Congratulations to Dr. Oleg Karaduta who has been appointed to the Editorial Board (section Proteomics) of the Journal of Mass Spectrometry & Advances in the Clinical Lab (JMSACL). Previously Dr. Karaduta received US Young Investigator Educational Grant from the abovementioned Association.
News
December publications
Multi-omics data integration considerations and study design for biological systems and disease.
Graw S, Chappell K, Washam CL, Gies A, Bird J, Robeson MS 2nd, Byrum SD.
Mol Omics.
Urbaniak A, Piña-Oviedo S, Yuan Y, Huczyński A, Chambers TC.
Eur J Pharmacol.
G-Quadruplex loops regulate PARP-1 enzymatic activation.
Edwards AD, Marecki JC, Byrd AK, Gao J, Raney KD.
Nucleic Acids Res.
Gujarathi S, Zafar MK, Liu X, Eoff RL, Zheng G.
Molecules.
Dr. Byrum invited as guest editor
As a Guest Editor for JoVE, Dr. Stephanie Byrum is organizing a Methods Collection titled “Cutting-edge technologies driving quantitative mass spectrometry“.
JoVE is the leading peer-reviewed scientific methods video journal, aimed at increasing the visibility and reproducibility of research. JoVE’s team takes care of the entire process of filming and producing your video.
This Methods Collection will be the definitive record of quantitative mass spectrometry and bioinformatics techniques and set the standard for reproducibility within the community. The collection will cover advanced experimental approaches in the field.
Once complete, this collection will be distributed to a comprehensive list of researchers who are active in the field. This will promote collaboration among researchers in the community and facilitate wider adoption of innovative methodologies.
This collection will be the go-to resource for methods in the field for years to come.
If you are interested in contributing, please submit an abstract of a maximum 300 words by February 15, 2021. The full-length manuscript should be submitted by April 15, 2021.
Dr. Byrd receives Hornick Endowment Grant
Congratulations to Dr. Alicia Byrd on receiving research funding of $25,000 from the Hornick Endowment Grant Program. This award is for one (1) calendar year and will fund additional research related to Dr. Byrd’s grant entitled “The effect of rs75770066, a stroke associated single nucleotide polymorphism, on enzyme activity”.
Dr. Alicja Urbaniak receives Barton Pilot Grant
Congratulations to Dr. Alijca Urbaniak, Instructor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, on receiving research funding of $25,000 from the Barton Pilot Grant Program. This award is for one (1) calendar year to fund additional research related to Dr. Urbaniak’s grant entitled “Novel Monensin Analogs for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer”.
Oleg Karaduta & Mari Davidson invited as Guest Editors
Dr. Oleg Karaduta and Dr. Mari Davidson invite contributions to a special issue of applied sciences on the Evolution of Modern Molecular Biology Applications.
Forty years ago, when relatively powerful microprocessors first became available, many young entrepreneurs were inspired to create companies, platforms, and programming tools that helped make computing available to everyone. This in turn helped spark the information revolution. Today, thanks to the increasing sophistication, speed, and power of computer modeling and other new tools, we are on the brink of another revolution — this time in bioscience.
The aim of this Special Issue, therefore, is to offer a platform for scientists working on the different aspects of Molecular Biology; fusion of classical methods with novel approaches drives human progress, and it is this belief that fuels our optimism in that direction.
We invite you to submit manuscripts addressing novel uses of classical techniques in molecular biology and possible applications of these methods in future medical and life science research for a compilation of our current knowledge into a comprehensive issue.
Congratulations Dr. Taylor!
Congratulations to Erin Taylor who successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation entitled “Immune Modulation Response to Checkpoint Inhibition in Metastatic Melanoma” on December 1st. Erin was a student in the laboratory of Dr. Alan Tackett.
November publications
Toxicol Lett.
Drug Metab Dispos.
Identifying RNA Helicase Inhibitors Using Duplex Unwinding Assays.
Methods Mol Biol.
Urbaniak A, Piña-Oviedo S, Yuan Y, Huczyński A, Chambers TC.
European Journal of Pharmacology
Congratulations Dr. Koss!
Congratulations to Brian Koss who successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation entitled “Epigenetic control of Cdkn2a.Arf protects tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from exhaustion” on November 18th. Brian was a student in the laboratory of Dr. Alan Tackett and is now a post-doctoral fellow in the Center for Translational Pediatric Research as part of the Proteomics Technology Development Shared Resource under the direction of Dr. Rick Edmondson. A summary of his research is below.
T cell exhaustion in cancer is linked to poor clinical outcomes and evidence suggests T cell metabolic changes precede functional exhaustion. Direct competition between tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and cancer cells for metabolic resources often renders T cells dysfunctional. Here, we report an epigenetic mechanism contributing to the development of metabolic exhaustion in TILs. Environmental stress produces epigenome remodeling events within tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes resulting from loss of the histone methyltransferase EZH2. Using a multi-omics approach, we have defined an ARF-mediated, p53-independent mechanism by which EZH2 inhibition leads to mitochondrial dysfunction and the resultant exhaustion. Reprogramming T cells to express a gain-of-function EZH2 mutant resulted in an enhanced ability of T cells to inhibit tumor growth. Our data suggest manipulation of T cell EZH2 within the context of cellular therapies may yield lymphocytes which are able to withstand harsh tumor metabolic environments and collateral pharmacologic insults.
Grad School Informational Webinar
Thinking about graduate school in the biomedical sciences?
Join us on Thursday November 9, 2020 for a free online event where our current students will share their experiences in the UAMS Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Sciences (GPIBS) Biochemistry Track.
Programmatic details & the application process will also be discussed.