Congratulations to the Class of 2020!

Blue and orange confetti flies in the air.
On Saturday, May 16, 2020, the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology celebrated its outstanding graduates with a virtual convocation. The ceremony included a slide show about students and their future plans, shout-outs from MCB faculty, and remarks from MCB Director Milan Bagchi and Tina Knox,...

MCB undergraduates receive awards from the Beckman Institute

Beckman Institute tower framed by blooming trees.
Three undergraduate students in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology were among the recipients of the 2020 Beckman Institute student awards and fellowships, which provide research experience. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, as well as other scholarship and memorial funds provided...

Prof. Stephen Sligar receives the Christian B. Anfinsen Award

Stephen Sligar
The Christian B. Anfinsen Award, sponsored by The Protein Society, recognizes technological achievement or significant methodological advances in the field of protein science. The recipient of this award in 2020 is Professor Stephen Sligar, professor of Biochemistry and former director of the...

MCB faculty collaborate on NSF grants at Beckman

Wide exterior shot of the Beckman Institute on a summer day.
ChBE professor Hyunjoon (Joon) Kong recently received two grants from the NSF to fund interdisciplinary research at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, including a look at how neurons and muscle cells communicate with each other and also to develop a drug delivery system for...

New cryo-EM structures of a lipid-sensitive ligand-gated ion channel

New cryo-EM structures of a lipid-sensitive ligand-gated ion channel
In biology, it is generally believed that a protein’s sequence determines its structure, which in turn determines its function. However, in the case of membrane proteins, the reality is more complicated than this simple statement. “In recent years, the importance of a protein’s local environment...

School of MCB celebrates at winter holiday party

A canopy of winter snow blankets the campus at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. Altgeld Hall. Alma Mater
On December 12, 2019, the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology held its annual Winter Holiday Party. Faculty, staff, and graduate students came together in the Alice Campbell Alumni Center to celebrate and recognize our successes throughout the year. Coordinated by Shawna Smith and Holly...

Biochemistry Professor David Kranz named an NAI Fellow

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David Kranz, the Phillip A. Sharp Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Kranz will be formally inducted at the Ninth Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Inventors in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 10,...

Welcome to our first cohort of BEST Scholarship recipients!

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The Biology, Experience, Scholarship, and Training (BEST) Program was established to attract exceptionally talented students to our undergraduate biology program. As a BEST recipient, incoming freshmen receive a scholarship and mentorship from the Director of the School of Molecular and Cellular...