Tags: biochemistry and molecular biology

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Focused on the fuel

Franklin College faculty and graduate students across the life sciences are engaged in bringing next-generation transportation fuels to market through a variety of ongoing research efforts. From  refinement of living organisms to breaking down sugars to release the energy in biomass, extraordinary researchers are developing new methods for displacing fossil fuels from the carbon budget. Our colleagues in the Office of Research share the story:…

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CRISPR study reveals secret to genetic immunity

Neww research from the University of Georgia has identified the critical role a particular type of protein – known as histone – plays in archiving information from past viral threats and contributing to more effective immune responses to future threats, through what is called genetic immunity. Histones are highly conserved proteins that have been compared to spools around which strands of DNA wrap themselves. A research team led by Michael Terns…

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CURO opens door to funding, research, and valuable experience

Emilio Ferrara, junior biochemistry and molecular biology major from Atlanta, Georgia, utilizes CURO—the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities—to connect with research opportunities across campus. A nice feature story on the CURO program describes Ferrara and his work on Type IV CRISPR systems: Emilio Ferrara did not realize it at first, but his experience with CURO led to a whole new career path. When you hear the title, “Elucidating…

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$14M from DOE renews bioenergy center

The Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), a multi-institutional initiative based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and co-led by University of Georgia researchers, has been renewed by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of four bioenergy research centers across the nation that advance robust, economical production of plant-based fuels and chemicals. According to its announcement, DOE will provide $590 million to the centers over the next five…

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Two Franklin College juniors named Goldwater Scholars

University of Georgia juniors Audrey Conner and Emilio Ferrara have been named 2023 Barry Goldwater Scholars, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of mathematics, engineering and natural sciences. Both are Foundation Fellows and Stamps Scholars in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the Morehead Honors College. Conner, from Tifton, is majoring in chemistry; Ferrara, from Atlanta, is majoring in…

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Landau, Terns named Regents’ Professors

Three University of Georgia faculty members have been named Regents’ Professors in recognition of the national and international reach of their innovative and pace-setting scholarship. Regents’ professorships are bestowed by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and are the highest professorial recognition in the state’s system of public colleges and universities. The university’s 2022–2023 Regents’ Professors are Jenna…

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Bioexpression & Fermentation Facility: BFF to Georgia’s bioeconomy

Biomanufacturing has been around for thousands of years, though it wasn’t called that when our ancestors were making beer, wine, cheese, bread and vinegar. Mankind has long understood the value of fermentation, the metabolic process of converting things like sugar or starch into alcohol or acid. At the University of Georgia, biomanufacturing is based at the on-campus Bioexpression and Fermentation Facility, which has been churning out important…

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Xu elected a 2022 IEEE Fellow

Ying Xu, professor of biochemistry in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The IEEE publishes approximately one-third of the world’s literature in computer science and the electrical and electronic engineering fields. It also co-sponsors more than 1,900 international conferences annually. As the largest professional organization for the advancement of technology…

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Breaking down biofuel barriers

Debra Mohnen, Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Complex Carbohydrate Research and professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has made internationally recognized contributions to the field of plant cell-wall glycobiology with significant impacts on biomass and bioenergy research. In 75 peer-reviewed publications, which have generated more than 500 citations annually since 2013, she has advanced understanding of…

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New UGA study maps the structural diversity of sugar building enzymes using AI

Sugars in our bodies, and in nearly all living organisms, are synthesized and built by a large family of proteins called Glycosyltransferases (GTs) that adopt unique three-dimensional structures and folds to perform a diverse array of cellular functions. Understanding the structure and fold of these proteins is an important first step towards characterizing their functions, which is critical for developing effective glycovaccines and for…

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PhD students named 2021 ARCS Scholars

Seven UGA doctoral students have been named 2021 ARCS Scholars by the Office of Research. Amanda Caulfield, Kendall Clay, Christian Freeman, Morgane Golan, Megan Meany, Judith Reyes Ballista and Aarya Venkat will receive $8,000 each for the next three years to support their dissertation research. Four of the seven hail from departments or research areas within the Franklin College: [Aarya] Venkat, a biochemistry Ph.D. student, is distinguishing…

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UGA's Art Edison leads $40M grant for NMR network

Researchers all over the world will have access to the University of Georgia’s expertise in nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR, thanks to a new infrastructure funded by a $40 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The Network for Advanced Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, or NAN, will allow researchers to access ultra-high field nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers to study the structure, dynamics and interactions of biological…

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Researcher receives $3M NIH award to continue exploring bacterial immune systems

