Dr. Jin Ye is a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Dr. Weikai Li in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Ye received a B.A. in Biotechnology from Northeast Agricultural University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from University of Science and Technology of China, where his work focused on the mechanistic and functional studies of Ankyrin-G mediated protein complex in neuronal polarity maintenance and signal transmission.

During his postdoctoral training at the Li lab, his work mainly focuses on structural and mechanistic studies of vesicular neurotransmitter transporters. (more…)

Dr. Brent Scott is a second-year postdoc in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Greenberg and is currently funded by the Pediatric Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Disease Training Program. Dr. Scott received his B.S. in Exercise Science with a minor in Sports Medicine from Belmont University (Nashville, TN) and was a research assistant for Dr. Ted Towse in the Neuromuscular Physiology Laboratory at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He then received both an M.S. and Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst working in the Muscle Biophysics Laboratory of Dr. Ned Debold where he studied the basis of energy transduction by myosin and the molecular mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle fatigue. (more…)

Mrs. Arenz was publicly recognized of this well-deserved award on May 20th, 2024 at the BMB Departmental Retreat.

Mrs. Arenz was nominated by Dr. Michael Greenberg for her unwavering dedication to departmental activities and focus on cultivating a positive and supportive environment. With her attention to detail, empathetic leadership, meticulous organizational skills, and vast knowledge of the university. (more…)

Dr. Ramirez was awarded the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for his project entitled “Mass spectrometry profiling of biomolecular condensate proteins and their regulation by glucose metabolism and posttranslational O-GlcNAc modification”. This is a 2-year fellowship funded primarily by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the U.S. Department of Energy that provides a stipend, health insurance supplement, travel allowance, and a lab supply budget.

Jiyeon Lee, Julie M Dimitry, Jong Hee Song, Minsoo Son, Patrick W Sheehan, Melvin W King, G Travis Tabor, Young Ah Goo, Mitchell A Lazar, Leonard Petrucelli, Erik S Musiek (2023). “Microglial REV-ERBα regulates inflammation and lipid droplet formation to drive tauopathy in male mice” Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 25;14(1):5197. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40927-1. (Abstract)

Abhay K Singh, Calvin D Lewis, Cristian A W V Boas, Philipp Diebolder, Prashant N Jethva, Aaron Rhee, Jong Hee Song, Young Ah Goo, Shunqian Li, Michael L Nickels, Yongjian Liu, Buck E Rogers, Vaishali Kapoor & Dennis E Hallahan (2024). “Development of a [89Zr]Zr-labeled Human Antibody using a Novel Phage-displayed Human scFv Library” Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Apr 1;30(7):1293-1306. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-3647. (Abstract)

Tusar Giri, Susan E Maloney, Saswat Giri, Young Ah Goo, Jong Hee Song, Minsoo Son, Eric Tycksen, Sara B Conyers, Annie Bice, Xia Ge, Joel R Garbow, James D Quirk, Adam Q Bauer & Arvind Palanisamy (2024). “Oxytocin-induced birth causes sex-specific behavioral and brain connectivity changes in developing rat offspring” iScience. 2024 Jan 22;27(2):108960. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.108960. eCollection 2024 Feb 16. (Abstract)

Meaghan S Jankowski, Daniel Griffith, Divya G Shastry, Jacqueline F Pelham, Garrett M Ginell, Joshua Thomas, Pankaj Karande, Alex S Holehouse & Jennifer M Hurley (2024). “Disordered clock protein interactions and charge blocks turn an hourglass into a persistent circadian oscillator” Nat Communn. 2024 Apr 25;15(1):3523. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47761-z. (Abstract)

Zongru Li, Qionghua Shen, Emery T Usher, Andrew P Anderson, Manuel Iburg, Richard Lin, Brandon Zimmer, Matthew D Meyer, Alex S Holehouse, Lingchong You, Ashutosh Chilkoti, Yifan Dai & George J Lu (2024). “Phase transition of GvpU regulates gas vesicle clustering in bacteria” Nat Microbiol. 2024 Apr;9(4):1021-1035. doi: 10.1038/s41564-024-01648-3. Epub 2024 Mar 29. (Abstract)

S Sanchez-Martinez, K Nguyen, S Biswas, V Nicholson, A V Romanyuk, J Ramirez, S Kc, A Akter, C Childs, E K Meese, E T Usher, G M Ginell, F Yu, E Gollub, M Malferrari, F Francia, G Venturoli, E W Martin, F Caporaletti, G Giubertoni, S Woutersen, S Sukenik, D N Woolfson, A S Holehouse & T C Boothby (2024). “Labile assembly of a tardigrade protein induces biostasis” Protein Sci.2024 Apr;33(4):e4941. doi: 10.1002/pro.4941. (Abstract)

Jeffrey M Lotthammer, Garrett M Ginell, Daniel Griffith, Ryan J Emenecker & Alex S Holehouse (2024). “Direct prediction of intrinsically disordered protein conformational properties from sequence” Nat Methods. 2024 Mar;21(3):465-476. doi: 10.1038/s41592-023-02159-5. Epub 2024 Jan 31. (Abstract)

Sourav Biswas, Edith Gollub, Feng Yu, Garrett Ginell, Alex Holehouse, Shahar Sukenik & Thomas C Boothby 1 (2024). “Helicity of a tardigrade disordered protein contributes to its protective function during desiccation” Protein Sci. 2024 Feb;33(2):e4872. doi: 10.1002/pro.4872. (Abstract)

On May 20th, 2024, the BMB Department held its retreat at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Several members of the department gave presentations on what they are working on in their lab.

You can click here to view photos from the event.

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.

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.

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

January 28th, 2024 – Alex Holehouse, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, received an NSF CAREER award. This five-year award from the National Science Foundation, is entitled “Evolutionary Principles of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins.”

January 1st, 2024 – Alex Holehouse, PhD Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, along with Joe Corbo, MD, PhD, in the Department of Pathology and Immunology, received a new two-year grant award from the Hope Center entitled “Targeting a transcriptional co-repressor to prevent photoreceptor degeneration.”

September 1st, 2023 – Alex Holehouse, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, received a 2023 NIH New Innovator Award. This five-year award from the National Institute of Health, administered through the National Cancer Institute, is entitled “Uncovering the regulatory logic of gene expression encoded by disordered regions.”.

September 11th, 2023 – James Janetka, PhD, Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics along with Makedonka Mitreva, PhD, Medicine of Medicine and Genetics, received a new four-year grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, for their research entitled “Innovative therapeutic strategies to support elimination of river blindness”.

August 11th, 2023 – Natalie M. Niemi, PhD, Assistant Professor in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, received a new four-year grant award from Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Core Programs of the National Science Federation for her research entitled “The role of protein phosphorylation in the mitochondrial matrix in determining mitophagic selectivity”.