Congratulations to Dr. Janice Robertson who was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure on October 1, 2022.

Congratulations to Dr. Jim Janetka who was named a Senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Janetka was named among six researchers from Washington University in St. Louis.

Richard Axelbaum, PhD; David T. Curiel, MD, PhD; James W. Janetka, PhD; Gregory M. Lanza, MD, PhD; Robi D. Mitra, PhD; and Jennifer N. Silva, MD — are being recognized for their success in patents, licensing and commercialization, and for producing technologies that have the potential to have a significant impact on the welfare of society. 

They are among 83 new senior members who will be honored in June at the NAI annual meeting in Phoenix.
 
To read more, click here.
 

Drs. Jim Janetka and Makedonka Mitreva received two grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling more than $5.5 million to develop new treatments for two types of devastating parasitic infections common in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South America: river blindness and intestinal worm infections.

You can read the press release by clicking here.

Dr. Alex Holehouse was chosen to speak at the Futures of Biophysics Burroughs Wellcome Fund Symposium at the 2022 Biophysical Society meeting on February 21, 2022.  

“The Future of Biophysics Burroughs Wellcome Fund Symposium is one of the highlights of the Annual Meeting. Four outstanding young biophysicists are selected each year from an exceptional list of nominations and invited to present their work at the Symposium. The goal of the Symposium is to showcase cutting-edge research pioneered by these leaders in areas that reflect the richness and diversity of biophysics. These young colleagues, and the many more equally deserving nominees who could not be selected, truly represent the promising future of Biophysics." 
— Elizabeth Komives and Arthur Palmer

The Lohman lab’s publication entitled “How Glutamate Promotes Liquid-liquid Phase Separation and DNA Binding Cooperativity of E. coli SSB Protein” was chosen to be featured on the cover of the May issue of the Journal of Molecular Biology. Kacey Mersh’s designed the artwork pictured on the cover.  Click here to see the cover image.  

The featured article with commentary:
Kozlov, X. Cheng, H. Zhang, M. Shinn, E. Weiland, B. Nguyen, I.A. Shkel, E. Zytkiewicz, I.J. Finkelstein, M.T. Record, Jr. and T.M. Lohman (2022) How Glutamate Promotes Liquid-liquid Phase Separation and DNA Binding Cooperativity of E. coli SSB Protein. J. Mol. Biol. 434, 167562
(doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167580).

On September 21st, Dr. Ben Garcia was installed as the Raymond H. Wittcoff Distinguished Professor at the Eric P. Newman Center. Dr. Garcia presented a seminar entitled “Spectrometry for the Masses: Towards Identifying Epigenetic Histone Codes.” A reception and dinner followed the installation ceremony. To view the installation ceremony and seminar, please click here. 

The Mass Spectrometry Technology Access Center (MTAC) opened on April 29, 2022, at the McDonnell Genome Institute on the Medical Campus. The MTAC offers proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics and spatial omics services to help researchers answer questions in basic, translational and clinical research. The center is led by the Director, Dr. Young Ah Goo, a BMB faculty member with Dr. Ben Garcia who is on the committee overseeing the MTAC.
 

The following Faculty, Instructors, Postdocs, and Students presented their work at the Biophysical Society meeting on February 21-23, 2022.

Faculty
Dr. Michael Greenberg - POSTER - HARNESSING MULTISCALE MODELS OF A DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY MUTATION FOR PRECISION MEDICINE

Instructor
Dr. Melissa Stuchell-Brereton - POSTER - SINGLE-MOLECULE FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY OF APOLIPOPROTEIN E.
 
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Samantha Barrick - PLATFORM TALK - STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES IN VINCULIN AND METAVINCULIN ACTIN-BINDING DOMAINS EXPLORED BY MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS
 
Dr. Tugba Ozturk – POSTER - THE ROLE OF THE MEMBRANE IN DRIVING CLCec1 DIMERIZATION
 
Students
Jhullian Alston – POSTER - SIMULATIONS AND SINGLE MOLECULE STUDIES OF THE SARS-COV-2 NUCLEOCAPSID PROTEIN
 
Ankita Chadda – PLATFORM TALK - MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS DNA-REPAIR HELICASE UVRD1 IS ACTIVATED BY REDOX-DEPENDENT DIMERIZATION VIA A CONSERVED 2B DOMAIN CYSTEINE.
 
