Milligan-McClellan Embraces Cultural Roots Through Research Advancement
April 10, 2023
April 10, 2023
Professor Kat Milligan-McClellan earns the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Science Diversity Leadership Award
See story in UConn Today
April 9, 2023
The PSM programs obtained a $10,000 donation from Bob and Carlita Gasparini, allowing us to help students pay for winter and summer session PSM/PM modular classes. Two MCB PSM students were awarded scholarships for their successful completion of the winter session 2023 MCB PSM laboratory modules. Molly Schiffer (Microbial Systems Analysis) received a $ 500.00 award for her participation in the one-credit Advanced Liquid Handling module. Kota Tejaswinee (Applied Genomics) was awarded $ 1,000.00 for her participation in the two-credit Characterization of Microbial Communities by 16S rRNA gene sequencing module. In summer 2023, three MCB PSM students will be awarded scholarships for their successful completion of the summer session 2023 MCB PSM two-credit laboratory module Microbial Genome Sequencing, Assembly and Annotation. The three students are Emilie Karovic (Microbial Systems Analysis), Kota Tejaswinee (Applied Genomics), and Xinyao (Sarah) Qiu (Microbial Systems Analysis), Each student will receive an award of $1,000.00.
In summer 2022, three PSM/PM students were awarded UConn-Technology Incubator Program (TIP) Innovation Fellowships, with one student interning at DeBogy Molecular, Molly Schiffer (Microbial Systems Analysis) and two students at Encapsulate, Alicia Predom (Applied Biochemistry and Cell Biology) and Duran Gonzalez (Applied Genomics). Other students interned at Bactana (Colleen Brown - Applied Biochemistry and Cell Biology), Boehringer Ingelheim (Samantha Hess - Applied Biochemistry and Cell Biology), Center for Human Genetics and Genomics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine (Mary Likhite - Applied Genomics), Encapsulate (Kristina Dibble - Microbial Systems Analysis), JAX-GM (Michael Piekarsky - Applied Biochemistry and Cell Biology), and Shoreline Biome (now Intus Biosciences) (Michael Martinez - Microbial Systems Analysis).
Graduates from our program continue to be highly sought after by Connecticut biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and facilities. Recent graduates Kristina Dibble (Microbial Systems Analysis) at Verve Therapeutics, Duran Gonzalez (Applied Genomics) at Encapsulate, Samantha Hess (Applied Biochemistry and Cell Biology) at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Mary Likhite (Applied Genomics) at Center for Human Genetics and Genomics, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Michael Martinez (Microbial Systems Analysis) at Intus Biosciences, Alicia Predom (Applied Biochemistry and Cell Biology) at Pfizer, and Molly Schiffer (Microbial Systems Analysis) at DeBogy Molecular.
Speakers at the 2022-2023 PSM Professional Development seminar series included PSM alumni who are now employed at Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Feissal Djoule - Microbial Systems Analysis), Beam Therapeutics (Angelica Messana, Applied Genomics), Connecticut Department of Public Health (Emily Gagnon - MIcrobial Systems Analysis), Detect (Dominique (Carrillo) Juan - Microbial Systems Analysis), Goldbelt C6 (Marsenia (Harrison) Mathis - Microbial Systems Analysis), Pfizer (Brendan Tierney - Applied Genomics), Quantum-Si (Dister Deoss - Microbial Systems Analysis), and Waterbury Hospital (Kiefer Rodriquez - Applied Genomics).
Eight students walk in the 2023 Master’s Degree Commencement ceremony - Colleen Brown (Applied Biochemistry and Cell Biology), Duran Gonzalez (Applied Genomics), Faith Jano (Applied Biochemistry and Cell Biology), Mary Elizabeth (Maryel) Likhite (Applied Genomics), Michael Martinez (Microbial Systems Analysis), David Mathieu (Applied Biochemistry and Cell Biology), Molly Schiffer (Microbial Systems Analysis), and Akshada Shankar Ganesh (Applied Genomics).
April 5, 2023
Congratulations to the following students on their Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Awards!
Joshua Calabrese
Katelyn DeNegre
Patrick Grady
Gabrielle Hartley
Kathleen Kyle
Jennifer Podgorski
Bryce Santinello
Corey Theodore
Geno Villafano
Meghan Wyatt
April 4, 2023
The 2023 recipients of the Judith A. and David C. Kelly Summer MCB Research Fellowship Awards are Sindy Gorka (Leighton Core’s lab), Klea Nito (Charlie Giardina’s lab), and Victoria Yi (Aoife Heaslip’s lab).
