The Department of Biochemistry is excited to welcome back its students for the Fall 2016 semester. The department wants to wish its undergraduate and graduate students the best of luck in their classes this semester and hopes those who took classes or spent time in the lab this summer had a successful and inspiring time.
Have questions as you start the semester? See the information below about how to make this semester your best yet.
How do I find out more information about the undergraduate program?
See this link for information about Biochemistry’s undergraduate...
Collagen makes up the cartilage in our knee joints, the vessels that transport our blood, and is a crucial component in our bones. It is the most abundant protein found in the bodies of humans and many other animals. It is also an important biomaterial in modern medicine, used in wound healing, tissue repair, drug delivery and more.
Much of the clinical supply comes from animals like pigs and cows, but it can cause allergic reactions or illness in some people. Functional human collagen has been impossible to create in the lab. Now, in a study published this month in Nature Chemistry...
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 mitochondria that currently have no defined function. Completing this process will give science a complete map of mitochondrial function and help discover the origins of more than 150 poorly...
Update: Registration for the 2016 IPiB Retreat has closed. Check out this page after the event to see photos and learn about the students' experience.
All members of the Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB) community are invited to register for the 2016 IPiB Retreat. The retreat will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery building. Registration for the event closes at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25.
Scientists now have a tool to study kinases — cellular machines that function as “information relays” to transfer signals or messages from one molecule to another — thanks to research from the Ansari Lab in the Department of Biochemistry. Kinases also work as “spark plugs” to kick start other complex cellular machines, such as those that decipher the genome to transcribe RNA from DNA.
Since kinases play a large role in many cellular processes, when things go wrong in their inner workings, real health issues arise. Genetic mutations that cause kinases to malfunction can lead to...
The Department of Biochemistry and the Department of Biomolecular Chemistry are pleased to invite you to save the date for the 38th Steenbock Symposium on June 22-June 25, 2017.
This symposium’s theme, “Protein Trafficking in the Secretory Pathway,” will bring together researchers from across campus and the United States, as well as from Europe and Canada, to discuss and explore this important biochemical process. The symposium will take place on campus in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Building.
The atomic structure of an elusive cold virus linked to severe asthma and respiratory infections in children has been solved by a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Purdue University.
The findings are published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and provide the foundation for future antiviral drug and vaccine development against the virus, rhinovirus C.
A car mechanic would have a hard time building a car if he or she didn’t know anything about the car’s parts. The same holds true for scientists who want to design or program proteins and microbes. They must first understand the structure, complexity, and interactions of the system they are interested in. For Philip Romero and Ophelia Venturelli — two new assistant professors joining the Department of Biochemistry on July 11 — this idea is what drives their research.
Romero comes to UW–Madison from an assistant professorship at the University of California, Los Angeles, and...
After almost four decades with the Department of Biochemistry, senior contracts specialist Patricia Mings is set to retire June 30. Having worked closely with Hector DeLuca as his assistant, she departs with many memories of the department’s rich history.
“After working with Hector for almost 37 years and in every department building except the newest one, we’ve been through a lot together and have become close,” she says. “When I started here I was the same age as many of the lab members but as I leave I’m more like a grandma to them.”
Judith Kimble, a Vilas Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is working as a member of the Steering Committee for Rescuing Biomedical Research, a national effort to address “major problems” plaguing biomedical research.
The Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB) Student-Faculty Liaison Committee announced its officers for 2016-17 at their ice cream social on Wednesday, June 8. The committee serves as a connection between students and faculty to foster input and collaboration.
“SFLC is really interested in fulfilling the needs of graduate students in IPiB,” says Kim Haupt, the outgoing chair and now a 2016-17 career chair. “The strength of the IPiB graduate program is reflected in the existence of the SFLC organization and the support we get from the faculty. We are all working together to make...
Biochemistry Ph.D. student Zachary Kemmerer’s unique combination of science and strength has earned him the title “The Science Ninja.” Kemmerer’s skills are so profound that he’s found himself on the hit show “American Ninja Warrior,” and he is using his prowess to help others engage with biochemistry.
Vatsan Raman, a CALS assistant professor of biochemistry, is one of two University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists selected to receive a 2016 Shaw Scientist Award from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
The 2016 Denton Award for Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring
This award honors IPiB graduate students who have consistently demonstrated commitment to quality, innovative classroom teaching and mentoring in a laboratory setting.
Congratulations Ian!
“It’s quite a story,” says Caruccio. “UW-Madison had a researcher who spent his career trying to understand this strange and unexpected phenomenon — DNA jumping from place to place inside a single cell. Eventually, Bill Reznikoff discovered the enzyme responsible for that, which would have been a landmark by itself. But then this small biotech company in Madison picked up on the enzyme, made an improvement, used it to speed up next-generation sequencing, and was sold to the maker of the fastest gene sequencers on the market."
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