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School of MCB celebrates faculty, staff awards
Congratulations to recipients of this year's School of MCB faculty and staff awards!It is a school tradition to recognize outstanding members of the community at our year-end holiday party, and this year we presented awards across seven categories, honoring achievements in research, teaching, and...
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MCB researchers unveil new actin filament behavior in the cellular cytoskeleton
Imagine a treadmill. As it moves, the track is constantly receding but is replenished at an equal rate on the opposite end. The result is a machine in perpetual motion, but which has its length stay exactly the same. For decades, biologists have regarded “treadmilling” as the standard...
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In new research, Van Bortle Lab untangles a noncoding RNA-based mechanism of cancer progression
Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are piecing together how cancer-emergent non-coding RNAs, or ncRNAs, contribute to disease-related cell phenotypes. The Van Bortle lab has focused extensively on RNA polymerase III (Pol III) —...
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Fruit fly study reveals a gene’s hidden ability to keep regrowth on the right track
Regeneration, the ability to heal damaged or lost tissues, is both everyday and a real life superpower. Health research inspired by the remarkable regeneration of animals like starfish or the salamanders axolotls asks how future therapeutics could promote the regrowth of hard-to-heal tissues, limbs...
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MCB alumnus Dr. Craig Mackinnon builds a career in pathology, genomic medicine
Since his time as a graduate student at Illinois, Dr. Alexander “Craig” Mackinnon (PhD, ‘04, Cell and Structural Biology; MD, ’04) has built a career in anatomical pathology and molecular genetic pathology. Currently serving as the inaugural director of the Division of Genomic Diagnostics and...
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Dr. Stephanie Ceman chosen for Campus Award for Excellence in Instruction
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign each year presents Campus Awards for Excellence in Instruction to exceptional faculty and staff members, graduate teaching assistants and advisors campuswide.We are pleased to announce that...
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RNA binding protein implicated in brain development, fear memory
Researchers from the University of Illinois have identified an RNA binding protein called MOV10 as a critical factor in memory formation and learning. Their findings, published this month in BMC Biology, will...
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MCB scientists launch new RNA club at University of Illinois
A new club at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign aims to bring together RNA researchers from across campus to share ideas, expertise, and cultivate collaborations.
The RNA club is open to all, including faculty, research scientists,...
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College of LAS honors Dr. Stephanie Ceman with teaching award
Dr. Stephanie Ceman, Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology, has been honored with a College of Liberal Arts & Sciences...
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Meet MCB: Undergraduate Johnny Plonsker
Johnny Plonsker, an MCB major and member of Dr. Xin Li's lab, is this year's recipient of the Tom and Cynthia Cycyota Research Fellowship. Communications intern and MCB Honors student Vani Sharma spoke with him for the Cell &...