2023-11-27
- Antibodies—proteins that are produced by our immune system to protect us—are crucial for recognizing and getting rid of unwanted substances, or antigens, in our body. Although their role is universal, antibody structure varies in different animals. In a new study, researchers have analyzed the antibody Immunoglobulin M in rainbow trout to shed light on why these proteins may have evolved over...
2023-11-27 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Department of Microbiology are pleased to welcome Dr. Nkrumah Grant as assistant professor of microbiology. Grant joined us in November 2023 from Michigan State University and the University of Idaho, where he conducted his postdoctoral research. Tell us...
2023-11-21 - Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer is the most common form of breast cancer, affecting approximately 75 percent of breast cancer patients. In advanced and metastatic form, it is lethal, claiming the lives of nearly 350,000 individuals annually. Presently, no drug is able to eradicate these advanced tumors. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers ...
2023-11-16 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce the winners of its annual Undergraduate Research Symposium held Nov. 2, 2023. MCB faculty conduct leading research programs in biochemistry, cell and developmental biology, microbiology, and molecular and integrative physiology. Being an undergraduate researcher provides valuable experience for students...
2023-11-09 - When confronted with infection or injury, our body rallies to fight and heal itself and inflammation is a key part of this early defense system. But inflammation can also go awry, as exhibited in chronic illnesses such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Biochemistry professor Lin-Feng Chen has spent years working...
2023-11-06 - University of Illinois researchers have elucidated a mechanism whereby gastric cells detect and respond to toxin infiltration within the cell’s powerhouse, the mitochondria. The Blanke lab, within the Department of Microbiology in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, studies the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori, which...
2023-10-31 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Department of Biochemistry are pleased to welcome Chang Cui as an assistant professor of biochemistry. She joins us in November 2023 from Harvard University, where she conducted her postdoctoral research. We recently spoke with Professor Cui about...
2023-10-30 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is saddened to share news about the passing of Mary Jane Beasley, research specialist, lab manager, and enthusiastic supporter of the school, its departments, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Mary Jane Beasley, known to all as MJ, was a dedicated, productive, and talented Research Specialist/Lab Manager, said Benita Katzenellenbogen...
2023-10-24 - Hypopituitarism occurs when the pituitary gland, a small, pea-sized gland at the base of the brain, does not make enough hormones that are essential for growth, metabolism, and reproduction. Lori Raetzman, a professor of molecular and integrative...
2023-10-22 - In early October, the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology hosted a lecture featuring Nobel Laureate, Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan. Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for his work on “studies of the structure and function of the ribosome.” In 2000, Ramakrishnan reported the structure of the 30S subunit of the ribosome in a thermophile bacteria called ...
2023-10-20 - Host tissues and medical devices are ideal surfaces for bacterial pathogens to colonize and infect. Fluid flow is thought to flush bacteria off these surfaces, but University of Illinois researchers have found that some bacteria can strengthen their adhesion to the surface when flow is applied. In the Sanfilippo lab, researchers study bacteria in fluid flow by utilizing interdisciplinary...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...