• 2023-10-19 - Coming into the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Catherine Koterba was a pre-med student with a passion for astronomy. Three years later, she is a microbiologist studying thermophilic archaea from the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park. On the surface, this appears to be quite the career shift. Yet, for Catherine, this transition was simply the product of a deep-rooted drive to try new things and a relentless persistence to get involved with the topics that generated the most interest. “My true, overarching passion is space,” says the senior molecular and cellular biology major...
  • 2023-10-12 - In a new study, University of Illinois scientists have shown how a specific group of neurons respond to information about an animal’s energy state and external challenges to regulate anxiety, fear, and similar behavior. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest these neurons could be a potential target for better understanding the neurobiology of anorexia nervosa and other disorders related to metabolism and psychiatry. Patrick Sweeney, a professor of...
  • 2023-10-03 - Xinzhu Yu, a professor of molecular and integrative physiology in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, is a recipient of the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award from the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.  According to the NIH, the New Innovator Award “supports investigators at each career stage who propose innovative research that, due...
  • 2023-10-03 - University of Illinois researchers have uncovered a molecular mechanism that influences muscle weakness in a mouse model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the most common inherited neuromuscular disease and one of the most severe forms of inherited muscular dystrophies. The genetic disorder causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness due to loss of or alterations in dystrophin, a protein that is essential for muscle contraction and integrity. Symptoms of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, or DMD, typically appear in early childhood; the disorder usually only affects males. The loss...
  • 2023-09-28 - University of Illinois researchers have established the protein p53 as critical for regulating sociability, repetitive behavior, and hippocampus-related learning and memory in mice, illuminating the relationship between the protein-coding gene TP53 and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders like autism spectrum disorder. “This study shows for the first time that p53 is linked directly to autism-like behavior,” said Nien-Pei Tsai, an associate professor of molecular and integrative biology in the...
  • 2023-09-15 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce winners of its “Life Inspiring” art competition. Earlier this year, undergraduate and graduate students were invited to submit original art that captured the joys of their scientific endeavors, whether through graphic design, drawings, paintings, photography, or mixed media pictures. Selected art will be displayed in Burrill Hall later this year. The gallery will be a celebration of the intersection of the life sciences and art. Another call for submissions will be announced in the spring.
  • 2023-09-15 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Department of Cell & Developmental Biology are pleased to welcome Boxuan Zhao as an assistant professor of cell and developmental biology. He will join us in November 2023 from Stanford University, where he completed his postdoctoral research. We recently spoke with him about his research and teaching interests and how he spends his time outside the lab.  Tell us about your lab and your research focus, including how you came to choose or specialize in...
  • 2023-09-11 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Department of Biochemistry are pleased to welcome Chu-Young Kim as a professor of biochemistry. We recently spoke with him about his research and teaching interests and how he spends his time outside the lab. He joins us from the University of Texas at El Paso, where he was a biochemistry and chemistry faculty member. Tell us about your lab and your research focus, including how you came to choose or specialize in your area....
  • 2023-09-08 - Congratulations to Professor Catherine Christian-Hinman, who was selected to receive the 2023 University of Virginia School of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award in Biomedical Sciences. The award recognizes exceptional research and professional accomplishments, outstanding discovery and innovation, and exemplary leadership.
  • 2023-09-07 - A new research center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will create whole-cell models that promise to transform our understanding of how cells function. With cutting-edge imaging and simulation tools, the center will advance the study of healthy and diseased cells; accelerate research into gene expression, metabolism, and division; and share science with communities of all ages through a partnership with the popular computer game Minecraft. The NSF Science and Technology Center for Quantitative Cell Biology will be at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and...
  • 2023-09-05 - Dr. Jhewelle Fitz-Henley joined the School of MCB in August 2023 as Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Outreach. She recently met with MCB PhD student Quang Nguyen to talk about her journey in science and reflect on mentorship and belongingness in science. Can you tell us about yourself? I’m a first-generation college graduate. In 2016, I graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. While I was at UIC, I didn’t really know what I...
  • 2023-08-22 - Dr. Dixie Whitt, a longtime University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign microbiologist who was beloved by her students and colleagues, passed away on Aug. 19, 2023, in Urbana. As a faculty member with the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana and the Department of Microbiology, she taught microbiology and infectious diseases to first- and second-year students for nearly two decades. The courses were highly regarded by the medical students and Dr. Whitt garnered numerous awards for her teaching, including the Raymond B. Allen Teaching Award from the College of Medicine’s Class of...
  • 2023-08-22 - Two faculty members in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology have been selected as Emerging Research Leaders by the University of Illinois Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute. 
  • 2023-08-01 - CAR-T immune therapies could be effective against solid tumors if the right targets are identified, a new study led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers suggests. The researchers successfully deployed CAR-T in a mouse model of ovarian cancer, a type of aggressive, solid-tumor cancer that has eluded such therapies until now.
  • 2023-07-31 - Scientists have identified a protein that plays a pivotal role in the action of several emerging cancer therapies. The researchers say the discovery will likely aid efforts to fine-tune the use of immunotherapies against several challenging cancers.