Congratulations to Greg Wang and Qi Zhang, associate professors of biochemistry and biophysics who received tenure as a UNC faculty effective June 1, 2018.

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology issued 12 awards to top scientists, including Brian Kuhlman, PhD, professor of biochemistry and biophysics.

UNC School of Medicine researchers, led by Brian Strahl, PhD, found surprising role for a protein called Spt6, which is crucial to the maintenance of proper messenger RNA levels in cells, a discovery that opens new research avenues and suggests a target for basic understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of human diseases.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has awarded Biochemistry and Biophysics Associate Professor G. Greg Wang, PhD, a five year, $550,000 Career Development Program Scholar Grant to support his research to decipher and target acute myeloid leukemia cell dependency and epigenetic mutations.

For the first time, UNC School of Medicine scientists led by Nobel laureate Aziz Sancar analyzed whole-genome DNA repair in an animal over 24 hours to find which genes were repaired, where exactly, and when, laying the groundwork for a more precise use of anti-cancer drugs.

Aziz Sancar, MD, PhD (photo by Max Englund, UNC Health Care)

The lab of Aziz Sancar, Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, reveals the first-ever repair map of an entire multicellular organism to illuminate the inner workings of the plant kingdom’s highly efficient DNA repair system special thanks to the research of Onur Oztas, PhD, Christopher Selby, PhD, Ogun Adebali, PhD.

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.

Brian Strahl, PhD, receives R35 MIRA award

Congratulations to Brian Strahl, Professor & Vice-Chair of the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, for being selected to receive an R35 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) from the National Institutes of Health.

In the journal Cell Chemical Biology, researchers led by Biochemistry and Biophysics Associate Professor and Faculty Director, Quantitative Proteomics Center for Disease Marker Discovery, Xian Chen, PhD, report on potential prognostic tool that could be used to identify high-risk patients within particular subtypes of breast cancer.

In the journal Nature, Greg Wang, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Cell biology Program, and colleagues reported findings about the structure and function of the DNMT3A enzyme complex, which helps control gene expression.

Tag: news_dept

Greg Wang and Qi Zhang become associate professors with tenure

Kuhlman wins DeLano Award for computer applications to enhance research

Scientists discover new gene expression mechanism with possible role in human disease

LLS awards Wang Career Development Program Scholar Grant

Could Reading our Circadian Clocks According to DNA Repair Optimize Chemotherapy?

How Does Plant DNA Avoid the Ravages of UV Radiation

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

Brian Strahl Awarded NIGMS Outstanding Investigator Grant

Prognostic tool could identify high-risk breast cancer patients

Researchers define structure, function of enzyme key to blood cancers