2024-05-07
- The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology honored dozens of undergraduate and graduate students at its annual award ceremony, held on May 2.
These student awards, fellowships, and scholarships recognize academic achievement, research accomplishments, and excellence in teaching and are made possible through the generous support of alumni and friends of MCB.
A list of 2023-2024...
2024-05-06 - A new study from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology seeks to better understand shedding patterns among common respiratory viruses by closely examining the immune system before, during, and after infection. The FLUdetect study, headed by Chris Brooke, an associate professor of microbiology, and...
2024-05-03 - Three University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors, including biochemist Steve Sligar, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of a scientist's highest professional honors. Sligar, a professor emeritus of biochemistry, along with...
2024-04-30 - A trio of researchers from the Department of Microbiology has discovered an essential function of a landmark protein in regulating movement across bacterial cells. Members of the Mera Lab determined how the coiled-coil polar protein TipN moves a region of the chromosome called parS. They also observed a connection between TipN and the DNA replication initiator DnaA, revealing a new communication...
2024-04-11 - The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology honored three faculty and staff members who show visionary spirit and dedication on the 124th anniversary of founder Arnold Beckman’s birth. Congratulations to Emad Tajkhorshid, J. Woodland Hastings Endowed Professor of...
2024-04-10 - For six years, the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology’s Graduate Student Association’s “Science on Tap” has introduced a variety of biology-related topics to scientists and non-scientists over a cold drink at a local...
2024-04-02 - Congratulations to Dr. Mesa, a 2024 College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient! In April 1986, a nuclear reactor exploded at the Chernobyl Power Plant in the Soviet Union. The worst nuclear disaster in history shaped the trajectory of nuclear power safety worldwide, while also shaping the career...
2024-04-02 - Congratulations to Dr. Monteggia, a 2024 College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient! Lisa Monteggia’s journey to a career in psychiatric neuroscience began nearly forty years ago in a microbiology lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As an undergraduate, Monteggia knew she had a talent...
2024-04-02 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce the award winners from the 2024 Graduate Research Retreat, held at the I Hotel and Illinois Conference Center on Friday, March 29. Awards were presented for both the poster sessions and oral presentations. Poster Session:...
2024-04-01 - By day, Stephen Johnson is a Sponsored Business Analyst for the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology. By night, he’s a podcast host and avid marathon runner. Johnson filled us in on his daily routine, the similarities between financial work and sound editing, and his efforts to raise money for a peer support nonprofit. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do within the...
2024-03-21 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Department of Biochemistry are pleased to welcome Samy Meroueh as a new professor of biochemistry this spring. He joins us from the Indiana University School of Medicine. We spoke with him about his research and teaching interests and how he spends his...
2024-03-19 - Some animals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate lost structures, exemplified by a lizard regrowing its tail. However, this regenerative process must be tightly regulated by the body to ensure proper tissue organization and to prevent abnormal growths, such as cancer. Yet, the precise mechanisms underlying this regulation are not well known. In a recent study published in PLOS...
2024-03-11 - A surge of a neural-specific protein in the brain is the earliest-yet biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease, report University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers studying a mouse model of the disease. Furthermore, the increased protein activity leads to the seizures associated with the earliest stages of neurodegeneration, and inhibiting the protein in the mice slowed the onset and progression...
2024-03-04 - Fragile X syndrome is one of the most commonly inherited forms of autism and intellectual disability, and no treatment currently exists. But a team of University of Illinois researchers led by Vipendra Kumar, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, has discovered a novel receptor function that may be used in a therapeutic approach to treatment....
2024-02-29 - Supported by a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the Auerbach Lab will examine how different genes associated with autism spectrum disorders may similarly impact our brain’s neurons, resulting in heightened sensitivity to sounds. Autism spectrum disorders are genetically complex, and hundreds of genes are implicated in their development. As a result, some may...