Category: 2022 News

Lianjie “Jerry” Wei is a third-year graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BBSB) program. He is currently working in the Laboratory of Dr. Natalie Niemi in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics to complete his Ph.D. studies. His research is focused on understanding how protein post-translational modifications regulate mitochondrial organellar homeostasis. (more…)

Garrett Ginell is a fourth-year graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BBSB) program. He is completing his Ph.D. thesis work in the lab of Dr. Alex Holehouse (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics), where he is applying and developing theoretical and computational methods to understand how chemical features encoded in intrinsically disordered proteins determine their propensity to interact with one another. (more…)

Jasmine is a recent graduate in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BBSB) program. She defended on April 21st, 2023. She did her PhD thesis work in the lab of Dr. Andrea Soranno, where she studied how sequence composition of intrinsically disordered regions within a protein can affect interactions with both proteins and nucleic acids using single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy.

Jasmine joined the BBSB program after receiving her B.S. from Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey with a major in biochemistry & molecular biology and a minor in holistic health. Prior to starting her Ph.D. work, Jasmine studied polymer synthesis and how polymer interactions contribute to optimized hydrogel formation. (more…)

Ankita did her MS in Medical Biochemistry at Sardar Patel Medical College in India. She joined DRSCB program through the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University in Saint Louis in 2018 and is pursuing PhD in the lab of Dr. Eric Galburt in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics.

Ankita’s graduate research is focused on characterizing the activation mechanisms of a helicase and DNA repair protein called UvrD1 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She is using quantitative assays like analytical ultracentrifugation to determine the oligomeric status and stopped flow kinetics to measure DNA unwinding by UvrD1 in presence and absence of accessory factors.

Yixuan (Axe) Xie, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research associate in the laboratory of Dr. Benjamin Garcia, where he focused on developing MS-based methods to characterize protein and RNA modifications for understanding their biological roles. He is also interested in investigating the interactions network involved in glycoproteins. He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis, under the mentorship of Dr. Carlito Lebrilla. During his Ph.D., he established bioorthogonal tools to investigate the glycan-mediated interactions on the cell surface, as well as glycoproteomic and glycomic methods to monitor the cell glycosylation state during significant biological events.

Anna Damato is a fifth-year PhD candidate in Neuroscience in the Department of Biology. Anna was nominated for this award by her thesis mentor, Dr. Erik Herzog, in whose lab she is connecting the bench to the bedside by investigating mechanisms of glioblastoma brain tumor circadian rhythms and how they impact the efficacy of chemotherapy. Anna uses real-time bioluminescence reporters of circadian gene expression to analyze the effects of timed treatment, with the goal of maximizing anti-tumor effects and minimizing side effects of chemotherapy in treating an otherwise dismal disease. In addition to cellular and molecular studies, Anna collaborates with physicians at the Siteman Cancer Center to assess benefits of timed chemotherapy in patients with brain cancer. (more…)

Congratulations to Dr. Jim Janetka who was named a Senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Janetka was named among six researchers from Washington University in St. Louis.

Richard Axelbaum, PhD; David T. Curiel, MD, PhD; James W. Janetka, PhD; Gregory M. Lanza, MD, PhD; Robi D. Mitra, PhD; and Jennifer N. Silva, MD — are being recognized for their success in patents, licensing and commercialization, and for producing technologies that have the potential to have a significant impact on the welfare of society. (more…)