Matthew Cruz – PLATFORM TALK - A CRYPTIC POCKET IN EBOLA VP35 ALLOSTERICALLY CONTROLS RNA BINDING
 
Jasmine Cubuk – POSTER - CHARACTERIZING NUCLEIC ACID INTERACTIONS WITH THE N-TERMINAL BINDING DOMAIN OF THE SARS-COV-2 NUCLEOCAPSID PROTEIN
 
Melanie Ernst – PLATFORM TALK – SODIUM BINDING IS NOT REQUIRED FOR FLUORIDE CHANNEL FLUC DIMERIZATION BUT STABILIZES THE ACTIVE STATE
 
Drake Jensen - POSTER - A REAL-TIME FLUORESCENCE-BASED READOUT FOR QUANTITATIVE IN VITRO MEASUREMENTS OF STEADY-STATE TRANSCRIPT FLUX

Taeho Lee – POSTER - VAN'T HOFF ANALYSIS OF CLC-ec1 DIMERIZATION IN E.COLI LIPID MEMBRANES 
 
Jeff Lotthammer – POSTER - EXPLORING THE MYOSIN ACTIVE/AUTO-INHIBITED STATE EQUILIBRIUM BY MARKOV STATE MODELING
 
Artur Meller – POSTER - SIGNATURES OF ALLOSTERIC MODULATOR SPECIFICITY ARE ENCODED IN MYOSIN MOTOR DOMAIN EQUILIBRIUM FLUCTUATIONS
 
Michael Ward – POSTER - COMPARING STRUCTURAL ENSEMBLES WITH DIFFNETS HELPS EXPLAIN THE ACTIVATION MECHANISM OF THE SARS-COV-2 PROTEIN NSP16.

Anna Damato is a fifth-year PhD candidate in Neuroscience in the Department of Biology. Anna was nominated for this award by her thesis mentor, Dr. Erik Herzog, Professor of Biology, in whose lab she is connecting the bench to the bedside by investigating mechanisms of glioblastoma brain tumor circadian rhythms and how they impact the efficacy of chemotherapy. Anna uses real-time bioluminescence reporters of circadian gene expression to analyze the effects of timed treatment, with the goal of maximizing anti-tumor effects and minimizing side effects of chemotherapy in treating an otherwise dismal disease. In addition to cellular and molecular studies, Anna collaborates with physicians at the Siteman Cancer Center to assess the benefits of timed chemotherapy in patients with brain cancer.

To continue reading, please click here.

The Ceil M. DeGutis Prize was endowed by Kathryn and George Gokel in memory of Kathryn’s grandmother. The DeGutis award is presented to a senior graduate student, in their fifth or sixth year of graduate study, who has made a significant contribution to the field of Chemical Biology or Medicinal Chemistry disciplines broadly defined. 

Jennette Codjoe received her bachelor's degree from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. In 2016 she joined the Plant and Microbial Biosciences Program in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University. She is completing her thesis research in the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Haswell, Professor of Biology, where she works to elucidate mechanical signal transduction pathways in plants. Using a combination of proteomic and genetic screens in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, Jennette uncovered a novel connection between a plasma membrane mechanosensitive ion channel, MSL10, and proteins that tether the ER and the plasma membrane together. She has shown that MSL10 influences the morphology of ER-plasma membrane contact sites. 

The John E. Majors award was created in 2019 to recognize an outstanding senior-level PhD student for their outstanding research and teaching accomplishments.

Dr. John Majors was a professor in the Department from 1983 until his passing in 2018.  He was known for key contributions to the field of molecular biology, involving the expression of genes in yeast and viruses.  Dr. Majors was deeply committed to mentorship and training, putting students at the center of his career.  He served on the doctoral thesis committees of more than 140 graduate students in the university’s Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences (DBBS), and he was personally and passionately interested in their scientific projects and success.

Ryan Emenecker went to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities for undergrad where he completed a double major in Plant Biology and Genetics, Cell Biology, & Development. Ryan joined the Plant and Microbial Biosciences program in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis in 2017. Ryan joined the lab of Dr. Lucia Strader, Associate Professor of Biology, for his thesis work. Upon the Strader Lab moving to Duke in 2020, Ryan became co-advised by Dr. Alex Holehouse. Ryan’s thesis work covered a wide-range of areas including plant hormone crosstalk, biomolecular condensates in plants, and the role of protein disorder in condensate formation. Ryan defended his Ph.D. thesis in December 2021. In January 2022, Ryan started a postdoctoral fellowship in the Holehouse Lab where he carries out research on developing a tool for the rational design of protein intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), understanding the role of transcription factor IDRs in directing promoter occupancy specificity, and developing a directed evolution platform for studying IDR evolution in general and in the context of biomolecular condensates.

