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 …
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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 …
Save the Date for 38th Steenbock Symposium: “Protein Trafficking in the Secretory Pathway”
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 …
Palmenberg Helps Solve Structure of Cold Virus Linked to Childhood Asthma
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 …
IPiB Welcomes Two New Faculty Who Will Study Protein and Microbial Systems
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 …
Kimble Serves on Steering Committee of Rescuing Biomedical Research
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. In 2014, four prominent policy leaders published a paper outlining systemic flaws in the biomedical …