Dr. Angelika Burger was recently awarded the 2009 Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute Heroes of Breast Cancer Scientific Distinction Award for her demonstrated leadership in breast cancer research. More...
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Dr. Gregory Kapatos was recently awarded the Gowland Hopkins Award for his significant contributions to the field of pteridine biochemistry. Dr. Kapatos received the award and was the keynote speaker at the 14th International Symposium on the Chemistry and Biology of Pteridines and Folates held in Korea in June
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Congratulations to Dr. Julie Boerner for receiving grants from Susan G. Komen for the Cure, as well as additional grants from the Komen Detroit Race for the Cure and the Komen Greater Lansing Affiliate. Dr. Boerner’s grant aims to identify new targets for efficacy testing in breast cancer patients and to determine if multiple kinase inhibitor treatment may be an alternative approach for inhibition of breast cancer cell growth and survival.
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Congratulations to Dr. Bonnie Sloane, who was elected by her peers as the President of the Association of Medical School Pharmacology Chairs.
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Dr. David Kessel received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Russian Academy of Sciences at a recent meeting in Moscow jointly sponsored by the International Conference on Porphyrins and Phthaliocyanines, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. The award was for his studies related to Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) and was funded by the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, where the modern era of PDT began.
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Congratulations to three recent graduates from the program – Drs. Qing Zhong (Lash lab - 2008), Jonathan W. Wojtkowiak (Mattingly lab - 2008), and Christopher A. Jedeszko (Sloane lab - 2009).
Dr. Zhong is now a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Renu A. Kowluru, Professor of Ophthalmology and Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Kresge Eye Institute. Dr. Wojtkowiak is a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Robert J. Gillies at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, FL. Dr. Jedeszko is pursuing his postdoctoral training with Dr. Robert S. Kerbel in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto.
The Department is also pleased to announce that Dr. Jay I. Koepke (Terlecky lab – 2006) has been named Professor of Biology at Edison State College in Naples, FL.
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Cell biology and Neuroscience:
Reversible modifications provide an important means for regulating protein function, which is essential for cellular responses. Until recently, phosphorylation has been the major focus of such protein post-translational modification studies. A recent paper by Nick Davis and colleagues reveals another regulated proteome — neuronal proteins modified by the 16-carbon fatty acid palmitate. In a technical tour-de-force, they have detected not only the palmitoylated neuronal proteins identified previously, but several hundred new candidates, including proteins involved in neurotransmitter availability and responsiveness, the growth and retraction of neuronal processes, and synaptic adhesion. More…
Neuroscience: Understanding the molecular consequences of drug addiction may contribute to the development of better treatment strategies. A recent study by Mike Bannon, Greg Kapatos and colleagues has identified the profile of changes in gene expression in the ‘pleasure center’ of chronic heroin abusers, comparing findings to previous data involving human cocaine abusers. More… |
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