The awards support three rising senior MCB majors in their research activities in an MCB Faculty laboratory during the summer of 2023. The three fellowships are funded jointly by
Kellys and MCB, in the amount of $8,000 each, are intended to support students with demonstrated financial need who are MCB majors in good standing, and who have career goals aligned with the major.
Stephanie earned her UConn undergraduate degree in molecular and cell biology with a minor in psychological sciences. She will perform research in Heidelberg, Germany, and work with Magdalena Laugsch of the Heidelberg Institute for Human Genetics. She and Laugsch will study the genetics behind hereditary neurodevelopmental disorders, with a focus on early embryonic human neural crest cell development. Schofield is planning to pursue a career in genetic counseling.
Teresa Tamborra-Walton, an MCB major and senior undergraduate research student in the Lynes laboratory, was selected to represent the University of Connecticut at the second annual BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium. Her work was chosen to represent the best of student research being done across all disciplines including natural sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, nursing, business, engineering, and fine arts at UConn. Her presentation is entitled “Characterization of anti-MT monoclonal antibody as a potential therapeutic in autoimmune or chronic inflammatory diseases”. This symposium took place on March 11 at Madison Square Garden. Five posters from each BIG EAST institution participated and each presenter was invited to the BIG EAST Championship game to be played the night of the symposium.
Three MCB undergraduates who were selected to give talks at the All Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium last week have been selected by the panel of judges to receive an award. Teresa Tamborra-Walton has received the Outstanding Senior in MCB Award, Rayna Esch has received the Excellence in System Genomics Award, and Taylor Domingue has received the Biology Directors Award.
MCB student Hayden Yuan was a recipient of the 2022 Drotch Memorial Scholarship Awards. This competition is open to UConn undergraduates in biology, including Biological Sciences, EEB, MCB, PNB, and Biophysics, who have demonstrated both scholarship and financial need and who have completed a minimum of 3 and maximum of 7 semesters of study.
Ananya Aggarwal "Cisplatin Loaded Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma"
Sindy Gorka "Investigation of Post-Mitotic Read-through Transcription Timing and Function"
Olivia Bowes ’24, Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS, The Effects of Phosphodiesterases on Drosophila melanogaster Sperm Storage
Priya Aggarwal ’24 (Physiology and Neurobiology & Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Corpus Luteum Movement in Drosophila
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jianjun Sun, Physiology and Neurobiology
Harshita Akella ’24 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: The First Genome Reference for the Tropical Legume, Inga vera, and Comparative Analysis of
Genes Involved in Nitrogen Fixation Among the Fabaceae
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jill Wegrzyn, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Emma Beard ’24 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: The Role of Histone H3 in Transposon Repression
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mayu Inaba, Cell Biology
Rey Carten, Dec. ’23 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Molecular Simulation Investigations into Amino Acid Substitutions in the Design of Janus-Based
Nanotubes
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eric May, Molecular and Cell Biology
Fariha Fardin ’25 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Investigating the Effect of Acvr1R206H Expression in Muscle Stem Cells on Skeletal Muscle
Regeneration
Faculty Mentor: Dr. David Goldhamer, Molecular and Cell Biology
Ryan Gado, Dec. ’23 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Determining How the TM3, Sb Ser Balancer Chromosome Contributes to the Meiotic Drive of the
B Chromosomes in Drosophila melanogaster
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stacey Hanlon, Molecular and Cell Biology
Cristopher Guzman ’24 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: De Novo Genome Assembly, Annotation, and Comparative Genomics of Juglans ailantifolia
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jill Wegrzyn, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Fraser McGurk ’25 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: CD13 Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Controls Macrophage Fusion
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mallika Ghosh, Cell Biology
Taylor Orban ’24 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: The Relationship Between Homolog Pairing and Gene Expression during Drosophila Development
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jelena Erceg, Molecular and Cell Biology
Trevor Religa ’25 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: The Synaptic Adhesion Protein C1QL3 in the Prefrontal Cortex is Required for Learning Cognitively
Challenging Tasks
Faculty Mentor: Dr. David Martinelli, Neuroscience
Emily Trybulec ’24 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Automation of De Novo Genome Assembly and Comparative Genomics Using Bioinformatic
Workflows
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rachel O'Neill, Molecular and Cell Biology
Grace Xiong ’25 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Using the ADAPT-ITT Model to Adapt a Tailored Oral Health and Nutrition Educational Messaging
and Game Intervention for Children and Adolescents in a Pediatric Dental Office Setting
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Valerie Duffy, Allied Health Sciences
Hayden Yuan ’24 (Molecular and Cell Biology, CLAS)
Project Title: Identifying Key Evolving Residues That Drive CID/CAL1 Incompatibility in Drosophila Species
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Barbara Mellone, Molecular and Cell Biology
March 23, 2023
MCB is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 graduate and undergraduate student summer fellowships. These distinguished fellowships are made possible by some very generous donors and are offered on a competitive basis to the most highly qualified students.
