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Student News

  • photo of Pedro N. Pozo thesis defense 2018

    Graduate Student Pedro N. Pozo Publishes in Molecular Biology of the Cell and receives his PhD

    Pedro N. Pozo, graduate student in Cook lab publishes his first-authored paper in MBoC and he receives his PhD.

  • Sierra Archibald, undergraduate researcher

    UNC Undergraduate Research Week November 5 – 9

    Sierra Archibald in Aziz Sancar lab works along side of senior researchers whose work focuses on DNA damage repair, cell cycle checkpoints, circadian clock.

  • Pedro N. Pozo (in white) with family and Jean Cook PhD (in red)

    Student Defenses for 2018

    Graduate students: AMY BYRNES, LIOR VERED, SHARON GUFFY, and PEDRO N. POZO gave their defenses this year.

  • Aspen Gutgsell graduate student of Biochemistry and Biophysics

    Congratulations to Aspen Gutgsell who was awarded a Predoctoral Fellowship by the AHA and winner of best poster at the Southeast Lipid Research Conference!

    Aspen was awarded a Predoctoral Fellowship by AHA, and the best graduate student poster at the Southeast Lipid Research Conference in Nashville, TN on November 2, 2018, as well as the best poster at our departmental research retreat in October 2018.

  • Juanita Limas, graduate student in Jean Cook lab

    Juanita Limas on planning committee for 4th Annual Diversity in STEM conference

    One of the key strengths of our program is the ability for graduate students to become an integral part of planning committees such as the Diversity in STEM and coordinating other scientific events on campus.

  • Photo of graduate student and professor

    Courtney Vaughn awarded the Scott Neil Schwirck fellowship

    Courtney Vaughn, MD-PhD student in the lab of Aziz Sancar, MD, PhD, was awarded the Scott Neil Schwirck fellowship.

  • pumpkins

    Pumpkin Carving Madness

    Taking a short break from research and books Pumpkin Carving with graduate students.

  • Alex Chung Makes it to Three Minute Thesis finals

    Well wishers came to cheer on the finalists of the UNC Graduate School’s Three Minute Thesis competition in Bondurant Hall G100 Tuesday October 30. Of the ten finalists, three are are from UNC School of Medicine departments: Alex Chung in the Parise lab, and Susanna Harris and Bhawana Shrestha in microbiology and immunology. The Three Minute … Continued

  • podcast icon

    Graduate students record Science Seminar Preview podcasts

    Fall 2018, second year graduate students: Cari Koerner (Neher Lab), Adam Luthman (Ramsden Lab), Nick Martinez (Campbell Lab), and Keean Braceros (Calabrese Lab) learned valuable science communication skills from Biochemistry 701.  This course helps students gain proficiency in evaluating limitations and alternative approaches in the literature, receive exposure to experimental methods, and practice communicating science … Continued

  • Juanita Limas, graduate student in Jean Cook lab

    Limas named 2018-19 Gilliam Fellow by HHMI

    Juanita Limas will receive $50,000 to support her biomedical research in the Cook lab.

  • photo of Nicholas Martinez, graduate student

    Putting the Brakes on CRISPR by Nicholas Martinez

    UNC Graduate student, Nicholas Martinez, contributor to The Pipettepen

  • photo of man holding paper Ben S. Roberts, graduate student in Neher lab

    Graduate Student Ben S. Roberts first authored paper in The EMBO Journal

    Ben’s paper explores the role of LMF1 in redox homeostasis.

