Olivia DrakeIshita Mukerji, dean of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics division, is one of 50 local scientists to be elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. Mukerji also is professor of molecular biology and biochemistry and is an expert on fluorescence and vibrational spectroscopy. Mukerji is the 10th Wesleyan faculty to be elected into the academy. She will be introduced at CASE's 39th annual meeting and dinner on June 5 at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell, Conn. Election to the Academy is on the basis of scientific and engineering distinction achieved through significant contributions in theory or applications, as…
Rex Pratt, the Beach Professor of Chemistry, professor of chemistry, and chemistry graduate student Liudmila Dzhekieva are the co-authors of “Inhibition of DD-Peptidases by a Specific Trifluoroketone: Crystal Structure of a Complex with the Actinomadura R39 DD-Peptidase” published in Biochemistry 52, 2128 in 2013. Pratt and chemistry graduate students Venkatesh Nemmara and Kinjal Dave are the co-authors of “The Dual Substrate Specificity of Bacillus subtilis PBP4a” published in Biochemistry 52, 2627 in 2013. Rex Pratt and chemistry graduate student Ronak Tilvawala are the co-authors of “Covalent Inhibition of a Serine ß-Lactamases by Novel Hydroxamic Acid Derivatives” published in Biochemistry, 52,…
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On Nov. 9, Wesleyan's informal science education class in conjunction with the Wesleyan Science Outreach Club presented Science Saturday, a semi-annual fun afternoon of hands-on science for the whole family. Activities took place inside the Exley Science Center. Wesleyan students taught science lessons that they have been working on this semester, with experiments involving dissections of biological specimens, roller coaster models, and an explosions demo. More than 50 local children and their parents attended. Andrea Roberts, visiting assistant professor of chemistry; Manju Hingorani, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry; and students from the CHEM 241 Informal Science Education course coordinated…
Manju Hingorani, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, is the author of "Distinct structural alterations in proliferating cell nuclear antigen block DNA mismatch repair," published in Biochemistry on Aug. 20, 2013. Read an abstract of the paper online here. She's also the author of "Slow Conformational Changes in MutS and DNA Direct Ordered Transitions between Mismatch Search, Recognition and Signaling of DNA Repair," published in The Journal of Molecular Biology on Aug. 20, 2013. Her former students, F. Noah Biro '09 and Christopher Doucette '11 co-authored the paper. Read the abstract online here.
Amy MacQueen, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, has received a three-year grant for $372,445 from the National Institutes of Health Academic Research Enhancement Award program to support her research on “Structure and Dynamics of the Synaptonemal Complex.” The grant was awarded in August 2013.
Four Wesleyan faculty and staff members completed the Litchfield Hills Olympic Triathlon held July 14 in New Hartford, Conn. The triathlon featured a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike course, and a scenic, rural back road 10K run. Wesleyan participants included Mike McAlear, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry; Tom DiMauro, analyst programmer in ITS; James Taft, assistant director of technology support services in ITS; and Brian Northrop, assistant professor of chemistry. Northrop came in third place overall.
Scott Holmes, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a $5,125 National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates supplement to enhance his current grant, which supports research titled, “Epigenetic Silencing of Gene Expression in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae.”
Ishita Mukerji, dean of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics division, and professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, has received a $6,750 National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates supplement to enhance her current grant supporting research, “Structure and Function of Holliday Junctions Complexed With Proteins Probed by Fluorescence and UV Raman Spectroscopic Methods.”
Lauren RubensteinUniversity Professor of Natural Science and Mathematics David Beveridge was one of 33 leading experts in science, engineering and technology recently elected to membership in the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. The new members will be introduced at the Academy's 38th annual meeting and dinner on May 22 at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. According to the Academy, election is "on the basis of scientific and engineering distinction achieved through significant contributions in theory or applications, as demonstrated by original published books and papers, patents, the pioneering of new and developing fields and innovative products, outstanding leadership of nationally…
(Story contributed by Jim H. Smith) A recent discovery made by Michael McAlear, chair and associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, and four of his students helps explain the function of ribosomes and sheds light on genetic processes scientists have been trying to decode for more than half a century. A paper authored by McAlear and his laboratory team, describing the discovery, was published last month in the distinguished journal BMC Genomics. The discovery resulted from long-term research into the regulation of ribosomes, often described as molecular “machines,” the organelles of all living cells in which protein synthesis occurs. Guided…
Scott Holmes, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a grant worth $374,150 from the National Institutes of Health. The grant will support a study on "Functional interaction of histone H1 with the core nucleosome" until 2015. Several Wesleyan undergraduates conducted experiments crucial for developing this grant proposal, including Samantha Schilit '10, MA '11, who is currently in her first year as a Ph.D. candidate at the Harvard School of Medicine. Histone proteins organize DNA into its basic organizational unit, the chromosome, and have a fundamental influence on the function of DNA. The four core histones assemble into the…