large crowd outside at Fall 2022 research retreat

Dear Alumni and friends, We have so much to celebrate. There are over 200 news posts on our website, please look through all our content when you have time.

photo collage with 8 people and famous places on UNC campus

It's #GiveUNC! This is a great opportunity to support our mission to perform transformative biochemical & biophysical research in an inclusive & stimulating training environment & inspire tomorrow’s cures by decoding the molecular basis of life. Support our student fellowship fund.

Find a cause, unlock a challenge, join in some friendly competition and spread the word on this “day like no other.”

4 images of people who won the award in a dark blue background

The 2023 recipients of the Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award recipients included Cathy Spangler recent graduate of the Biochemistry and Biophysics PhD program. Read about all the 2023 recipients here.

The cover highlights the dynamic structure of the stem-loop II (s2m) RNA hairpin terminal loop (color gradient) in the SARS-CoV-2 genome, as revealed by molecular dynamics simulations and conformational analysis. The flexible nonaloop containing a palindromic sequence and possibly being involved in the formation of s2m kissing complexes was calculated to have higher absolute entropy than the rigidly pre-organized SARS-CoV s2m (creator: Adam Kensinger).

One of the COVID studies that Dr. Lackey worked on as a co-author with the Duquesne chemistry department is on the cover of ACS Physical Chemistry Au!

Stephani Page on Forbes twitter 1-16-2023

In a three-part series, Stephani Page (alum 2015) was featured on Forbes' Twitter. Jared Council interviewed her about...

image of grey and red colored scientific examples

Congratulations to Rodney Park Ph.D. (2022 alum) who has a first-author publication "Designer installation of a substrate recruitment domain to tailor enzyme specificity" which was published in Nature Chemical Biology on December 12, 2022.

Read about our seven graduates who earned degrees in Biochemistry and Biophysics between August and December 2022.

Congratulations to Reem Hakeem PhD on her paper in ACS Nano entitled "A Photopolymerized Hydrogel System with Dual Stiffness Gradients Reveals Distinct Actomyosin-Based Mechano-Responses in Fibroblast Durotaxis"

Dr. Candice Crilly, formerly a Ph.D. student in Dr. Gary Pielak’s lab, has been awarded The Gordon Hammes Scholar Award for her work on her 2021 article, “Dried Protein Structure Revealed at the Residue Level by Liquid-Observed Vapor Exchange NMR.” Dr. Crilly is a Biophysics trainee. We are so pleased that Dr. Crilly’s hard work is being recognized, and we wish her the very best in her new home as a postdoctoral researcher in the Han Lab at UC Santa Barbara!

Dr. Stockbridge received her PhD from UNC Biochemistry and Biophysics in 2010. She did her dissertation research in Richard Wolfenden’s lab studying thermodynamics of phosphoryl transfer reactions catalyzed by kinases.

Alex Guseman, PhD. Postdoc, Univ. of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

We would like to congratulate Dr. Alex Guseman (Chemistry ’18 Molecular & Cellular Biophysics Program cohort ’14) on earning a K99 from the MOSAIC program. Dr. Guseman is a postdoctoral fellow at The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania.

Tag: Alumni News

Highlighted News for Biochemistry and Biophysics for our alumni and friends (2022-2023)

Today is #GiveUNC

GiveUNC is March 28

Cathy Spangler (2022 alum) receives 2023 Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award

COVID studies cover art on ACS Physical Chemistry Au (Patrick Lackey, 2016 alum)

Stephani Page (2015) featured in 3-part video series on Forbes Twitter

Rodney Park’s first author pub is out in Nature Chemical Biology

Congratulations 2022 winter commencement graduates!

Reem Hakeem PhD (2022 alum) publishes research in ACS Nano

The Gordon Hammes Scholar Award goes to Dr. Candice Crilly

Congratulations to Randy Stockbridge PhD (alum 2010) on achieving tenure

Alex Guseman PhD (2018) named NIGMS/NIH MOSAIC K99/R00 Scholar