Assessing Pain Linked to High Metabolic and Glycolytic Shift in Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) Patients by Using a Bioenergetic Biomarker: A Pilot Study.
Miller GP, Krager K, Eom D, Aykin-Burns N, Santos-Horta E.
Cureus. 2026

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TGF-β Is Critical for Ovarian Cancer Migration, Invasion, and Chemosensitivity.
Elms C, Wei W, Birrer MJ.
Cancers (Basel).

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Bioactivation and reactivity research advances – 2025 year in review.
Liu J, Argikar UA, Brunetti P, Chatzopoulou M, Cho S, Claesson A, Dhaware D, Lang J, Ma B, Ma S, Maw H, Miller GP, Schadt S, Seneviratne HK, Tang LWT, Wei C, Khojasteh SC.
Drug Metab Rev. 2026

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Dynamic global acetylation remodeling during the yeast heat shock response.
Hardman-Kavanaugh RE, Storey AJ, Stuecker TN, Hood SE, Barrett-Wilt GA, Krishnamurthi VR, Wang Y, Byrum SD, Mackintosh SG, Edmondson RD, Wahls WP, Tackett AJ, Lewis JA.
Genome Biol. 2026

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The nucleoside analog CMX521 inhibits coronavirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase via a two-pronged mechanism.
Rakib A, Gordon C, Anderson TK, Marecki JC, Smitskamp Q, Moorman NJ, Heise MT, Colton HM, Selleseth D, Lanier ER, Raney KD, Kirchdoerfer RN, Götte M, Dulin D.
bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026

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A peptide-based screen for cell death inhibitors identifies the cytoprotective compound CDL36.
Inde Z, Keppler S, Gelles J, Fraser CS, Presser A, Mohammed JN, Jung M, Garvey DS, Moldoveanu T, Chipuk JE, Sarosiek KA.
bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026

The thirteenth Annual Arkansas Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium was held on July 29, 2026. Undergraduate students from 36 institutions in 16 states gathered at UAMS to celebrate the achievements of undergraduates pursuing research projects at colleges and universities across Arkansas.

Of the 87 student researchers who submitted abstracts for the Symposium 12 were selected for oral presentations.

• Elena Coleman from Rhodes College performed research this summer at UAMS in the SURP program.
• Lillie Ballany from the University of Arkansas performed research this summer at UAMS in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department SURF program.
• Mia Canizares from Mount St. Mary’s Academy performed research this summer at UAMS in Cell Biology and Physiology.
• Owen Bussell from the University of Central Arkansas performed research this summer at at the University of Central Arkansas.
• Bailee Brinkley from Arkansas Tech University performed research this summer at UAMS in the INBRE program.
• Fariha Alam Bushra from Southeast Missouri State University performed research this summer at UAMS in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department SURF program.
• Clara Park from Rhodes College performed research this summer at UAMS in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department SURF program.
• Bennett Dishongh from Hendrix College performed research this summer at UAMS in the INBRE program.
• Mishel Ocho from Wake Forrest University performed research this summer at UAMS in the Pharmacology and Toxicology SURF program.
• Chelsea Cliff from Howard University performed research this summer at UAMS in the SURP program.
• Kaylee Francis from Hendrix College performed research this summer at UAMS in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department SURF program.
• Spencer Stutts from Hendrix College performed research this summer at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville in the INBRE program.

Of the 80 poster presentations, the top 10 received prizes donated by MedChemExpress and the UAMS Graduate School.

• Benjamin Anderson from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
• Praise Fabiya from the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff
• Hannah Harshaw from Ouachita Baptist University
• Ava Lang from Arkansas State University
• Sonja Ramirez from Lyon College
• Simra Rana from Haas Hall Academy
• Ian Scarth from the University of Hawaii
• Joshua Skipworth from the University of Central Arkansas
• Paige Spicer from Ouachita Baptist University
• Rhys Wolter from Episcopal Collegiate

This annual event at UAMS is organized by the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, and was supported by the Arkansas INBRE, the Center for Molecular Interactions in Cancer (CMIC), the UAMS Graduate School, the Central Arkansas Chapter of Sigma Xi, and MedChemExpress.

Congratulations to Mason McCrury, Ph.D., on the successful defense of his dissertation, “DNA secondary structure as a determinant of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) activity at key oncogenes.” Dr. McCrury was mentored by Dr. Samantha Kendrick and will be moving to Emory University for his postdoctoral studies.