The John E. Majors award was created in 2019 to recognize an outstanding senior-level PhD student for their outstanding research and teaching accomplishments.

Dr. John Majors was a professor in the Department from 1983 until his passing in 2018.  He was known for key contributions to the field of molecular biology, involving the expression of genes in yeast and viruses.  Dr. Majors was deeply committed to mentorship and training, putting students at the center of his career.  He served on the doctoral thesis committees of more than 140 graduate students in the university’s Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences (DBBS), and he was personally and passionately interested in their scientific projects and success.

Matthew A. Cruz joined the lab of Dr. Gregory Bowman, Associate Professor, in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, where he studies the relationship between an ebolavirus protein’s structural dynamics and its function. Through computational and experimental techniques he is measuring how changes in protein dynamics affect RNA binding. Matthew is applying this research to find drugs that disrupt protein dynamics to combat ebolavirus infections.

Melanie Ernst is a fourth-year graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology (BBSB) program. She is completing her Ph.D. thesis work in the laboratory of Dr. Janice Robertson, Associate Professor in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics department, where she uses single-molecule techniques to study the folding of ion channels in membranes.

Melanie joined the BBSB program after receiving a Bachelor of Science in Biological Chemistry from Mannheim University of Applied Sciences in Mannheim, Germany. During her undergraduate studies, Melanie studied red blood cell physiology and the biocompatibility of artificial red blood cells.

In her thesis work in Dr. Janice Robertson’s lab, Melanie uses single-molecule TIRF microscopy and electrophysiology to study the folding of the bacterial fluoride channel Fluc.

Jasmine is a fifth-year graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BBSB) program. She is doing her Ph.D. thesis work in the lab of Dr. Andrea Soranno, Assistant Professor in Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, where she studies how sequence composition of intrinsically disordered regions within a protein can affect interactions with both proteins and nucleic acids using single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy.

Jasmine joined the BBSB program after receiving her B.S. from Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey with a major in biochemistry & molecular biology and a minor in holistic health. Prior to starting her Ph.D. work, Jasmine studied polymer synthesis and how polymer interactions contribute to optimized hydrogel formation.

Since joining the lab of Dr. Andrea Soranno, Assistant Professor in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics department, Jasmine has studied the role that intrinsically disordered sequences play in recruiting nucleic acids to proteins that functionally interact with RNA.

The Elson Fellowship award was created in 2016 to support educational opportunities for outstanding students and post-doctoral trainees in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. Training young scientists was a major focus of Dr. Elson’s career.

On Friday, July 29th, the department held a poster session for the six undergraduate students that participate in our very first summer undergraduate student research program. The summer research program was eight weeks long and included working on a research project, attending various pedagogical sessions on how to design experiments, how to read papers, scientific communication, guidance on graduate school applications, etc; as well as dinners and social activities with current graduate students every week.

The summer ended with a poster session to give the students the opportunity to present the research they were working on over the summer.  

Summer Undergraduate Student presenter: 

Jennifer Chen (University of Texas. Major: Computational Biology) hosted by Dr. Janice Robertson's lab presented a poster on "Investigation of Mutations on Fluc Dimer Stability."

Anthony Cruz (Grinnell College. Major: Anthropology and Biochemistry) hosted by Dr. Jim Janetka's lab presented a poster on "The Summer I Spent Making Anthelmintics."

Elliott Rosario Cruz (University of Puerto Rico. Major: Biology) hosted by Dr. Gaya Amarasinghe's lab presented a poster on "VP35 IID Loss-of-Function Mutation and Effects on Stability."

Kaelin Dean (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Major Biochemistry) hosted by Dr. Natalie Niemi's lab presented a poster on "Mitochondrial Phosphatase Pipeline: From Molecular Cloning to Enzyme Assays."

Rose Livinus (Mercer University. Major Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) hosted by Dr. Andrea Soranno's lab presented a poster on "Positively-Charged Residues at Position 112 of Apolipoprotein E Modulate Protein Stability."

Victor Tyne (The University of Chicago. Major: Physics and Classical Studies) hosted by Dr. Eric Galburt's lab presented a poster on "The Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcription factor CarD interacts with a variety of initiation intermediates."

