Giving back: Undergrad researcher, veterans work together to study brain health

This Veterans Day, student researcher Elizabeth Spurlock reflects on her experience investigating issues related to brain health in populations who have served. Her research is conducted in partnership with the Beckman Institute and the Chez Veteran Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-...

New faculty member to further explore research linking brain receptor to increased height, early puberty

For the past few decades, scientists have observed a trend of increased height and younger age of puberty onset in humans. Now, research outlining a new pathway in humans linking body fat to puberty onset and growth could provide an explanation as to why these changes are occurring. Their findings...

Seeing is believing: Image of primary visual cortex in a mouse wins second place in NIH research image contest

Congratulations to the Tajkhorshid lab and collaborators who created a stunning research image recently highlighted by the National Institutes of Health.

Light can trigger key signaling pathway for embryonic development, cancer

Blue light is illuminating new understanding of a key signaling pathway in embryo development, tissue maintenance, and cancer genesis.

Meet new faculty member Patrick Sweeney, who explores neural circuitry at the intersection of feeding, motivation, and emotion

The Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to welcome new faculty member Patrick Sweeney!

Study offers insight into underlying causes of seizure disorder in babies

Researchers report that infantile spasms, a rare but serious seizure disorder in babies, appear to be the result of a molecular pathway gone awry. In their study of a mouse model of the disorder, the researchers discovered that genetic mutations associated with the disease impair a pathway that is...

Neuroscientists uncover new neuronal circuitry that controls auditory sensory perception

A team of University of Illinois neuroscientists led by Baher Ibrahim and Daniel Llano recently published a study in eLife that furthers our understanding of how the brain perceives everyday sensory inputs.

Kai Zhang receives 2021 Scialog Collaborative Innovation Award to study the gut-brain axis

Congratulations to Kai Zhang, professor of biochemistry, whose team was selected for a 2021 Scialog Collaborative Innovation Award. The project is entitled, “Engineering Enteric Neuron Activity to Enhance Antimicrobial Immunity in the Gut.”

Study assesses consequences of environmental contaminants on developing auditory system

A recent study characterized the physiological changes a common environmental chemical, polychlorinated biphenyls, induces on the developing brain and auditory systems. In contrast to the mechanisms that drive most hearing loss, PCBs are capable of restructuring parts of the central nervous system.

MCB PhD student selected for Beckman Institute Fellowship

Seven graduate students, including one from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, have been awarded 2021 Beckman Institute Graduate Fellowships. The program offers University of Illinois graduate students at the MA, MS, or PhD level the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary research at...