  • Patricia Maness, PhD

    Maness lab news and updates

    Vishwa Mohan and Sarah Wade published a new paper in Cerebral Cortex, 2018, 1-15, “Temporal Regulation of Dendritic Spines Through NrCAM-Semaphorin3F Receptor  Signaling in Developing Cortical Pyramidal Neurons.” Vishwa Mohan, Chelsea S. Sullivan, Jiami Guo, Sarah D. Wade, Samarpan Majumder, Amit Agarwal, Eva S. Anton, Brenda S. Temple, and Patricia F. Maness. A new paper … Continued

  • Nikolay Dokholyan, PhD

    Large Aggregates of ALS-causing Protein Might Actually Help Brain Cells

    UNC School of Medicine scientists led by Nikolay Dokholyan, Michael Hooker Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, add to evidence that small aggregates of SOD1 protein are the brain-cell killing culprits in ALS, but the formation of larger, more visible, and fibril-like aggregates of the same protein may protect brain cells.

  • Jean Cook, PhD

    UNC Scientists Discover Proteins Keeping Stem Cells in their Undifferentiated State

    The lab of Jean Cook, PhD, in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, found how a chain of proteins called an MCM complex could enable the fast cell-division that makes some forms of cancer so dangerous. The study first author Jacob Matson, a PhD candidate in the Cook lab performed most of the experiments.

  • Tom Lane, PhD

    Graduate student Tom Lane receives his PhD

    Tom Lane under the direction of Dr. Kevin Slep, successfully defended his dissertation on November 3, 2017 and received his PhD!

  • Halloween 2017 – special thanks to…

    Thanks to students Hanna Trzeciakiewicz (Cohen Lab) and Aaztli Coria (Laederach Lab) and office staff Jamie DeSoto, Lynn Ray, and Susan Sarvis for organizing a fun Halloween party. Prizes for best individual costume went to Dr. Edward Moreira Bahnson with the white skeleton face and bow tie. Best group costume went to the Parise Lab with the mice costumes. Winner of the Pumpkin weight contest went to Bobby Lee (Bergmeier Lab). Actual weight was 33 pounds. Winner of the Candy Corn Count went to Aleksandra Skrajna (McGinty Lab). Actual count was 1340 candy corns.

  • Cassandra Hayne, PhD

    Grad Student Cassandra Hayne receives her PhD!

    Hayne successfully defended her dissertation and received her PhD on August 31, 2017.

  • Greg Wang, Retreat Committee Co-chair and BCBP Assistant Professor handed out the poster and talk awards. Cassandra Hayne (left), Jacob Matson (upper right) and Mahmud Hussain, PhD (lower right).

    Congratulations 2017 Presentation Winners

    Congratulations to Cassandra Hayne, Jacob Matson, and Mahmud Hussain, PhD 2017 Research Retreat Talk and Poster winners!

  • Mahmoud Shobair, PhD

    Grad student Mahmoud Shobair receives his PhD

    Mahmoud successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on April 20, 2017.

  • Bradley Falk, PhD

    Grad student Bradley Falk receives his PhD

    Bradley successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on April 17, 2017.

  • Benfeard Williams, PhD

    Grad student Benfeard Williams receives his PhD

    Benfeard successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on March 24, 2017.

  • (left to right) Hanna Trzeciakiewicz and Candice Crilly

    Two biochemistry and biophysics grad students awarded NSF Fellowships

    Congratulations to Candice Crilly and Hanna Trzeciakiewicz for receiving Predoctoral Fellowships from the National Science Foundation!

  • Seth Zimmerman, PhD

    Grad student Seth Zimmerman receives his PhD

    Seth successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on March 17, 2017.

  • Cassandra Hayne

    UNC research helps answer why genetic mutation leads to decreased triglycerides in blood

    Cassandra Hayne, working with Saskia Neher, PhD, found that a specific mutated version of a lipoprotein binds more effectively to liver cells, thus explaining decreased levels of triglycerides in blood.

  • Alka Das, PhD

    Grad student Alka Das receives her PhD

    Alka successfully defended his dissertation and received her PhD on April 7, 2016.

  • Niranj Chandrasekaran, PhD

    Grad student S. Niranj Chandrasekaran receives his PhD

    Niranj successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on March 11, 2016.

