Most antibiotics are double-edged swords. Besides killing the pathogen they are prescribed for, they also decimate beneficial bacteria and change the composition of the gut microbiome. As a result, patients become more prone to reinfection, and drug-resistant strains are more likely to emerge. The answer to this problem might be narrow-spectrum antibiotics that kill only …
Uncategorized
Professor Jon Audhya Named Senior Associate Dean for Basic Research, Biotechnology, and Graduate Studies
Biomolecular chemistry professor Jon Audhya has been named the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health’s next senior associate dean for basic research, biotechnology and graduate studies. He will serve as the school’s leader for strategic vision and administrative oversight of basic research practices and policies, graduate programs and industry partnerships. Since 2019, …
IPiB Graduate Student Integrates Art with Science, Teaching
Art and science were always blended for Josie Mitchell, whose childhood was filled with oil painting lessons and summer science camps — neither oil paints nor science experiments are kind to those who thrive on instant gratification. “I can see steps of improvement along the way with oil painting,” Mitchell says. “If you layer on …
Unpacking a virus: SARS-CoV-2
Less than a year after he joined the Department of Biochemistry, Robert Kirchdoerfer BS’06 and his nascent coronavirus research program were thrust into the spotlight. The new assistant professor was quickly becoming known around the UW–Madison campus as “the coronavirus guy,” a linchpin of efforts at the university to understand the severe acute respiratory syndrome …
Cellular Machine Assembly Process Yields New Insight into Disease, Evolution
Think of the cellular machine known as the spliceosome as being like a car. For a car to function properly, its parts have to be assembled in a particular order. Additionally, many of the car’s parts have to also be put together before they can be put in the car, making up an increasingly complex …
IPiB Students Get Involved in Wisconsin Science Festival
Extracting DNA from wheat germ and talking about the science of sugar — just a few ways students in the Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB) embody the Wisconsin Idea by participating in science outreach. Graduate students from IPiB took part in activities at the Wisconsin Science Festival on Oct. 20-23. Graduate students in IPiB — the joint Ph.D. program of the Department of Biochemistry and …
With Designer Lignin, Biofuels Researchers Reproduced Evolutionary Path
When scientists reported in 2014 that they had successfully engineered a poplar plant “designed for deconstruction,” the finding made international news. The highly degradable poplar, the first of its kind, could substantially reduce the energy use and cost of converting biomass to a number of products, including biofuels, pulp, and paper. Now, more than two …
2016 IPiB Retreat Brings Program Together for Research and Collaboration
The 2016 Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB) Retreat brought new students together with current students, faculty, post doctoral scientists, and researchers to connect with each other both personally and about the research taking place in the program. The event was held Friday, Sept. 9 at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and is put together by the program’s Student …
Harrison Chosen for Vallee Foundation Young Investigator Award
Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Chemistry, Melissa Harrison was chosen as one of four Vallee Foundation Young Investigators in Biomedical Sciences. The award is in recognition of future promise, originality, innovation and pioneering work in the biomedical sciences. The award provides $250,000 in funding for basic scientific research. URL: http://www.med.wisc.edu/news-events/melissa-harrison-awarded-250000-from-vallee-foundation/49016
IPiB Faculty Provide New Insights to Poorly Understood Diseases
Mitochondria are the engines that drive cellular life, but these complex machines are vulnerable to a wide range of breakdowns, and hundreds of their component parts remain a functional mystery. Dave Pagliarini, director of metabolism for the Morgridge Institute for Research and UW-Madison associate professor of biochemistry, is working to identify the more than 200 proteins associated with …