Congratulations to M&I graduate student Kizzi Corbett for winning this UNC fellowship that will support her research in Sri Lanka this Spring! For the past 12 years, the de Silva laboratory has been collaborating with investigators in Sri Lanka to study the epidemiology of dengue, the most significant mosquito-borne viral infection of humans. For her … Read more

At the December 15, 2013 American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting, Victor Garcia will receive an award in memory of Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941), the pioneering African-American scientist. Victor will deliver the E.E. Just Lecture in New Orleans during the ASCB Annual Meeting and a reflective article on his life and his research has … Read more

Yisong Wan won this prestigious award established by the UNC Medical Foundation through the generosity of the Jefferson-Pilot Corporation. This annual award is given to junior faculty members at the School of Medicine in recognition of both past performance and future promise in research. M&I faculty who have received this award during the past 40 … Read more

The Goldman lab’s work to pinpoint the pulmonary cellular targets of Yersinia pestis – and to understand the role of these host cells in disease — was recently published in PLOS Pathogens. Also check out this nicely written article by freelance science journalist Dyani Lewis, Why the Plague is so deadly, still.

  In September, PNAS Early Edition featured a paper from Matt Wolfgang’s lab describing the identification of RsmF, a member of the CsrA family of regulatory proteins. They demonstrate how RsmF and another CsrA family member, RsmA, function as dual post-transcriptional regulators to modulate biofilm formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Postdoc Jeremiah Marden is co-first author … Read more

The October 1st edition of PNAS features a paper from Ralph Baric’s lab introducing a cassette-based infectious cDNA clone of MERS-CoV, an important first step in understanding viral replication and pathogenesis of this emerging pathogen. See the article at the link below. Reverse genetics with a full-length infectious cDNA of the Middle…

Science Magazine recently featured a study from Ed Miao’s lab on how bacterial endotoxin is detected if it enters the cytoplasmic compartment of mammalian cells. The paper shows that caspase-11 is activated by cytoplasmic endotoxin and describes how certain pathogens can avoid cytoplasmic detection by modifying their LPS. The implications of this TLR4-indepedent response to … Read more

  The September TIBBS Times newsletter features M&I alumnus Jory Weintraub, who recently talked at a TIBBS Career Networking Lunch talks about working in science outreach. See page 7 at the link below. Also in this month’s newsletter: An article by M&I student Megan Meyer about another Career Networking Lunch on industry postdoc opportunities (p. … Read more

Our Department’s weekly seminar series re-starts on August 27 with a seminar by virus hunter Ian Lipkin (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/science/23prof.html). The Tuesday series features 30 speakers from 24 different institutions, with topics balanced among the major research areas of the Department. Thanks to those of you who contributed ideas for great speakers and volunteered to serve as … Read more

PLOS Pathogens recently published a paper from Tom Kawula’s lab demonstrating that non-canonical autophagy provides a source of amino acids for Francisella tularensis. This provides a novel explanation for how these bacteria proliferate in what is typically thought to be a nutrient-limited intracellular environment. M&I graduate students Shaun Steele and Jason Brunton are co-first authors, … Read more