  • Onur Dagliyan, PhD

    Grad student Onur Dagliyan receives his PhD

    Onur successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on March 4, 2016.

  • Mahmoud Shobair

    Grad student Mahmoud Shobair has a paper of the week in JBC

    Congratulations to Mahmoud, a graduate student in the lab of Nikolay Dokholyan! His paper was selected as the paper of the week in the February 19, 2016 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

  • Andrew Monteith, PhD

    Grad student Andrew Monteith receives a 2016 GEAB Impact Award

    Sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate School’s Graduate Education Advancement Board, the Impact Awards recognize graduate students whose research provides special benefits to the citizens of North Carolina. Congrats to Andrew!

  • Andrew Monteith, PhD

    Grad student Andrew Monteith receives his PhD

    Andrew successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on November 20, 2015.

  • Deepak Jha, PhD

    Deepak Jha receives a 2013 Lineberger Fellow award

    Congratulations to Deepak Jha, former graduate student in the Brian Strahl lab, who received a 2013 Lineberger Predoctoral Fellow Award in the Basic Sciences.

  • Leslie Parise, PhD

    Potential drug target identified for aggressive breast cancer type

    In a new pre-clinical study published today in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, researchers from the Parise lab show they can exploit cancer’s reliance on a particular protein to help fight triple negative breast cancer. They believe the protein could be a potential new drug target.

  • Wolfgang Bergmeier, Minu Ramanan, Sharon Campbell

    Mrinalini Ramanan awarded an NIH fellowship

    Congratulations to Mrinalini (Minu) for receiving a Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of NIH.

  • Thomas Freeman, lecturer in the Dept of Chemistry, and Justin Black, graduate research assistant in the Dept of Biochemistry and Biophysics are the first to be featured in the lab safety campaign

    Caring about lab safety

    Researchers from the Parise lab participate in a campus-wide campaign that brings to attention the importance of lab safety.

  • Welcome reception for our 2014 entering class

    The Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics holds a reception on August 11th to welcome in our new graduate students.

  • Brian Strahl, PhD and Stephani Page

    Grad Student Stephani Page receives Diane Harris award

    Congratulations to Stephani Page who received the 2014 Diane Harris Leadership Award for her exemplary public service as doctoral student in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

  • Cassandra Hayne (left) and Amy Howard (right)

    Meet the new student representatives for 2014-2015

    Amy Howard (biophysics student) has joined Cassandra Hayne (biochemistry student) as the new student representative for the department.

  • Jon Leano, PhD

    Grad Student Jon Leano receives his PhD

    Jon successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on July 1, 2014.

  • Grad Student Ivan Sabath receives his PhD

    Ivan successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on June 23, 2014.

  • Backrow (left to right): Jared Baisden, Benfeard Williams, Jacob Matson and Hashem Meriesh Frontrow (left to right): Sharon Guffy, Hyunna Lee and Andrew Learnera

    Meet our 2014 entering students!

    Learn more about our new entering class of students and help us welcome them to the department.

  • Karen Plevock, graduate student

    Grad student Karen Plevock secures funds from ASCB and NCBC

    Congratulations to Karen Plevock, graduate student from Biochemistry and Biophysics, who partnered with Rebecca Adikes, Vincent Boudreau, and Carlos Patiño-Descovich (Biology Department UNC), and Kaelyn Sumigray (post-doctoral fellow in Cell Biology at Duke) for securing funding for the organization of The Triangle Cytoskeleton meeting.

  • Cassandra Hayne

    Grad Student Cassandra Hayne receives a Merchant Scholarship Award

    Congratulations to Cassandra Hayne who received a Merchant Scholarship Award from her alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa.

  • Justin Black

    Grad Student Justin Black named as a Graduate School Leadership Development Scholar

    Congratulations to Justin Black who was named as a Graduate School Leadership Development Scholar by the UNC Graduate School.

  • Yunus Annayer

    Grad Student Yunus Annayev receives his PhD!

