University of Iowa Molecular Physiology and Biophysics

Please join us for Dr. Kim "Avrama" Blackwell and Dr. Remya Rajan's workshop "Sex Hormones and Control of Striatal Synaptic Plasticity" on Wednesday, October 15, at 12:00pm in 5-669 BSB. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Carrie Stasch in advance at 319-335-7803 or carrie-stasch@uiowa.edu.

Please join us for Dr. Kim "Avrama" Blackwell and Dr. Remya Rajan's workshop "Sex Hormones and Control of Striatal Synaptic Plasticity" on Wednesday, October 15, at 12:00pm in 5-669 BSB.

LARGE1 processively polymerizes length-controlled matriglycan on prodystroglycan - Nature Communications LARGE1 glycosyltransferase synthesizes matriglycan (xylose-glucuronate)n on dystroglycan, and short matriglycan can cause neuromuscular disorders. Authors show that LARGE1 processively polymerizes matriglycan of defined length on prodystroglycan.

Congratulations to Dr. Kevin Campbell, his lab, and collaborators on their new publication "LARGE1 processively polymerizes length-controlled matriglycan on prodystroglycan" in Nature Communications!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congratulations to Dr. Stephanie Gantz on being named in the 2025 class of Stead Family Scholars!

medicine.uiowa.edu/early-career...

Please join us for Dr. Jarrod Fortwendel's seminar "Multivalent Control of HMG-CoA Reductase Underpins Aspergillus fumigatus Antifungal Susceptibility" hosted by Dr. Scott Moye-Rowley on Tuesday, October 14, at 9:30-10:30am, in 5-669 BSB. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Carrie Stasch in advance at 319-335-7803 or carrie-stasch@uiowa.edu.

Please join us for Dr. Jarrod Fortwendel's seminar "Multivalent Control of HMG-CoA Reductase Underpins Aspergillus Fumigatus Antifungal Susceptibility" hosted by Dr. Scott Moye-Rowley on Tuesday, October 14, at 9:30-10:30am, in 5-668 BSB.

Drs. Nik Artemyev and Julien Sebag and their labs have a new publication "Inhibition of Unc119b improves insulin sensitivity through potentiation of Rac1 activation in skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue" in Molecular Metabolism. Read the article here: doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2025.102230.

Please join us for a dual workshop: Dr. Adriana Della Pietra will present "Reduced glymphatic flow and facial allodynia induced by CGRP and mTBI are treated by prazosin" and Agatha Greenway will present "The potential role of a cerebellar-cingulate circuit in migraine" on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at 12:00pm in 5-669 BSB. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Carrie Stasch in advance at 319-335-7803 or carrie-stasch@uiowa.edu.

Join us! Dr. Adriana Della Pietra will present "Reduced glymphatic flow and facial allodynia induced by CGRP and mTBI are treated by prazosin" and Agatha Greenway will present "The potential role of a cerebellar-cingulate circuit in migraine" on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at 12pm in 5-669 BSB.

PACAP versus CGRP in migraine: From mouse models to clinical translation - Adriana Della Pietra, Adisa Kuburas, Andrew F. Russo, 2025 Migraine is a complex neurological disorder involving multiple neuropeptides that modulate nociceptive and sensory pathways. The most studied peptide is calcito...

Dr. Andy Russo and his lab have a new publication "PACAP versus CGRP in migraine: From mouse models to clinical translation" in Cephalalgia. Read it here: doi.org/10.1177/0333....

Please join us for Dr. Sanjoy Paul's workshop "Genetic analysis of azole resistance pathways in Aspergillus fumigatus" on Wednesday, October 1, at 12:00-1:00pm in 5-669 BSB. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Carrie Stasch in advance at 319-335-7803 or carrie-stasch@uiowa.edu.

Please join us for Dr. Sanjoy Paul's workshop "Genetic analysis of azole resistance pathways in Aspergillus fumigatus" on Wednesday, October 1, at 12:00-1:00pm in 5-669 BSB.

Please join us for Dr. Huan Bao's seminar "Designer lipid nanoparticles to probe and reprogram membrane biology" hosted by Dr. Sandipan Chowdhury on Tuesday, September 30, at 9:30-10:30am in 5-669 BSB.

Please join us for Dr. Huan Bao's seminar "Designer lipid nanoparticles to probe and reprogram membrane biology" hosted by Dr. Sandipan Chowdhury on Tuesday, September 30, at 9:30-10:30am in 5-669 BSB.

Dr. Adriana Della Pietra and other award recipients 2025 the International Headache Congress.

Dr. Adriana Della Pietra presenting at 2025 the International Headache Congress.

Dr. Adriana Della Pietra presenting at 2025 the International Headache Congress.

Dr. Adriana Della Pieta receiving an award at 2025 the International Headache Congress.

Congratulations to Dr. Adriana Della Pietra (Russo Lab) for winning the Headache Science Excellence Tournament for Basic Science at the International Headache Congress last week!

Please join us for Dr. Tom Conway's workshop "Investigating Links Between the Pleiotropic Drug Response Network and Ergosterol Biosynthesis in Candida glabrata" on Wednesday, September 24, at 12:00-1:00pm in 5-669 BSB. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Carrie Stasch in advance at319-335-7803 or carrie-stasch@uiowa.edu.