Please join us in congratulating them on their accomplishments and demonstrated academic promise.
Asna Amjad
Katelyn Denegre
Yutian Feng
Joseph Iovine
Giancarlo Montovano
Derrick Kamp
Amanda DelVichio
Ian Barron
Nidhi Vijayan
Michael Griffith
Ryan Duggan
Kathleen Kyle
Jacob Kellermeier
Daniel Phillips
Patrick Grady
February 6, 2023
Michele Maltz-Matyschsyk, Joerg Graf, and Michael Lynes recently received an NIH award to support their work to define biomarker signatures of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C, an adverse effect of SARS-CoV2 infection). They will be working together with a consortium of other universities and research institutes in Connecticut and New York. Their work will measure multiple protein biomarkers using a grating-coupled fluorescent plasmon microarray, and will combine those measurements with analysis of the oral microbiome, and a large number of clinical phenotypes, and will use machine learning/AI approaches to define diagnostic patterns that may help identify at-risk children, and may also suggest potential new therapeutic interventions.
February 2, 2023
Nathan Alder, along with collaborator Doron Rapaport from the University of Tübingen (Germany), has received an award from the Reinhard-Frank Foundation for research on mitochondria-targeted bioactive compounds. Support from this foundation is designed to advance novel research that builds upon existing research strengths and promotes sustained partnership between participating institutions. The supported research will explore how some small molecules with strong therapeutic potential for treating mitochondrial disorders may function at the outer membrane of the mitochondrion, combining Alder’s expertise in the analysis of mitochondria-targeted compounds with Rapaport’s expertise in the biogenesis of mitochondrial proteins. This funding will support joint research activities in the Alder and Rapaport labs as well as reciprocal institutional visits and training opportunities for lab personnel.
Nathan Alder and Eric May have been awarded an R01 grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) as co-investigators on a project led by Steve Claypool at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The project, entitled “An intimate and multifaceted partnership: cardiolipin and the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier” (R01HL165729), is a four-year award, with a total award amount exceeding $2 million.
January 31, 2023
The Office of the Vice President for Research provides financial support up to $2,000 to faculty across all disciplines, on a competitive basis, to promote, support, and enhance the research, scholarship and creative endeavors of faculty at UConn. The Scholarship Facilitation Fund (SFF) is designed to assist faculty in the initiation, completion, or advancement of research projects, scholarly activities, creative works, or interdisciplinary initiatives that are critical to advancing the faculty member’s scholarship and/or creative works.
Juliet Lee (The use of zebrafish transgenics to study how stretch-activated calcium channels regulate the molecular dynamics of adhesions in moving cells) and Spencer Nyholm (Developing new molecular and genetic tools for microbiome research in the Hawaiian bobtail squid) received Fall 2022 awards
Adam Zweifach received a Spring 2023 Award (Modeling compound activity to improve drug screening)
According to the Office of the Vice President for Research, these projects represent innovative work within their respective disciplines, as determined by a rigorous review process. They often include exciting interdisciplinary collaborations. And they all make valuable contributions to our shared mission of generating and disseminating knowledge, whether it is through groundbreaking scholarly publications; building important, externally-funded research programs; or great achievements in public engagement or creative endeavors.
We are grateful for the intellectual contributions these faculty members and teams have made through these projects and through the subsequent achievements that are unlocked these internal funding investments.
January 17, 2023
MCB Department Head, Carol Teschke, recently announced that Patrick Grady has been awarded the Fall '22 MCB Graduate Travel Award in recognition of his outstanding graduate seminar.
This bi-annual award provides support to students for conference attendance to enrich their graduate program study and is offered on a competitive basis to the most highly qualified student.
Congratulations, Patrick on your accomplishments!