    Yunus successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on April 17th, 2014

  • Adam with his girlfriend Laura Gryncewicz

    Grad Student Adam Roberts receives his PhD!

    Adam successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on March 31, 2014.

  • Grad Student Jamie Campbell receives her PhD!

    Jamie successfully defended her dissertation and received her PhD on March 27, 2014.

  • Grad Student Gauri Dixit receives her PhD!

    Gauri successfully defended her dissertation and received her PhD on March 5, 2014.

  • Elizabeth Proctor, PhD

    Grad Student Elizabeth Proctor receives 2014 Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award

    Elizabeth’s research at UNC utilized computational and experimental methods to explore the mechanism of protein aggregation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

  • Grad Student Daul Cole receives his PhD!

    Daud successfully defended his dissertation and received his PhD on December 3, 2013.

  • Grad Student Rachel Redler receives her PhD!

    Rachel successfully defended her dissertation and received her PhD on December 6, 2013.

  • Grad Student Beezly Groh receives her PhD!

    Beezly successfully defended her dissertation and received her PhD on November 8, 2013.

  • Grad Students 2013 Retreat Winners

    Congratulations to Peter Thompson, Harsha Gunawarden, Seth Zimmerman, Tim Jacobs and Marino Convertino.

  • Richard and Jil Proctor (parents)

    Grad Student Aaron Hobbs receives his PhD!

    Aaron successfully defended his thesis and received his PhD on October 25, 2013.

  • Grad Student Rachel Creager-Allen receives her PhD!

    Rachel successfully defended her thesis and received her PhD on October 1, 2013.

  • Karen Plevock (left) & Cassandra Hayne (right)

    Meet our new department grad student reps for 2013-2014

    Karen Plevock and Cassandra Hayne are the new Biochemistry and Biophysics student representatives for the term 2013-2014.

  • Jonny Leano, Graduate Student

    Grad Student Jonny Leano featured in a student profile by UNC BBSP

    Meet Jonny Leano and learn more about his background, research, and accomplishments .

  • When science becomes personal: a role for personal life in advocacy

    Learn more about Stephani Page, Biochemistry and Biophysics graduate student, via Nature blog’s Soapbox Science as she speaks out about her experiences and the importance of science advocacy.

  • Jaime Campbell (left) and Keith Miller (right)

    Grad Students Jamie Campbell and Keith Miller receive the 2013 Diane Harris Leadership Award

    Jamie Campbell and Keith Miller have both been awarded the 2013 Diane Harris Leadership Award for their exemplary public service as doctoral students in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

  • Justin Black, graduate student

    Grad Student Justin Black awarded an AHA Predoctoral Fellowship

    Congratulations to Justin Black, graduate student of Biochemistry and Biophysics, who was awarded a Predoctoral Fellowship by the American Heart Association!

  • Jaime Campbell, graduate student

    Grad Student Jaime Campbell receives 2013 Dissertation Completion Award

    Congratulations to Jaime Campbell, a graduate student of Biochemistry & Biophysics, for receiving the 2013 Dissertation Completion Award.

  • Mahmoud Shobair, graduate student

    Grad Student Mahmoud Shobair receives 2016 Dissertation Completion Award

    Congratulations to Mahmoud Shobair, a graduate student of Biochemistry & Biophysics, for receiving the 2016 Dissertation Completion Award.

  • Rebecca Pollet (left) and Cassandra Hayne (right)

    Two biochemistry and biophysics grad students awarded NSF Fellowships

    Congratulations to Cassandra Hayne and Rebecca Pollet for receiving Predoctoral Fellowships from the National Science Foundation!

  • Eliza Peterson, graduate student

    Grad Student Eliza Peterson receives a 2013 GEAB Impact Award

    “Eliza’s novel inhibitors will have a significant impact on the long-term efficacy of different antibiotics,” said advisor Scott Singleton, PhD. Congratulations to Eliza on her achievement!

