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OyaGen announced today Congresswoman Louise Slaughter toured its laboratories at the Rochester BioVenture Center in Henrietta and met with its development team. During the visit, the Congresswoman was updated on the progress being made in moving OyaGen's drug programs toward clinical development. She also discussed with management how OyaGen's approach can provide solutions for the government's HIV policies and programs regarding the next generation of AIDS therapy, PrEP and global disease eradication.

Professor Mark Dumont, Ph.D., was recently presented the Outstanding Course Director Award for 2013. Mark has served as course director for Biochemistry IND 408, a core course in the graduate studies curriculum within the School of Medicine and Dentistry, for over 10 years. Previous to this service, Mark served as director of Biochemistry of Macromolecules, BCH 412, for 5 years. As noted by Professor Eric Phizicky, Ph.D., who lectures in IND 408, Mark has shown an uncanny ability, coupled with exceptional effort, to continually evolve the course to more up-to-date topics and to more sophisticated analysis of existing topics. Almost alone among course directors, he attends most lectures most years, allowing him to evolve a highly coherent course.Jeffrey Hayes, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics remarks that Mark's commitment to his students and efforts on their behalf has rightfully earned him the high opinion of both his colleagues and his students, and serves as an exemplary example for all those involved in teaching.

Established in 2013, this award is given to an Outstanding Graduate Course Director. The selection of the awardee is based on the course’s record of excellence, course-instructor survey evaluations and letters of recommendation from students enrolled in the course, and is presented by the Office of the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.

Dr. Fred Sherman

Fred Sherman, Ph.D., an internationally recognized scientist and a faculty member at the University of Rochester Medical Center since 1962, died on September 16 at the age of 81. Sherman, who served as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and then the merged Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics from 1982 until 1999, was one of only three URMC faculty members appointed to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.

Sherman performed groundbreaking research on the structure of genes and the effects of genetic mutations on proteins in yeast. He was also a proponent of the use of baker's yeast as a genetic model system. Research using yeast is now conducted at virtually all research centers worldwide, largely due to Sherman’s efforts and his teaching of many leaders in the field.

It’s hard to overstate Fred’s contribution to modern genetics. His insights into how genetic mutations affect protein coding and his foresight of the utility of the yeast system quite literally changed the course of biological research, said Jeffrey J. Hayes, Ph.D., chair of Biochemistry and Biophysics at URMC. Beyond his scientific accomplishments, Fred’s quick wit and sense of humor were legendary. It was always enjoyable to be in a room with Fred. He will be terribly missed.

The Democrat and Chronicle has published an article about Fred's life, viewable here.

Graduate students Lu Han and Michael Mierzejewski were awarded the Elmer H. Stotz Graduate Fellowship in Biochemistry Award. This award was established by the Stotz family to honor Dr. Elmer Stotz, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Biochemistry. It is awarded to a Ph.D. student in Biochemistry.

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Alan Grossfield, was one of two professors who were awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher Award. Established in 2013, this award is given to an outstanding graduate student teacher for record of excellence in classroom instruction.

Dr. Eric Phizicky, Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and Dean’s Professor, was one of four professors awarded a Faculty Mentoring Award. Dr. Phizicky won the Mentoring of Academic Faculty Award.

Dr. Jeffrey Hayes, Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics & Chair of the Department, was awarded the Shohei Koide Professor in Biochemistry and Biophysics. This is a new professorship, established in 2013, and is intended to support the Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

OyaGen is a Rochester-based bio-pharmaceutical company that is on the leading edge of research and development of drug treatments for HIV, AIDS and other viral diseases. Dr. Harold Smith is the founder of the company. Smith welcomed State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to town Monday and led him on a tour of the facility.

DiNapoli announced the company will receive an additional $150,000. Since 2006, the pension fund's in-state private equity program has invested nearly $1.4 million in OyaGen. With an early investment, then a larger investment is called for and we move through in steps like that so we use the money wisely, and that we are now where we are, which is recognized as leaders in this area, Smith said.

Funding from the state pension fund has allowed OyaGen to purchase a robotic drug screening device. That device is helping researchers develop drug treatments for HIV, AIDS and other viral diseases.

Jeffrey J. Hayes, Ph.D., has been selected as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. A faculty member for nearly two decades and the recently installed Shohei Koide Professor in Biochemistry and Biophysics, Hayes takes the reins after serving as interim chair since early 2012.

An accomplished and highly-respected scientist, Hayes' research focuses on chromatin, the combination of DNA and proteins that comprise the nucleus of a cell. His lab works to understand how the DNA within chromatin is accessed for replication and repair and used in gene expression - the conversion of genetic information into proteins that make up the body and perform most life functions.

Jeff is skilled at bringing people together for the common good and understands what it takes to create an environment that is conducive to great scientific research and education, said Lynne E. Maquat, Ph.D., director of the Center for RNA Biology and the J. Lowell Orbison Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics. He is organized, transparent and fair by nature and we are fortunate that he has agreed to take the helm.

Jeff has all the characteristics needed to be an effective chair and was the clear choice to lead the department after an excellent term as interim chair, said Mark B. Taubman, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry. I am confident that he will take what is already an extremely strong scientific department to an even higher level of excellence.

Lynne Maquat, Ph.D., the J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair & Professor, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Director of the University of Rochester Center for RNA Biology, and Chair of the University of Rochester Graduate Women in Science, has been selected to receive The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) 2014 William C. Rose Award. The William C. Rose Award recognizes outstanding contributions to biochemical and molecular biological research and a demonstrated commitment to the training of young scientists, as epitomized by the late Dr. Rose. A part of the Award includes transportation to the 2014 ASBMB Annual Meeting to present a lecture, April 26-30, 2014 in San Diego. For more on Dr. Maquat and her research program please visit the Maquat Lab.

On June 4, 2013 Dr. Mahin Maines' patent application #8,455,427: Methods of Modifying Insulin Signaling Using Biliverdin Reductase was granted by the US Patent Trademark Office. The application of the technology is treatment of type 2 diabetes. The patent was issued for therapeutic use of a 7 residue peptide that activates insulin receptor kinase (IRK) and increases glucose uptake more effectively than insulin or IGF-1. The peptide is derived from biliverdin reductase, which itself is a kinase/kinase, a scaffold protein and intracellular transporter in the insulin/IGF-1/PI3-K/MAPK pathways. Additional patent applications for use of the reductase in regulation of the noted pathways are pending.

Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics Associate Professor Yi-Tao Yu, Ph.D. was a co-corresponding author on a paper recently published in Nature. This work presented a novel and completely unexpected codon-anticodon base-pairing interaction in the ribosomal decoding center during translation. This work provided a molecular basis for the decoding of a nonsense codon by the ribosome.

The research was carried out in collaboration with the Venki Ramakrishnan lab at MRC in Cambridge, UK. Dr. Ramakrishnan won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (along with Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath) for his pioneering work on the structure and function of ribosome. Dr. Ramakrishnan will be visiting U of R in October.