BMB Events and News



Recent Events

2022 BMB and CB&P Softball Game

August 31st, 2022 – The departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and Cell Biology & Physiology had lunch and played a softball game together.

The final score was BMB 17, CB&P 14!

You can click here to view photos from the event.

Wellness Session – Krista Jarvis

On April 28th, 2021, the Department hosted a special session entitled “Evidence-based Practices that Support Mental and Emotional Well-being”. Mrs. Krista Jarvis, Clinical Case Manager and Program Manager in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University, walks the group through five different evidence-based practices for our mental and emotional well-being. These practices are designed to help each individual feel empowered to utilize a variety of simple techniques for stress-reduction in these challenging times.

If you would like to view this, just click here.

Working Smarter – Strategic Planning & Time Management Basics

On March 5th, 2021, Dr. Thi Nguyen presented on “Working Smarter – Strategic Planning & Time Management Basics”. To watch this presentation, please click here.

Career Panel Discussion – 2021

On January 22nd, 2021, the department hosted a Career Panel Discussion on how to apply for jobs in academia and industry. Panelist included: Dr. Erin Heckler, Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs; Dr. Alex Holehouse, Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics; Dr. Ron Dolle, Chemistry Director, Center for Drug Discovery; Dr. Michael Kinch, Director, Center for Drug Discovery.

If you would like to view this panel discussion, please click here.

Tom Rapoport 2020 Cori Lecture

Tom Rapoport, PhD

Tom Rapoport, PhD, from Harvard Medical School, presented the 2020 Carl and Gerty Cori Lecture on November 12, 2020, via Zoom.
Dr. Rapoport’s seminar was entitled “Mechanism of ER-Associated Protein Degradation (“ERAD”)”.

For more information on Dr. Tom Rapoport, please click here.

To see a recording of Dr. Rapoport’s lecture, please click here.

Ms. Megan Cohan and Dr. Jonathan Lin awarded the 2020 Ceil M. DeGutis Prize

On June 12, 2020, Ms. Megan Cohan and Dr. Jonathan Lin were awarded the 2020 Ceil M. DeGutis Prize in Chemical Biology/Medicinal Chemistry.

Ms. Cohan presented her research entitled “Small but mighty! Intrinsically disordered domains as key regulators of bacterial processes” followed by Dr. Jonathan Lin who presented his research entitled “The Role of NAD+ in Retinal Neurodegeneration”. If you want to learn more about these fellows please click here.

2020 BMB Department Retreat

On March 5th the Department held a half day retreat at the Eric P. Newman Center located on the WU Medical Campus. All of the labs in the department introduced their lab members and questions their lab is working on in their lab.

You can click here to view photos from the event.

2019 Elliot Elson Fellowship Seminar

On September 20th, 2019, the department held a special seminar to recognize the recipient of the 2018 Elliot Elson Fellowship. Ms. Sarah Clippinger shared her research on “Dissecting the Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Familial Cardiomyopathy”. For more information on Sarah, please click here.

You can click here to view photos from the event.

2019 MilliporeSigma Fellowship Seminar

On July 19th, 2019, the department held a special seminar to recognize the recipient of the 2019 MilliporeSigma Fellowship. Mr. Sukrit Singh shared his research on “Allostery in cellular signaling: Capturing biological switches in action”. For more information on Sukrit Singh, please click here.

You can click here to view photos from the event.

Mr. Josh Rackers was awarded the 2019 Ceil M. DeGutis Prize in Chemical Biology/Medicinal Chemistry.

On June 7, 2019, Dr. Josh Rackers was awarded the 2019 Ceil M. DeGutis Prize in Chemical Biology/Medicinal Chemistry.

Dr. Rackers presented his research entitled “HIPPO: A physics-based model for biomolecular interactions”. Dr. Rackers was a graduate student in the Computational and Molecular Biophysics Program. Mr. Rackers was nominated by his thesis mentor Dr. Jay Ponder. In Dr. Ponder’s lab, Josh’s work focused on using the tools of applied quantum mechanics to predict the behavior and interactions of biological molecules. This work is motivated by a deeply held belief that physics holds the answers to many of biology’s most important problems. (more…)

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Recent News

Congratulations to Drs. Natalie Niemi and Andrea Soranno for being awarded the DBBS Outstanding Mentor Award

Drs. Natalie Niemi and Andrea Soranno were awarded the DBBS Outstanding Mentor Award on April 5th.  This award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated exceptional mentorship qualities, providing invaluable guidance, support, and inspiration to graduate students in their academic and professional endeavors.

2024 BMB Seed Grant Program

The mission of the BMB Research Seed Grant Program is to promote BMB researchers at all levels to develop new avenues of research and/or collaborations that extend beyond their lab’s current research. The BMB Research Seed grant program goal is to stimulate new interactions with external scientists outside of the department.
A broad spectrum of proposal topics will be considered including fundamental studies in biochemistry/biophysics as well as more applied or disease-oriented studies that utilize quantitative or mechanistic approaches as a central component of the research.

Please click the link for more eligibility and application requirements. Application deadline is May 1st

Congratulations to Dept. Chair Dr. Benjamin Garcia for the following achievements:

Dr. Benjamin Garcia2024 ASMS DEIA Mentorship Award
The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Mentorship Award recognizes Dr. Garcia who has demonstrated exemplary service in the STEM mentoring and/or recruitment of individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the field of mass spectrometry.

2024 EAS Mass Spectrometry Award
Each year the Eastern Analytical Symposium honors Analytical Chemists who have distinguished career achievements. Dr. Garcia has been recognized for this award by advancing these fields by superior work in developing theory, techniques or instrumentation.

President-Elect of the U.S. Human Proteome Organization
US HUPO is an organization that engages in scientific and educational activities to encourage the use of proteomics technologies and to disseminate knowledge pertaining to the human proteome and that of model organisms.

Congratulations to Daniel Griffith for being selected as the 2024 MilliporeSigma Fellowship

Dan is a fifth-year graduate student in the Computational & Systems Biology (CSB) program. He is completing his Ph.D. in the lab of Dr. Alex Holehouse, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, where he develops computational and experimental tools for investigating intrinsically disordered proteins and biomolecular condensates. (more…)

Congratulations to Tessa Lochetto for being selected for the 2024 Elliot L. Elson Education and Training Award

Tessa Lochetto Tessa is a third-year graduate student in the Molecular Cell Biology (MCB) program. She joined DBBS in 2021 and chose to pursue her PhD thesis work in the lab of Dr. Natalie Niemi, where she studies how dysregulated mitochondrial protein phosphorylation influences the form and function of striated muscle. Specifically, Tessa addresses how hyperphosphorylation of mitochondrial proteins contributes to pathophysiology and tissue dysfunction in cardiac and skeletal muscles using cellular and murine models. (more…)

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