  • Stephani Page, BCBP graduate student

    Grad Student Stephani Page interviewed by ASBMB

    Stephani Page is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As an undergrad, Page chose to attend North Carolina A&T State University, a historically black university, to study Chemical Engineering. That experience was a great influence over her personal and professional growth. Page loves her research and works hard to make herself and her family proud each and every day.

  • Onur Dagliyan (left) and Alka Das (right)

    Grad Student Onur Dagliyan and Alakananda Das awarded HHMI International Research Fellowships

    Congratulations to Onur Dagliyan and Alka Das, graduate students of Biochemistry & Biophysics who are recipients of 2012 HHMI International Student Research Fellowships.

  • Elizabeth Pollom and Jonathan Edwards with Brian Strahl (Director of Graduate Studies-on the right)

    Grad Students Edwards and Pollom receive the 2012 Diane Harris Leadership Award

    Jonathan Edwards and Elizabeth Pollom have both been awarded the 2012 Diane Harris Leadership Award for their exemplary public service as doctoral students in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

  • Jon Edwards, Biochemistry & Biophysics graduate student

    Grad Student Jon Edwards featured in “Issues & Perspectives” of Science

    Making Translational Research Tangible – At the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC), students are being encouraged to think like they’re in charge — and then to take charge. Some of these enterprising students are making the transition from trainee to entrepreneur as they complete their doctoral degree.

  • Jin Hyup Lee

    Grad Student Jin Hyup Lee receives a 2011 GEAB Impact Award

    “I believe Jin has a great future in cancer biology and his research is likely to have an immediate impact on the health and welfare of the people of North Carolina,” said Aziz Sancar, M.D., Ph.D., Lee’s dissertation adviser. Jin is currently a graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics.

  • Anh Nguyen, PhD

    Grad Student Anh Nguyen receives a 2011 Diane Harris Leadership Award

    Anh Nguyen, PhD Anh Nguyen has been awarded the 20101 Diane Harris Leadership Award for her exemplary public service as a doctoral student in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Anh is a recent graduate was presented with her plaque and award check during the 3rd Annual Graduate Student Recognition Awards event. The department elected … Continued

  • Grad Students Andrew Hemmert and Charles Davis awarded the 2010 Diane Harris Leadership Award

    Congratulations to Andrew Hemmert and Charles Davis for being dual recipients of the 2010 Diane Harris Leadership Award.

  • Ben Hill, Andy Hemmert, and Jon Edwards (click on picture to view larger)

    UNC graduate students winners at 2010 Global Venture Challenge

    Ben Hill, Andy Hemmert, and Jon Edwards (click on picture to view larger) Andy Hemmert, Jon Edwards, and Ben Hill comprised the team of UNC graduate students who competed and won third place and a $5,000 cash prize to be split amongst them at the 4th Annual Global Venture Challenge hosted by Oak Ridge National … Continued

  • Andrew Hemmert, doctoral student

    Grad Student Andrew Hemmert receives 2010 GEAB Impact Award

    Congratulations to Andrew Hemmert, doctoral student of Biochemistry & Biophysics whose research was recognized by the Graduate Education Advancement Board (GEAB) at UNC-CH.

  • Grad Student Erin Heenan receives the 2009 Diane Harris Leadership Award

    Congratulations to Erin Heenan, graduate student of Biochemistry & Biophysics for receiving the second annual Diane Harris Leadership award.

  • Scott Lujan, PhD

    Grad Student Scott Lujan Awarded the First Annual “Diane Harris Leadership Award”

    Congratulations to Scott Lujan, recently graduated doctoral student in Biochemistry and Biophysics, who was awarded the Diane Harris Leadership Award.

  • Thomas Mullen

    Grad Student Thomas Mullen receives 2008 Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award

    Congratulations to Thomas Mullen, a graduate student of Biochemistry & Biophysics, for receiving the 2008 Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award in the area of Biological and Life Sciences.

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