Over 240 scholars from across the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and related units gathered at the I Hotel and Conference Center on Aug. 19, 2025, for the school's annual Graduate Research Retreat. Seventy-two graduate students presented their research as oral or poster presentations. Winners are listed below.
Keynote speaker was Dr. Michael Recny (PhD, '83, biochemistry). Dr. Recny is a veteran drug developer with four decades of experience in the biotechnology and contract research organization industries. During his career, he made important contributions to the R&D and commercialization of three FDA approved drugs that have collectively sold billions worldwide, and to four other experimental drug candidates that entered human clinical trials. Dr. Recny most recently served as CEO and a co-owner of Calvert Holdings, Inc., a diversified holding company with subsidiaries that offered non-clinical services and investment opportunities to early-stage biotechnology companies. He also served as CEO of Calvert Laboratories, one of Calvert Holdings wholly owned subsidiaries that conducts FDA regulated laboratory studies for biotechnology companies developing experimental drugs. After selling Calvert Labs to a large multinational contract research organization in 2021 and dissolving Calvert Holdings in 2023, he continues to serve as President and co-owner of Calvert Research, LLC, an investment company that holds equity positions in private biotechnology companies. Prior to his role as CEO, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Calvert Holdings where he focused on identifying new business opportunities and sourcing capital to fund new business ventures.
Guest speaker was Dr. Gene E. Robinson, Director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Robinson obtained his PhD from Cornell University in 1986 and joined the Illinois faculty in 1989. In addition to being director at IGB, he holds a University Swanlund Chair and a Center for Advanced Study Professorship and is director of the Bee Research Facility. Dr. Robinson pioneered the application of genomics to the study of social behavior and founded the subfield of sociogenomics, led the effort to sequence the honey bee genome, authored or co-authored over 350 publications, obtained over $75M in extramural research funding and two patents, and has trained over 35 postdoctoral associates and 25 doctoral students, about half with faculty/independent scientist positions in academia, government, and industry.
Many thanks to all the organizers who made this a successful, supportive, and engaging event: Bidisha Chakraborty, Suhail Chhakara, Dajin Cho, Liv Flores, Ash Lakshmi, Hellan Lee, Gabe McKenna, Subhashis Natua, Yinka Ojo, Tanya Pattnaik, Rujuta Pendharkar, Lori Raetzman, Shawna Smith, Brandon Stevens, and Thy Ta.
Graduate Research Presentation Winners
Oral Presentations
First Place: Akshita Gopal
"H3N2 Stem Antibodies Reveal How Influenza Evolution Shapes Antigenicity and Population-Level Immunity"
Second Place: Ezza Khan
"From DNA to Diameter: A new role for DnaA in bacterial cell size control"
Third Place: Tanya Pattnaik
"Mesolimbic dopamine signaling mediates increased hedonic feeding and food seeking during lactation in mice"
Poster Presentations
First Place (tie): Yinka Ojo
"The Impact of Long-term Phthalate Exposure on Pituitary Hormones and Inflammatory Markers: A Hallmark of Early Female Reproductive Aging"
First Place (tie): Will Wightkin
"Exploiting DNA damage to promote intestinal barrier disruption during bacterial infection"
Third Place: Connor Powers
"The role of Lipophorin Receptor 1 in regenerating Drosophila wing imaginal disc"