@mcbillinois.bsky.social
Official account for the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. We seek answers to fundamental questions about how organisms work and the many implications for life. π: linktr.ee/mcb_illinois
A picture is worth a thousand words or, in this case, billions of calculations.
With help from @ncsaatillinois.bsky.social, Drs. Emad Tajkhorshid, Hale Εiir Hasdemir, and PhD candidates Yupeng Li and Carlos Cuellar revealed how membrane transport proteins in E. coli function.
(Story link in bio)
In their new study, Dr. Hee Jung Chung's lab wanted to know when and why seizures occur in Alzheimerβs patients. βCan we stop it? If so, does that mitigate dementia risk and disease progression?β they asked.
What they found: mcb.illinois.edu/news/2026-02...
#Alzheimers #neuroscience #ILLINOIS
Applications are now open!
go.mcb.illinois.edu/mcb-ds
#MCB #biologymajor #DataScience #MolecularandCellularBiology #ILLINOIS
As artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-throughput genomics, and other data-driven technologies revolutionize our world, the demand for scientists who can navigate biology and data science has risen.
We are excited to announce a new major: Molecular & Cellular Biology + Data Science.
Illustration of DNA and computer code
How can you leverage data to identify, treat, and manage health and disease?
How are large biological datasets transforming research and industry?
How can scientists enable efficient and accurate management of massive amounts of technical and biological data?
Celebrating a few of our creative, hard-working undergraduate researchers who earned awards at the campus symposium earlier this year.
mcb.illinois.edu/news/2025-07...
From left: Rachel Smith-Bolton and Anish Bose
The new study from Dr. Rachel Smith-Bolton, associate professor of cell and developmental biology, and graduate student Anish Bose offers new insights into how this vital process comes to a successful close in the fruit fly, an animal model often used in biomedical research.
01.07.2025 21:30 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
How does regeneration come to a successful close when a tissue has healed?
New research from @rachelsmithbolton.bsky.social
explores this question in an article in Science Advances:
go.mcb.illinois.edu/sbJune2025
#drosophila #regeneration #ILLINOIS
#Illinois researchers have successfully treated a common type of colorectal cancer tumor with a cholesterol inhibitor drug, demonstrating a promising treatment for the disease in animal experiments.
The study was published in Nature Chemical Biology:
go.mcb.illinois.edu/623
@nelsonlab.bsky.social
The postdoctoral researcher, a member of Nien-Pei Tsai's lab, was recently awarded a fellowship from the FRAXA Research Foundation to support his research.
go.mcb.illinois.edu/acharya
#FragileX
Man in white lab coat sits in front of microscope.
Dr. Anirudh Acharya is investigating how a key protein may influence brain plasticity and energy regulation in Fragile X syndrome, a leading inherited cause of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder.
07.05.2025 15:36 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
photo of woman in blue shirt placed on top of orange and blue confetti
π A round of applause for Dr. Stephanie Ceman, professor of cell & developmental biology, chosen for a campus teaching award! π π π§‘
#welldeserved
news.illinois.edu/awards-honor...
Two scientists hold a microfluidic device while sitting in front of a microscope and computer, backlit by a green light.
Some notoriously difficult to treat infections may not be as resistant to antibiotics as has been thought, according to new research from #ILLINOIS using a microfluidic device that more closely duplicates the fluid flow found in the body than standard cultures.
go.mcb.illinois.edu/flow
Hernandez Garcia, a recent biochemistry PhD graduate and member of the Nair lab at Illinois, was part of the team of researchers who generated the first genome assembly of Yerba mate, a plant species and herbal tea native to South America. Their work was published in eLife. Congrats, all!
12.03.2025 14:29 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
βYerba mate is a very important plant to South America. To be able to say that we now have its genome is very powerful. It allows for in-depth research of how these valuable metabolites are produced,β said Dr. Andrea Hernandez Garcia.
go.mcb.illinois.edu/yerba
βA lot of young scientists feel like they have to choose one or the otherβacademia or industryβas if theyβre completely separate worlds. But in reality, thereβs a lot of crossover. The skills you develop in one can be incredibly valuable in the other,β Dr. Bae said.
06.03.2025 18:34 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Her background in industry and academia has provided her with a valuable perspective on different career paths in biomedical research.
06.03.2025 18:34 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Dr. Haneui Baeβs interest in neuroscience was ignited in high school while reading Eric Kandelβs, In Search of Memory. Today she is a postdoc at Illinois investigating the mechanisms and implications of liver dysfunctions in myotonic dystrophy.
go.mcb.illinois.edu/hbae
Congratulations!
05.03.2025 16:07 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Current treatment options for metastatic breast cancer are limited, but targeting cholesterol metabolism is a promising option for new therapeutics.
go.mcb.illinois.edu/cholesterol
Pallob is a recipient of the Tom and Cynthia Cycyota Research Fellowship and was recently featured in department's newsletter.
Full Q&A about his journey to Illinois and his dreams for the future.
go.mcb.illinois.edu/pallob
Meet Pallob, a Cell & Dev. Biology PhD student who focuses on muscle regeneration and the role of a protein called threonyl-tRNA synthetase (TARS) in cancer. When not in the lab, you can find him running through the streets of Champaign-Urbana.
27.02.2025 16:09 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Block I and congratulations to our alumni award winners
We are grateful to have so many inspiring, accomplished, and generous alumni. In a little over a month we will celebrate two of them: Michelle Barton and Keith Westcott. The biochemistry alumni have been selected for College of Liberal Arts & Sciences alumni awards!
las.illinois.edu/news/2025-02...
New research from the Ceman Lab will enhance scientistsβ understanding of brain development and provide insight into the ways fear memory can plague individuals with autism, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
go.mcb.illinois.edu/memory
He recently received a predoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association that will support his research. Congrats, 'Fola!
More on his path to Illinois and research in the Kalsotra Lab:
go.mcb.illinois.edu/fola
@kalsotra-lab.bsky.social
From his medical training in Nigeria to his current research on myonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), βFola Adesanya is working to better understand how diseases work at a molecular level and the development of new potential treatments.
19.02.2025 16:49 β π 3 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0
"We still have a long way to go, but I believe that unlocking the immune system is going to revolutionize our ability to treat the disease."
Shout out to Erik Nelson and team @nelsonlab.bsky.social
#inspiring
Block I in orange and text announcing we're hiring
The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is hiring a lecturer of physiology and human anatomy. Please share with potential applicants!
The deadline to apply is March 7, 2025.
go.mcb.illinois.edu/anatomy
A truly heartening 'fireside chat' today with Dr. Anthony Fauci!
βThe future of science and medicine is bright even though we are in an arena of anti-science β¦ The fact is the opportunities in science are really extraordinary.β
Congratulations to Dr. Ceman on a well-deserved award!
10.02.2025 15:41 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0