2021 Faculty Reception 

On October 27th, the department hosted a faculty reception for Drs. John Cooper, Elliot Elson, and Ben Garcia. We took this opportunity to thank Dr. John Cooper for being Chair of the department, welcomed Dr. Ben Garcia as the new chair of the department, and celebrated Dr. Elliott Elson for being elected into the National Academy of Sciences.  

2021 Holiday Door Decorating Competition and Cookie Exchange

On December 15th the department hosted a cookie exchange. Many different types of cookies, fudge and chocolate were eaten and exchanged. We also announced the winner of our first door decorating competition. Twelve labs participated in the competition and no one held back. The winner of the first door decorating competition was: The Janice Robertson lab. The Robertson door theme was an advent calendar. Each focused on different scientific and trivia facts for each day. 

We can't wait to see what will happen this year. 

BMB Holiday Party

On December 19, 2021, the Department hosted its annual Holiday Party at the Saint Louis Zoo. Department members enjoyed good food, drinks and the zoo lights. 

 

BMB Spring Potluck 

On April 13, 2022, the department hosted a potluck. Department members brought in homemade pasta, salads, and desserts. It was nice to finally get together again after a long pause. 

2022 BMB Seed Grant Awardee's  

The BMB Department started a new Research Seed Grant Program to help promote new interactions within and especially outside the department, which we hope will enable new areas of research. While many internal WashU seed/pilot grants exist, this one is unique in one major way. This program is only open to Research Professors (non-tenure track), Instructors, Scientists, Postdocs, and graduate students in the department. We believe this program will be an excellent way to enhance research in the department, while at the same time allowing our younger scientists/trainees the opportunity to design new research experiments and gain experience going through the grant writing process. 

We are excited to see how these proposals will spark new interactions with members inside and outside of our department.  

The 2022 awardees:

Dr. Melissa Brereton - Single-molecule investigation of isoform-specific apoE interaction with ABCA1
Dr. Greg DeKoster - Alternative Approaches to Protein Labeling with Protein Ligation
Drake Jenson - Conformational dynamics of mycobacterial sigma factors during bacterial transcription initiation
Dr. Andrzej Krezel - Development of novel antibiotics to target essential enzyme of Helicobacter pylori BioV
Dr. Chen Sun - Structural insight into ependymal cilia lining brain ventricles
Dr. Eric Tomko - Cov2 N-protein mediated compaction of Cov2 genomic RNA sequences

On May 23rd, 2022, the department hosted its departmental retreat at the Charles F. Knight Executive & Conference Center. The retreat featured Faculty, Postdocs, and Student speakers. The day concluded with a poster session and reception.

Retreat Speakers: 
Dr. Natalie Niemi, Assistant Professor - Post-translational regulation of mitochondrial metabolism 

Jhullian Alston, Graduate Student in the Holehouse Lab - Using Coarse Grained Simulations to Understand Length Dependent Effects on Phase Separation

Ankita Chadda, Graduate Student in the Galburt Lab - UvrD1 helicase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) that can be activated by multiple mechanisms
 
Dr. Weikai Li, Associate Professor - Structural and cellular basis of antagonizing the vitamin K cycle for anticoagulation

Dr. Peder Lund, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Garcia Lab - Investigating why the FGF-2 Growth Factor Induces Y1 Cells to Senesce Instead of Proliferate

Dr. Tugba Ortzug, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Robertson Lab - The role of the membrane in driving CLC-ec1 dimerization

Dr. Andrea Soranno, Assistant Professor - Single-molecular fluorescence spectroscopy of disordered proteins

Dr. Rachel Bezalel-Buch, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Burgers Lab - Dual functions of Rev1: The control of DNA polymerase zeta-mediated translesion DNA synthesis (TLS)

Ankit Garg, Clinical Fellow in the Greenberg Lab - Exploring the biophysical and biochemical mechanism of cardiomyopathy associated with ACTA1 R256H.

Dr. Rui Zhang, Assistant Professor - Cryo-EM Structure of Cortical Microtubules of Human Parasite Toxoplasma Gondii

Dr. Jim Janetka, Professor - Targeting Metabolic Chokepoints in Parasitic Worms: Discovery of Novel Anthelmintic Drugs

2022 BBQ and Softball Game
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics vs Cell Biology & Physiology

On August 31st, the BMB and CBP departments hosted an end-of-the-summer BBQ and Softball match. The competition was steep with the softball game. Both departments came out swinging big, but only one winner prevailed. With a score of 17-14, the BMB department brought home the win. Shoutout to Dr. Ben Garcia, who had two grand slams in the game. We can't wait until next year to defend our title. Go BMB!!!