Michael Terns of the University of Georgia is the recipient of a $3 million Maximizing Investigator Research Award, or MIRA, from the National Institutes of Health to further research on CRISPR—bacterial immune systems harnessed as powerful human gene-editing tools—and to begin studying Anti-CRISPR, or ACR, proteins used by viruses to evade the CRISPR immune systems. “We’re studying a global viral pandemic. Rather than a virus against humans, it…

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UGA undergrad brings science vividly to life

Daniel Sina Rouhani is just finishing up his second year as a UGA undergrad, but this genetics and biochemistry double major has already put together a portfolio that would be the envy of many college graduates. Rouhani is the founder of the 3D design studio ExonScientific, which develops new techniques in digital graphic design to “push the boundaries of scientific communication.” He’s put his talents to use in projects with both UGA faculty—…

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Kannan receives $2M NIH MIRA award

University of Georgia faculty member Natarajan Kannan is a recipient of a highly prestigious Maximizing Investigator Research Award, or MIRA, from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The MIRA award is intended to provide investigators with greater stability and flexibility in funding to enhance scientific productivity and make important scientific breakthroughs. The program funds research by the nation’s most highly talented and…

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Pre-med student starts Krav Maga club

Arthur Miller has always enjoyed teaching other people and explaining things. An Honors student, Miller is studying biochemistry and molecular biology while also pursuing a master’s in comparative biomedical science through UGA’s Double Dawgs program. A pre-med student, Miller is narrowing down his selections to start medical school in the fall. A black belt and former state champion in Taekwondo, Miller is president and founder of the …

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Two professors elected to NAI

The National Academy of Inventors has named two Franklin College faculty members to the 2020 class of NAI Senior Members. Richard Meagher, Distinguished Research Professor of Genetics, and Ronald Orlando, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and chemistry, are the first UGA researchers to receive the senior membership distinction. They join a new class of 38 prolific inventors representing 24 research universities along with…

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Great Commitments: GRA Eminent Scholar Art Edison

As part of the CCRC and the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, Art Edison's wide-ranging expertise in metabolomics – used to characterize and identify the molecules that make up an organism, tissues, or cells – is an important resource for faculty collaborations in a range of critical research areas, including COVID-19: “Metabolites are the things that are responding to what’s going on in a person’s life,” Edison said. “Whether it…

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Landon Clark named 2020 Goldwater Scholar

A third-year CURO Honors Scholar who is triple majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, genetics and biology, Landon Clark is among 396 undergraduates across the nation to be recognized as Barry Goldwater Scholars, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering: Clark’s long-term plans include pursuing an MD/PhD in immunology, performing translational research on…

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Doctoral candidate receives NIH fellowship

Hannah Stephen, a Ph.D. candidate in biochemistry and molecular biology, has received the F30 Ruth L. Kirschstein Individual Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: “Receiving this fellowship is such an honor and I’m very grateful to the NIH and the NICHD for seeing the importance of my work and the vision of my future work,” said Stephen. The…

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Franklin faculty lead UGA project to transform STEM education

Funded by a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the Department and Leadership Teams for Action program, or DeLTA, will engage more than 100 University of Georgia faculty across multiple departments to transform STEM education at institutions of higher education nationwide. Principal investigator Paula Lemons, an associate professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, explained that she and her colleagues…

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Cori Bargmann: Reshaping science to save lives

UGA celebrates Franklin alumna Cori Bargmann (BS '81) as a Georgia Groundbreaker for her work revolutionizing research in neurobiology: For over a decade, Bargmann ran a lab at the University of California at San Francisco. Today, she is the Torsten N. Wiesel professor of genetics and neurosciences at Rockefeller University in New York, and she leads the Chan Zuckerberg Science Initiative in California. In 2003 she was elected to the prestigious…

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Amazing student: Michael Bowler

From the impact of great mentors to lab opportunities and guiding campus tours, senior biochemistry and molecular biology /psychology double-major Michael Bowler has learned the importance of helping others pursue their passions: My experiences at UGA have been shaped by numerous organizations and their members. Dawg Camp, an extended orientation program, created immediate connections with upperclassman mentors and a vision for how I could make…

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1970's graduate student revolutionized biochemical research

Biochemist and Franklin College alumnus Marion Bradford spent most of his career developing new ways to use a common item found in kitchens and nurseries around the world—cornstarch. He is also the author of one of the most cited research papers in history: He was part of a team recognized in 2003 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Chemical Society for creating an organic compound from corn sugar used in carpet fibers,…

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GlyGen will integrate glycoscience data to combat pathogens

Glycans, or complex sugars, cover the surfaces of our cells and play a key role in biological processes ranging from interacting with other cells to recognizing and fighting pathogens. A new informatics portal is helping to illuminate the world of glycoscience: UGA partnered with George Washington University to create GlyGen (glygen.org), a glycoscience informatics portal funded by a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.…
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