Human REV1 interacts with DHX36 to promote replication and tolerance of G-quadruplex DNA.
Ketkar A, Paxton BC, Zuniga OE, Sewilam RS, Morales M, Schaller J, McCollum RJ, Jackson KE, Lowran K, Paul A, Patel M, Seenivasan S, McCrury M, Al-Anbaky Q, Maddukuri L, Kendrick S, Wu CG, Gunderson JEC, Eoff RL.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2026

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Copy-back RNA synthesis by coronavirus polymerase requires helicase activity and is stimulated by remdesivir and molnupiravir.
Rakib A, Das A, Bera SC, Cnossen J, Robles-Sikisaka R, Diefenbacher MV, America PPB, Klein M, Anderson TK, Marecki JC, Wang B, Bogers E, Feng JY, Bilello JP, Papini FS, Smitskamp Q, Sheahan TP, Arnold JJ, Routh A, Artsimovitch I, Kirchdoerfer RN, Cameron CE, Raney KD, Dulin D.
Sci Adv. 2026

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Acellular normothermic spleen perfusion resolves transcriptional and non-transcriptional mechanisms of steroid immunosuppression.
Callais NA, Welch S, Rainwater RR, Schaller J, Deng S, Azevedo-Pouly A, Burdine MS, Burdine L.
bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026

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DZNep: A Methyltransferase Modulator for Disease Mitigation.
Garg S, Miousse IR.
Environ Mol Mutagen. 2026

Third year Ph.D student Vy Nugyen won first place for her presentation of her poster, “Rnd3 Regulates Lung Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion via Integrin Alpha 5 and Modulation of Lung Cancer Metastasis” at the 10th Biennial National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE) meeting in Rockville, MD.

Vy also presented her research as a poster and short talk at the FASEB Regulation and Function of Small GTPases meeting in Melbourne, FL where she won a $750 travel award.

Vy is mentored by Katie Ryan, Ph.D. Congratulations Vy!

Welcome to our 2026 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) students. These students will spend 10 weeks performing research projects in laboratories across the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department. The students and their mentors are:

• Savea Cunningham – Tudor Moldoveanu, Ph.D.
• Luke Garrett – Robert Eoff, Ph.D.
• Kaylee Francis – Robert Eoff, Ph.D.
• Betty Hu – Joonas Jamsen, Ph.D.
• Clara Park – Eric Enemark, Ph.D.
• Ashley Wallace – Kirk West, Ph.D.
• Jessica Offordum – Sayem Miah, Ph.D.
• Fariha Alam Bushra – Mohammad Rahman, Ph.D.
• Lillie Ballany – Alicia Byrd, Ph.D.

Congratulations to Zihun Zhang, Ph.D. on his successful defense of his dissertation entitled, “The mutant CST6N137D protects against bone damage, but also enhances the immune response in multiple myeloma”. Dr. Zhang was mentored by Fenghuang “Frank” Zhan, M.D., Ph.D. and will continue as a postdoc in the Zhan lab.

Loss of FAM60A disrupts Sin3/HDAC control of the Hippo signaling and promotes oncogenic YAP1 activation.
Miah M, Huda MN, Islam MR, Gerald D, Khator S, Saha A, Alam J, Thornton JL, Gies A, Bauer MA, Stephens KE, Nagalo BM, Rahman MA, Washburn MP, Miah S.
Cell Death Dis. 2026

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Proteostasis sustains T cell differentiation potential and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte function.
Scharping NE, Ge X, Matias MI, Jiang F, Cafferata A, Heeg M, Monell A, Galletti G, Cheung KP, Rock A, Thao N, Shuttleworth SL, Bauer MA, Takehara KK, Ferry A, Quon S, Koss B, Myers SA, Bennett EJ, Goldrath AW.
Cell. 2026

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RNA virus polymerase-helicase coupling enables rapid elongation through duplex RNA.
America PPB, Bera SC, Das A, Anderson TK, Marecki JC, Papini FS, Arnold JJ, Kirchdoerfer RN, Cameron CE, Raney KD, Depken M, Dulin D.
Cell Rep. 2026

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A Novel Model of Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy Produces a Clinically Relevant Phenotype in Mice.
Osborn LR, Bishop MG, Rodriguez KA, Redling DM, Duplechain EA, Stephens KE.
Curr Neuropharmacol. 2026

High-resolution metabolic profiling of the effects of early-life stress after peripheral nerve injury.
Rodriguez KA, Bishop MG, Osborn LR, Redling D, Sikes JD, Porter C, Yeruva L, Stephens KE.
J Pain. 2026

Congratulations to Kathy Carlson who received the Staff Excellence Award for Education at the Dean’s Honor Day 2026. Kathy has served as the Education Coordinator for the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department since 2021. She received this award in recognition of her outstanding work ethic and many contributions to the mission and vision of UAMS.