News

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) Program holds its 10th Annual Retreat on Monday, January 14, 2013.

The event is scheduled to be in Rochester Museum and Science Center in Eisenhart Auditorium from 8:30 a.m. till 5:00 p.m.

Faculty Organizers: Beth Grayhack & Josh Munger
Student Organizers: Angela Balliano & Jiashi Wang
Staff Organizer: Melissa Vera

Monday, January 14; 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Rochester Museum and Science Center, Eisenhart Auditorium
657 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14607 (show on Google Maps)

Eric Phizicky, Ph.D.

Eric M. Phizicky, Ph.D., dean's professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

This year 702 members were awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Phizicky, a member of the University's Center for RNA Biology, was elected a Fellow for major contributions to the basic knowledge of tRNA (transfer RNA) processing and turnover and for the development and widespread distribution of powerful genome-wide technologies.

We were extremely happy to hear that Eric was receiving this much-deserved honor. His passion for science is infectious and matched only by his inquisitive nature and skill as a scientist, said Jeffrey J. Hayes, Ph.D., professor and acting chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the Medical Center. Aside from his remarkable accomplishments in research, Eric is an outstanding teacher and colleague.

Phizicky, who came to the Medical Center in 1987, has spent his career working to understand how tRNA is made and how it does its job in the cell, which is to help with the translation of genes into proteins. His lab also focuses on the design, construction and implementation of genomic methods to analyze protein structure and function, work that's conducted in collaboration with Elizabeth Grayhack, Ph.D., associate professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Sayeeda Zain, Ph.D.

Longtime Biochemistry & Biophysics member, Sayeeda Zain, Ph.D. passed away last week after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Services were held last Sunday for Sayeeda.

Sayeeda did her Ph.D. work with Sherman Weissman in the Dept of Human Genetics, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University where she carried out some of the very earliest nucleic acid sequencing experiments, determining the sequence of parts of the SV40 virus. She then went to Richard Roberts' group at The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, where she applied her knowledge of sequencing to both adenovirus transcripts and genomic DNA -- and co-discovered, with Louise Chow, the phenomenon of mRNA splicing. Roberts later received the Nobel Prize for this work, with Philip Sharp (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1993.

In 1978 Sayeeda took a faculty position in the Microbiology Department at the University of Rochester and later was hired into to the Biochemistry Department by Fred Sherman. Sayeeda's research program focused on eukaryotic gene expression with specific emphasis on proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease and molecular mechanisms of metastasis. She remained an active member of the department, teaching in Molecules-to-Cells, until last year.

Dr. Robert Bambara, professor of Microbiology & Immunology and Biochemistry & Biophysics received the Lifetime Mentoring Award from the University of Rochester Medical Center. A most prestigious award, Dr. Bambara is no stranger to these types of awards having been honored several times in the past, including the 2007 William H. Riker University Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. Dr. Bambara has mentored many students and postdoctoral fellows throughout his distinguished career. Some highlights of his many accomplishments over his through exceptional mentoring include

Biochemistry graduate student, Michael Mierzejewski received the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Irving Spar Award. The Irving L. Spar Award honors the memory of Dr. Spar, a former Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the School of Medicine and Dentistry. The Award was presented to a deserving student of exceptional merit at the School of Medicine and Dentistry Convocation Ceremony on Thursday, August 30th at 4:00 pm in the Class of 1962 Auditorium.

Biochemistry students, Clarence Ling, Bronwyn Lucas, Morgan Monaghan, and Charles Owen Smith received the Elmer H. Stotz, Award. The award honors Dr. Stotz, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Biochemistry. It provides scholarship funds for graduate students, helping to fulfill the life-long ideals and interest which Dr. Stotz had for graduate education.

Harold C. Smith, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, served as an organizer for the 2^nd World Congress on Virology, Aug. 20-22, in Las Vegas. The meeting brings together scientists, physicians and social workers from around the world with the goal of sharing technology and new understanding concerning the impact of disease caused by viral infections of humans, animals and plants on global and regional health care and socioeconomics. Smith was charged with creating the sweeping meeting program, including recruiting the keynote speaker and organizing sessions with other chairpersons and speakers. He also organized a workshop on drug-discovery efforts around the globe. Important new insights are anticipated concerning the spread of infectious disease, vaccine development and novel preventive and therapeutic approaches.

Congratulations to Professor Mahin Maines, Ph.D., who received recognition for her lifetime contribution to the Heme Oxygenase Community. Dr. Maines was presented with a certificate acknowledging her contribution, by her peers at the 7^th International Congress on Heme Oxygenases and Related Enzymes, 28^th May - 1^st June, held at the University of Edinburgh

William A. Bernhard, Ph.D., a faculty member of the University of Rochester Medical Center for more than 40 years and an internationally known expert on the effects of ionizing radiation on the chemical structure of DNA, died May 9 at his home in Mendon, N.Y., after a brief illness.

Bill was a biophysicist of the highest order, working at the forefront of understanding how radiation damages our genetic material. His unique command of both the biological and physical aspects of radiation damage earned him the respect and recognition of colleagues worldwide, said Jeffrey J. Hayes, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. The longevity of his research program, funded by the National Cancer Institute for 37 consecutive years, and the successful careers of his many trainees are testaments to the consistent high quality of his work, the high regard his peers, and his commitment to training future scientists. Bill also was a wonderful person and colleague.

