2026-01-22
- In new research, University of Illinois scientists have challenged previously held scientific ideas about loop-C’s functional role within ligand-gated ion channels, deepening biologists’ understanding of the complex neurotransmission process.Their study, “Disentangling the mechanistic role of loop-C capping in Cys-loop receptor...
2026-01-21 - Ask any scientist and they’ll tell you what a joy it is to discover something they didn’t know they didn’t know. “The best parts of science tend to be serendipitous,” said the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology’s Jhewelle Fitz-Henley. “The things that you find out, you’re like, ‘I did not think that was going to happen.’”However, for many new college students, figuring out how to balance...
2025-12-17 - Congratulations to recipients of this year's School of MCB faculty and staff awards!It is a school tradition to recognize outstanding members of the community at our year-end holiday party, and this year we presented awards across seven categories, honoring achievements in research, teaching, and service.Outstanding MCB Graduate Student AwardSihang Zhou, Department of Cell...
2025-12-11 - Imagine a treadmill. As it moves, the track is constantly receding but is replenished at an equal rate on the opposite end. The result is a machine in perpetual motion, but which has its length stay exactly the same. For decades, biologists have regarded “treadmilling” as the standard behavior of actin filaments in cells. That is until three Illinois scientists revealed a more detailed...
2025-12-10 - On Dec. 5, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to discontinue its decades-long recommendation for universal vaccination against hepatitis B beginning at birth. Public health expert and infectious disease physician Janet A. Jokela is the senior...
2025-12-09 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is proud to announce the winners of our 2025 Undergraduate Research Symposium, held on November 12, 2025. Sixty-five students presented posters of their research to attendees of the event, which was held at the Illini Union.This annual event showcases the scholarly efforts of our undergraduate researchers, who contribute to...
2025-12-04 - Myotonic Dystrophy type 1, also known as DM1, is a genetic disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness, delayed muscle relaxation, and cardiac issues that can often be life-threatening. It is the most common cause of adult-onset muscular dystrophy and affects roughly 1 in 2,000 individuals every year. By uncovering the cellular mechanisms behind DM1, new discoveries by University of Illinois...
2025-12-01 - Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are piecing together how cancer-emergent non-coding RNAs, or ncRNAs, contribute to disease-related cell phenotypes. The Van Bortle lab has focused extensively on RNA polymerase III (Pol III) — an enzyme that produces RNA molecules — and has recently directed its attention to understanding the...
2025-11-25 - Amber Smith, a neuroscience major in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, is president of the Undergraduate Neuroscience Society. She is also an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Catherine Christian-Hinman's neuroscience lab. This fall, the Undergraduate...
2025-11-21 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology are pleased to welcome new faculty member Dr. Michael Schappe. He joins the school as an assistant professor in January 2026. His research lies in the areas of...
2025-11-21 - Though he only completed his postdoctoral work two years ago, the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology’s own Professor Boxuan Zhao already ranks among the world's most influential scientists. Earlier this month, Zhao was one of twelve Illinois professors named to the...
2025-11-12 - A naturally occurring protein that tends to be expressed at higher levels in breast cancer cells boosts the effectiveness of some anticancer agents, including doxorubicin, one of the most widely used chemotherapies, and a preclinical drug known as ErSO, researchers report. The protein, FGD3, contributes to the rupture of cancer cells disrupted by these drugs, boosting their effectiveness and...
2025-11-11 - University of Illinois researcher Erik Nelson and members of his lab have made an important discovery about the relationship between cholesterol and breast cancer progression with crucial implications for breast cancer therapeutics.Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death for American women, and more than 90%...
2025-11-03 - In a study that combines behavioral tests, computer models and electrophysiological recordings of neuron activity, researchers have found that hyperactivity of neurons in the auditory cortex and the reaction of these neurons to an unusually broad range of frequencies contribute to distorted sound processing in a rat model of Fragile X syndrome.People with autism spectrum disorders...
2025-10-14 - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scientists, including microbiology professor Asma Hatoum-Aslan, will partner with investigators from several industrial and academic institutions on a five-year, up to $28M initiative funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health and overseen by Program Manager...