MCB students launch big dreams with the iVenture program

iVenture is a year-long program that aids student entrepreneurs from across campus to develop their startup ideas. The program provides students with multiple resources and support to help their venture succeed.

MCB's Commitment to Diversity and Equity

The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology would like to follow up on the statement sent out by the University of Illinois on Saturday. As noted by UI President Timothy Killeen, “The horrifying image of George Floyd dying as a police officer knelt on his neck is one that will be forever burned...

Spinal cord gives bio-bots walking rhythm

Miniature biological robots are making greater strides than ever, thanks to the spinal cord directing their steps. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers developed the tiny walking “spinobots,” powered by rat muscle and spinal cord tissue on a soft, 3D-printed hydrogel skeleton....

CDB Professor receives campus teaching award

David Rivier, Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, has been selected as the recipient of the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Nuclear speckle contact amplifies gene expression

Recent work from the Laboratory in Cell and Developmental Biology was featured in the Journal of Cell Biology.

Helping epithelial cells stand tall

Many epithelial tissues are classified as being squamous, cuboidal, or columnar based upon the height of their lateral membranes. CDB researchers Yuou Wang and Bill Brieher identified a protein known as CD2AP as a key factor necessary for building up the lateral membrane.

Protruding actin microspikes mend failing adhesive contacts

Epithelial cells use an adhesion molecule known as E-cadherin to help build extensive cell-cell adhesive contacts leading to cohesive sheets of cells that separate two different environments. But what happens if the adhesive bonds holding the cells together fail? CDB researchers John Li, Vivian...

The Freeman laboratory has discovered a pathway for reorganizing select chromosome sites

The Freeman laboratory (Cell and Developmental Biology) delineates a molecular chaperone-dependent mechanism for selectively mobilizing gene loci through the nuclear actin matrix. Their findings were published in Developmental Cell.

MCB faculty collaborate on NSF grants at Beckman

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...

Office of the Provost honors Auinash Kalsotra and Supriya Prasanth

Auinash Kalsotra (Biochemistry) and Supriya Prasanth (Cell and Developmental Biology) received 2019 Campus Distinguished Promotion Awards from the University of Illinois Office of the Provost. These awards celebrate scholars whose contributions have been extraordinary in terms of quality of work...