Chenguang Gong, M.S., a graduate student in the laboratory of Lynne E. Maquat, Ph.D., the J. Lowell Orbison Chair and Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Director of the Center for RNA Biology, was awarded one of two 2012 Graduate Student Scaringe Awards from the RNA Society. Each year, the award is given to recognize graduate students who publish the best papers of the previous year in the areas of interest to the society. Gong was honored for his first-author publication in Nature (2011), which describes a new role for long non-coding RNAs in humans. Gong also has a first-author publication in Genes & Development (2009) and several review articles from his graduate work in the Maquat lab. Gong will receive the award in early June at the Annual Meeting of the RNA Society. As part of the award, Gong is invited to write a review for the society's journal RNA.

Gong also received a Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad. Established in 2003 by the China Scholarship Council (CSC), this award encourages research excellence and recognizes overseas Chinese students with outstanding academic accomplishments. The award includes a $5,000 cash prize and a CSC-issued certificate. Gong will join 30 other Chinese graduate students in the CSC's ten-state jurisdiction, which includes not only New York but also Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maine, Ohio, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont, at the Awards Ceremony held on May 25 in New York City.

Today, the department of Biomedical Genetics 24^th Annual Genetics Day was highlighted by the 10^th Annual Fred Sherman Lecture. Dr. Fred Sherman, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry & Biophysics has been honored for his contributions to Genetics and Yeast Genetics for the past nine years with a lecture named after him. The NIH has funded Fred for a remarkable 45 years, during which time he has published over 280 papers, with more on the way.

In 1970, Fred initiated the famous yeast course at Cold Spring Harbor, which has trained scores of today’s leading investigators. He served as an instructor in this course for 17 years. Fred’s many landmark contributions to several fields of molecular biology were recognized by his election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1985.

Genetics Day is an annual event, including a poster session and plenary lectures, that brings together the University genetics community defined in its broadest sense. This year, Dr. Gary Ruvkun, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, gave the Sherman Lecture entitled, The tiny RNA pathways of C. elegans.

Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics and Director for the Center for RNA Biology, Lynne Maquat, Ph.D., has been named a 2012 Batsheva de Rothschild Fellow of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Batsheva de Rothschild (1914-1999) was a biologist, trained at the Sorbonne, Paris and at Columbia University, New York. She worked for a while at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

The Batsheva Fund was established as a private endowment fund, first in New York City and afterwards, in 1965, in Israel. In 1993 she generously transferred the fund to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In 1958 she became the only one ever, from her legendary family, to settle in Israel and became active in public life. Science and the arts were the two loves of this exceptional woman. In 1989 she was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize for her many contributions to Israeli society, among them the founding of Israel’s Batsheva and Bat Dor Dance Companies. The Batsheva Fund's purpose is to further Science in Israel for the people of Israel.

Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., and Itender Singh, Ph.D.

Researchers have taken another crack at a promising approach to stopping Alzheimer's disease that encountered a major hurdle last year. In research published this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, scientists have developed a compound that targets a molecular actor known as RAGE, which plays a central role in mucking up the brain tissue of people with the disease.

Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center and the University of Southern California synthesized a compound that stops RAGE in mice - reversing amyloid deposits, restoring healthy blood flow in the brain, squelching inflammation, and making old, sick mice smarter. But the scientists caution that the work has a long way to go before it's considered as a possible treatment in people.

In the latest work, Zlokovic and colleagues screened thousands of compounds for anti-RAGE activity and identified three that seemed promising. Then the team turned to chemists Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., and graduate student Nathan Ross. The pair analyzed the compounds' molecular structures, then used that knowledge to create dozens of candidates likely to have activity against RAGE.

Paul L. LaCelle, M.D., a University of Rochester Medical Center faculty member for more than 40 years, a former department chair and former senior dean, died March 9. He was 82.

Dr. LaCelle, a 1959 graduate of the University's School of Medicine and Dentistry, joined the faculty in 1964 as an instructor of what was then the Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics. He was named a professor in 1974 and chaired what is now the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics from 1977 to 1996.

At this year's opening convocation on October 5, two graduate students from the department of Biochemistry & Biophysics received Graduate Fellowship's. Dejun Lin, a Ph.D. student in the Biophysics, Structural and Computational Biology graduate program, was awarded the Leon L. Miller Graduate Fellowship. This fellowship, established by the Miller family, honors Dr. Leon Miller, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry & Biophysics, for his contributions to science and the School of Medicine and Dentistry. It is awarded annually to a student with interest in developing a biophysics-related research career.

Sarah Amie, a Ph.D. student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology graduate program, was awarded the Elmer H. Stotz Graduate Fellowship. This fellowship, established by the Stotz family to honor Dr. Elmer Stotz, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Biochemistry, is awarded to a Ph.D. student in biochemistry.

Robert Bambara and Biochemistry & Biophysics Graduates.

The department of Biochemistry & Biophysics held its annual awards ceremony to celebrate those students that received their doctoral degree this year. Awards were also given out to various students and faculty members for their respective research and teaching contributions. The following awards were given:

Walter Bloor Award for Excellent Ph.D. Thesis

Keith Connolly and Christopher Hine

George Metzger Award for Excellence in Biophysics Ph.D. Thesis

Jessica Snyder

Marvel-Dare Nutting Award Recognizing an Outstanding Biochemistry Ph.D.

Tamara Caterino

William Neuman Award in Biophysics

Paul Black

William Neuman Travel Awards

Paul Black, He Fang, Nicholas Leioatts, and Wenhua Wang

Excellent Student Seminar Presentations

Wen Shen, Karyn Schmidt, Krystle McLaughlin, and Nicholas Leioatts

Faculty Teaching Awards

David Mathews, Ph.D. and Lynne Maquat, Ph.D.

Staff Recognition Award

Melissa Vera