Graphic of the gut microbiome
Jun 22, 2017

Out of a wide range of thirteen projects funded by the UW­–Madison Microbiome Initiative, two of them are led or in collaboration with Department of Biochemistry faculty members. The funding was announced June 20, 2017.

The Integrated Program in Biochemistry Logo
Jun 13, 2017

The Integrated Program in Biochemistry — the joint graduate program of the Department of Biochemistry and Department of Biomolecular Chemistry — is proud to announce its recent award winners. Tyler Stanage earned the Sigrid Leirmo Memorial Award in Biochemistry and Michael Kelliher and Keren Turton each received a Denton Award for Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring.


Tyler Stanage, a graduate student
in the Cox Lab, won the 2017 Sigrid 
Leirmo Memorial Award in Biochemistry.

Photo of Aaron Goldstrohm, former biochemistry postdoc
Jun 07, 2017

The Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has a long and rich history of studying RNA biology. It’s what former postdoctoral scholar Aaron Goldstrohm says drew him to the department and helped further his career.

Goldstrohm was a postdoc in the lab of professor Marvin Wickens from 2001-2008. After a stint at the University of Michigan, where he earned tenure, he is now a faculty member at the University of Minnesota. He rapidly became a leader in understanding the mechanisms of RNA regulation, and most recently, its roles in human disease.

Photo of Bradley Carlson
May 31, 2017

Congratulations to biochemistry undergraduate alumnus Bradley Carlson, who graduated in May, on the recent College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Senior Award that capped off his undergraduate career. The awards recognize academic excellence, leadership, and service.

Carlson, who hails from near Minneapolis, MN, grew up wanting to be a University of Wisconsin–Madison Badger because both of his parents are from Wisconsin. Having just graduated, he participated in many activities during his undergraduate education that are the pinnacle of leadership and service, all while...

Photo of Ophelia Venturelli
May 18, 2017

Ophelia Venturelli, assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is one of two researchers in the University of Wisconsin System to earn seed funding from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Shaw Scientist Program to pursue innovative approaches to advancing human health while supporting their career development.

Venturelli’s lab seeks to understand how diverse networks of microorganisms living in the human gut communicate to realize key functions that impact health. Her goal is to determine how these microbes process information in response to...

A congratulations sign with the university crest
May 11, 2017

The Department of Biochemistry is excited to announce the winners of its 2017 undergraduate and graduate student departmental awards and fellowships. These awards are made possible by generous gifts to the department to fund graduate and undergraduate research.

“These awards represent the excellence of our students and generosity of our supporters,” says chair Brian Fox. “We are proud to present these awards that help support undergraduates and graduate students in the lab.”

A photo of Evan Heiderscheit of the Ansari Lab presenting his poster
May 03, 2017

Each year, undergraduates from biochemistry labs travel with Department of Biochemistry faculty to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) annual meeting to participate in its poster contest. Keeping with tradition, the students were successful and brought home many awards from the 2017 meeting April 22-26.

“Overall our students represented the department extremely well,” says professor Mike Cox, who organizes the trip and travels with the students. “I had a lot of great comments from the judges about our students. These are terrific young people, and it...

Photo of Julie Mitchell
Apr 26, 2017

Faculty from the Department of Biochemistry are leading two projects that recently earned UW2020: WARF Discovery Initiative awards, in addition to numerous other department faculty being collaborators on many projects.

Professor Julie Mitchell is the principal investigator on “An Adaptive Computational Pipeline to Accelerate Drug Discovery,” and professor Robert Landick is heading “Bringing the Cryo-electron Microscopy Revolution to UW­–Madison.”

Photo of Dave Pagliarini
Apr 19, 2017

Dave Pagliarini, associate professor of biochemistry and lead investigator of metabolism for the Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is being recognized for major early-career achievement by The Protein Society.

Pagliarini will receive one of the society’s eight distinct achievement awards during its 31st Annual Symposium in Montreal in July. The Protein Society is the premier international organization dedicated to supporting protein research.

"This award is a special one for me,” says Pagliarini. “While my group likes to blend multiple...

Photo of Robert Landick
Apr 13, 2017

There are many processes that take place in cells that are essential for life. Two of these, transcription and translation, allow the genetic information stored in DNA to be deciphered into the proteins that form all living things, from bacteria to humans to plants.

Scientists have known for half a century that these two processes are coupled in bacteria, but only now have they finally had a look at the structure that makes this possible. In a paper published in Science today [April 13], biochemists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for...

Photo of Ann Palmenberg
Apr 06, 2017

The term “rhino” is derived from the Greek word for “nose.” Hence, human rhinoviruses are those responsible for the common cold and some can even pose a serious threat to those with asthma.

In a recent review article on the cover of the Journal of Virology, biochemistry professor Ann Palmenberg summarizes hers and others’ research on the viruses that cause the common cold and specifically can harm those with asthma.

Photo of Brian Fox, chair of Biochemistry
Mar 27, 2017

Bacteria, like humans and animals, must eat. Sometimes, they consume a pollutant in the environment that humans want to get rid of, a process called bioremediation. Investigating the enzymes used by bacteria to carry out that process is important for scientists to understand and possibly improve on these powerful reactions. However, until now, having a snapshot of one of these important enzymes in action has eluded science.

Photo of Judith Kimble
Mar 09, 2017

Recognized for her networking and mentoring experience, biochemistry professor Judith Kimble is attending the Young Investigator Meeting in India March 6-10 to lend advice to young scientists in the country.

The meeting features young faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, as well as senior scientists, heads of institutes, and representatives from funding agencies. Kimble is one of three scientists from outside of India invited to attend. She will speak about her research and mentoring advice.

Photo of Danielle Lohman
Feb 28, 2017

The Biotechnology Training Program (BTP) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison took Danielle Lohman all the way to Manila, Philippines to work in science diplomacy. Lohman, a student in the Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB), has received funding through fellowships from BTP and the National Science Foundation during her graduate career.

Photo of Alan Attie
Feb 20, 2017

The community of microorganisms that resides in the gut, known as the microbiome, has been shown to work in tandem with the genes of a host organism to regulate insulin secretion, a key variable in the onset of the metabolic disease diabetes.

That is the primary finding of a study published Feb. 14 in the journal Cell Reports by a team led by University of Wisconsin–Madison Alan Attie of the Department of Biochemistry and Federico Rey of the Department of Bacteriology. The new report describes experiments in mice showing how genetic variation in a host animal shapes the microbiome...

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