Please join us for Dr. Tom Conway's workshop "Investigating Links Between the Pleiotropic Drug Response Network and Ergosterol Biosynthesis in Candida glabrata" on Wednesday, September 24, at 12:00-1:00pm in 5-669 BSB.

UI professor wins 2025 Horwitz Prize for muscular dystrophy research Dr. Kevin Campbell, professor and chair of molecular physiology and biophysics at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine,

Corridor Business Journal reported on Dr. Kevin Campbell's and Dr. Mike Welsh's recent prestigious awards.

corridorbusiness.com/ui-professor...

corridorbusiness.com/ui-professor...

Ahmad Al Saneh's Workshop "Investigating NaV1.2 Channelopathies: Characterization and Therapeutic Approaches in SCN2A Syndrome" on Wednesday, September 17, at 12-1pm in 5-669 BSB.

Please join us for Ahmad Al Saneh's Workshop "Investigating NaV1.2 Channelopathies: Characterization and Therapeutic Approaches in SCN2A Syndrome" on Wednesday, September 17, at 12-1pm in 5-669 BSB.

Photo of Dr. Bo Chen and Dr. Mike Anderson.

We enjoyed Dr. Bo Chen's visit hosted by Dr. Mike Anderson this week.

Physiology Data Blitz

On Friday, we gathered for a data blitz and ice cream social. Thank you to our presenters Kyle Hopewell (Piper Lab), Hannah Rust (Gantz Lab), Aleigha Gugel (Gantz Lab), Miranda Schene (Ahern Lab), Dr. Divya Rathi (Campbell Lab), and Dr. Mike Wright (Wright Lab) and to all who attended.

Dr. Alex Miller's workshop "Molecular architecture of the fungal-specific potassium channel TOK1" on Wednesday, September 10, at 12-1pm in 5-669 BSB.

Please join us for Dr. Alex Miller's workshop "Molecular architecture of the fungal-specific potassium channel TOK1" on Wednesday, September 10, at 12-1pm in 5-669 BSB.

A special thanks to Dr. Tim Ryan for a great seminar visit and to Dr. Chris Ahern for hosting.

Congratulations to Dr. Kevin Campbell on being selected as the 119th recipient of the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University!

University of Iowa press release:
physiology.medicine.uiowa.edu/news/2025/09...

Columbia University press release:
www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/2025-ho...

Please join us on Tuesday, September 9, at 9:30-10:30am in 5-669 BSB for Dr. Bo Chen's Seminar "Neuroprotective and Regenerative Strategies for Vision Restoration" hosted by Dr. Mike Anderson.

Please join us on Tuesday, September 9, at 9:30-10:30am in 5-669 BSB for Dr. Bo Chen's Seminar "Neuroprotective and Regenerative Strategies for Vision Restoration" hosted by Dr. Mike Anderson.

Pretreatment with an anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody attenuates mild TBI-induced tactile hypersensitivity in mice - The Journal of Headache and Pain Post-traumatic headache (PTH) can develop following a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), such as a concussion. It is especially common among active-duty military personnel, Veterans, and athletes. Th...

Congratulations to Dr. Andy Russo and his collaborators on their recent publication "Pretreatment with an anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody attenuates mild TBI-induced tactile hypersensitivity in mice."

doi.org/10.1186/s101...

Insulated piggyBac and FRT vectors for engineering transgenic homozygous and heterozygous eHAP cells Transgene expression in eHAP cells, a haploid cell line commonly used to generate gene knockouts, is difficult due to its low transfection efficiency and poor expression of integrated transgenes. To e...

Congratulations to Dr. Rob Piper and his lab on their new publication "Insulated piggyBac and FRT vectors for engineering transgenic homozygous and heterozygous eHAP cells." doi.org/10.1242/bio....

Congratulations to Dr. Rainbo Hultman and MPI Dr. Hanna Stevens on being selected for funding for the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award for their project "Networking the parental brain: Transformation of brain-wide electrical networks" with an award total of $5,583,016!

Please join us Thursday, September 4, at 9:30am in 5-669 BSB for Dr. Tim Ryan's seminar "Metabolic vulnerabilities and opportunities in brain function" hosted by Dr. Chris Ahern.

Please join us on Wednesday, September 3, at 12:00pm in 5-669 BSB for Yassine Filali's workshop "Brain-wide electrical activity dynamics describes a migraine-like state in a preclinical model."

Somatic CRISPR tumorigenesis and multiomic analysis reveal a pentose phosphate pathway disruption vulnerability in MPNSTs Tumor suppressor status highly affects cellular reprogramming, creating genotype-specific sensitivities in MPNST.

Congratulations to Dr. Eric Taylor, his lab, and collaborators on their new publication “Somatic CRISPR tumorigenesis and multiomic analysis reveal a pentose phosphate pathway disruption vulnerability in MPNSTs” published in Science Advances. doi.org/10.1126/scia...

Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 27, at 12pm is 5-669 BSB, Nathan Fassett will present "Investigating the Impact of Diet on the Dopamine-Dynorphin System" and Dr. Kacie Meyer will present "Systemic influences of dietary NAD+ supplementation relevant to the search for glaucoma neuroprotective therapies."

Congratulations to Dr. Scott Moye-Rowley on securing the competitive renewal of his grant "Elevated gene transcription of the cyp51A gene is essential for azole drug resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus" funded by the NIAID for five more years for a total of $3,368,400.