

In this post-genomic era, physiology is uniquely poised at the nexus between molecular function and whole animal integration with the goal of understanding how the functions of thousands of encoded proteins serve to bring about the highly coordinated behavior of cells and tissues underlying physiological functions in animals and how their dysfunction may lead to disease.  Research and graduate training in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology is focused on understanding the regulation and function of gene products at multiple levels of biological organization, from molecules and macromolecular complexes to cells, tissues, and whole organisms. With the tools of molecular genetics and modern systems biology, physiologists are at the forefront of dramatic advances currently occurring in life and biomedical sciences. Advanced training in molecular and integrative physiology will provide the necessary foundation to prepare for a career in this exciting area of functional biology.

Claudio Grosman, Head

MIP News

Gene mutation leads to epileptic encephalopathy symptoms, neuron death in mice

Mice with a genetic mutation that’s been observed in patients with epileptic encephalopathy, a severe form of congenital epilepsy, exhibit not only the seizure, developmental and behavioral symptoms of the disorder, but also neural degeneration and inflammation in the brain, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers found in a new study. The findings highlight the mutation as an important part of the disease’s pathology and a potential target for treatment.

Where are they now? CCIL scholarship awardee You Jin Song

Urbana, Ill. – You Jin Song, a third year Ph.D. candidate in Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) researcher Kannanganattu Prasanth’s lab, is studying the effects of MALAT1, a long-noncoding RNA that is believed to play an important role in many cancers including breast and lung cancer. This project is supported by a CCIL Graduate Cancer Scholarship.

CCIL’s Cancer and Microbes Working Group explores new collaborations

Urbana, Ill. – On Sept. 17, the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) and the Microbial Systems Initiative (MSI) held the Cancer and Microbes Workshop as part of a new partnership formed between the CCIL and the MSI to promote collaboration at the interface of microbial sciences and cancer research. Led by Sayee Anakk, Associate Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, and Shannon Sirk, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and Associate Director of the MSI, the “Cancer and Microbes” strategic initiative will be a part of the CCIL Cancer Discovery Platforms Bridging the Engineering-Biology Continuum (CDP) Program.

Water disinfection byproduct disrupts reproductive hormones, damages pituitary in female mice

Chemical disinfection makes water from both natural sources and wastewater streams drinkable; however, the process also creates byproducts, not all of which are understood or regulated. A new study from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers has found that one byproduct disrupts hormones in the brain that regulate the female reproductive cycle in mice and also damages cells in the pituitary gland.

Congratulations to winners of the 2021 MCB Undergraduate Research Symposium

The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce the winners of its annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.