Microbiology alumni collaborate on COVID-19 wastewater tests

Four vials stand upright beside a Water SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Test
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic, University of Illinois alumnus David Townsend (BS ’88, microbiology) and members of his team at IDEXX Laboratories have developed a test to monitor the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater that rapidly detects the virus’ genetic material.

Liqian Ma awarded Mead Graduate Fellowship

Liqian Ma
The University of Illinois School of Molecular and Cellular Biology is pleased to announce the inaugural recipient of the Julie and David Mead Graduate Fellowship.

A novel approach to a new career

Carole Stivers
Alumna Carole Stivers worked as a biochemist in Silicon Valley—and then started anew as a science fiction writer.

Meet MCB: Neal Kitchen, PhD 2009

Neal Kitchen
When Neal Kitchen joined the department of cell and developmental biology in 2002, his plan was to get a PhD and then find a job with a company that would pay for an MBA program. But just as he neared graduation, the financial crisis of 2007-2008 took the wind out of...

Merck researcher's career launched at the same time as CDB

Alfred Reszka
Alfred Reszka’s future was intertwined with the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology in ways he never could have predicted when he came to the University of Illinois in the 1980s. Reszka was one of the first graduate students in the new department, and the connections he made in CDB laid...

Microbiology alumna wins the 2018 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

2017-12-06-PlantBiologistWins2.jpg
La Jolla—Salk Institute scientist Joanne Chory, one of the world’s preeminent plant biologists who is now leading the charge to combat global warming with plant-based solutions, has been awarded a 2018 Breakthrough Prize for her pioneering work deciphering how plants optimize their growth,...