Biochemistry Professor Aaron Hoskins has been selected as a 2021-2022 Vilas Associate, awarded by the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education. The Vilas Associates award recognizes new and ongoing research of the highest quality and significance.
Hoskins’s research focuses on RNA splicing, a biological process requiring assembly of large RNA-protein complexes, or spliceosomes, from dozens of individual components. RNA splicing is fundamental and essential to gene expression in all eukaryotes, from plants to humans.
Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?
I grew up in southern California near Huntington Beach where I spent a lot of time in the ocean. I went to UC Davis. After graduating I worked as a technician for Gilead Sciences and after that I decided I wanted to live in Burlington, Vermont so I did my PhD at UVM.
Where did you carry out your postdoctoral research?UCLA
As a child, who was your biggest influence?My grandfather, who worked on box cars for the Santa Fe railroad in Chicago
It is with great sadness that we announce Biochemistry Professor Emeritus John Suttie died on December 21, 2020 in Arizona, where he had been living for the past several years. John was a faculty member in Biochemistry from 1961-2001 and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He was known scientifically for his outstanding work on blood clotting including the metabolism and mode of action of vitamin K; he was also a great mentor and dedicated teacher. We will miss him dearly. A full written tribute from the Biochemistry community will be shared on our website in the coming days.
Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?
I grew up in the country in central Indiana surrounded by corn and soybean fields and spent most of my time playing in barns. I went to elementary school in Dayton, IN (a town of about 600 at the time). For college, I went to Purdue and then to MIT for grad school with JoAnne Stubbe.
Where did you carry out your postdoctoral research?I had a joint postdoctoral position with Jeff Gelles and Melissa Moore at Brandeis U. and UMass Medical School.
Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?
I was born in Denver, CO, 1956 and grew up in Boulder, CO. My entire educational track is as follows: Columbine Elementary School (1967); Centenial Junior High School (1971); Boulder High School (1974); University of Colorado (1 year); Carleton College (BA, Chemistry, 1981); University of Minnesota (PhD, Biochemistry, 1989); Carnegie Mellon University (postdoctoral fellow); University of Wisconsin (Assistant Professor, 1993).
Where did you carry out your postdoctoral research?...
The year 2020 marked an important and impressive occasion for two Emeritus Professors in the Department of Biochemistry. Both Julius Adler and Hector DeLuca celebrated their 90th birthdays.
The Department was hoping to celebrate Adler and DeLuca with a reception earlier this year, but COVID-19 halted those plans. Instead, we’ve asked former lab members and alumni to help us honor them by sharing some of the anecdotes and messages of appreciation you would have heard in person.
So grab some refreshments, pull up a chair, and read on as our Biochemistry friends regale us with...
Ann Palmenberg, Roland Rueckert Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Virology, has been named a 2020 fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for her discovery and application of viral Internal Ribosome Entry Sites (IRES). She is one of three University of Wisconsin–Madison professors to receive the honor.
Read more from UW News
Read more about Ann Palmenberg from the Quarterly
Jill Wildonger has been named the first recipient of the Jean V. Thomas Professorship, a newly established endowed professorship in the Department of Biochemistry. The professorship recognizes Wildonger’s contributions as a researcher, her excellence as an educator, and her contributions to the governance of the university.
Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?
I was born in New York City. When I was a baby, my family moved to Bogota, Colombia. After six years, we moved to Caracas, Venezuela where I stayed until I went to college at UW-Madison. Both of my parents were Sephardic Jews. Their parents emigrated from Syria during World War I when the Ottomans began to draft Jews into the military. My father’s parents went to NYC. My mother’s parents emigrated to Colombia.
Bill Reznikoff has been elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for deciphering the molecular details of transposition by studying a model bacterial transposon.
Understanding transposition, or the movement of DNA from one location to another, is critical to basic science.
Transposons, the elements that move from one location to another, produce mutations that are useful for creating defined defects in a wide variety of bacteria including those found humans, animals and plants. These defects provide key insights on how the organisms work.
Biochemistry scientists are in good company among the many CALS researchers who have worked to harness the power of plants to fix nitrogen in the soil. Biochemistry's Bob Burris, Paul Ludden, Vinod Shah, and Ophelia Venturelli are among those who have contributed to our understanding of nitrogen-fixation, a process of tremendous importance for increasing the productivity of farm fields and their ability to feed the world's population.
Read more in GROW magazine's story:
Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?
I was born and grew up in small town about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I attended the local Catholic grade school and high school, then went to Penn State for undergraduate studies. I did my Ph.D. work at Indiana University in Bloomington and then did a postdoc at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Jessica Liu, a senior Biochemistry major pursuing a pre-med track, has been chosen as the 2020 Alpha-Helix Scholar.
The Alpha-Helix Scholarship is awarded to one undergraduate student from within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW-Madison, and is made possible by the Perry and Carolyn Frey Life Sciences Scholarship Fund.
Liu is a student in the lab of Professor Mike Cox, where she researches the molecular basis of ionizing radiation resistance in E. coli, research which may lead to the creation of new therapies, such as probiotic supplements for patients...
Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?
I grew up in the East Bay of California in a town called Livermore. We’re famous for having the world’s fastest rodeo, the world’s longest running light bulb, and a giant laser.
I went to UC Berkeley for my undergrad -- go Bears! Though, since I live in Wisconsin now, I’ve come to see what real college football is actually like.
Where did you carry out your postdoctoral research?I did my postdoc at Stanford in Manu Prakash’s lab. He’s an amazingly brilliant, creative, and...
Elizabeth Duchow has received a Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). The award highlights young researchers who submit top-ranking abstracts to an ASBMR meeting.
“It’s very exciting to receive this award because it draws more attention to the research being performed in our lab,” said Duchow. “I am hoping that this new information will stimulate new questions in the field of vitamin D research!”
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