University of Missouri

July 5, 2017

The Necessity of Fungi

Graduate Researcher Sarah Unruh explores the essential role of fungi in orchid germination By Emily Kummerfeld | Bond LSC Graduate Researcher Sarah Unruh | photo by Emily Kummerfeld, Bond LSC The blooms of orchids are unmistakably beautiful, and how they reproduce has fascinated biologists for centuries. But, orchids might not even exist if not for the help of fungus. Up to 30,000 species of orchids require the intervention of fungi since their seeds do not contain the necessary nutrients to sprout. Sarah Unruh, a fifth-year biological sciences PhD student in the lab of Bond LSC’s Chris…

June 27, 2017

Kwaku Tawiah #IAmScience

Kwaku Tawiah, a Ph. D candidate in biochemistry at MU, stands near his lab station in the Burke Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because of where I come from. If you look at Africa, we have some of the most dangerous infectious diseases in the world…When you see these diseases first-hand and the havoc they cause, you want to solve the problem. People with different perspectives will make a difference in medicine.” Growing up in Ghana gave Kwaku Tawiah a different…

June 21, 2017

Shannon King #IAmScience

Shannon King, a Ph.D candidate in the Biochemistry department at MU. She works in Scott Peck’s lab at Bond LSC. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC. By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I plan to use my career to help develop agricultural innovations for the hard-working farmer.” Most of Shannon King’s support system – her friends, grandparents, and boyfriend – are all farmers. They’re her inspiration and part of the reason her career goal is to use science to help farmers. She’s currently a Ph.D candidate in the Biochemistry department at MU…

June 21, 2017

A step into summer research

Jacqueline Ihnat, one of the 12 Cherng Summer Scholars, outside Dr. Cornelison’s lab at the Bond Life Sciences Center. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC Sometimes the most learning occurs outside of the classroom. For Jacqueline Ihnat, an opportunity to pursue research at the Bond Life Sciences Center this summer will give her that chance. She recently became one of 12 Cherng Summer Scholars, a full-time, ten-week program within the Honors College at MU. “Doing research helps keep me focused on the bigger picture,” Ihnat said. “Sometimes in class we learn things that don’t…

June 14, 2017

Jacqueline Ihnat #IAmScience

Jacqueline Ihnat, one of the 12 Cherg Summer Scholars chosen from within the Honors College at MU in 2017. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I am able to apply what I learn in the classroom to research that makes progress towards a better future.” Jacqueline Ihnat was recently selected as one of the 12 Cherng Summer Scholars within the Honors College at the University of Missouri. This scholarship provides her with $8,000 to fund her summer research. She’s fascinated with cells and how our bodies…

June 7, 2017

The evolution of a corn geneticist

By Jennifer Lu |Bond LSC Paula McSteen is a professor of biological sciences at MU and a researcher at the Bond Life Sciences Center. | Photograph by Jennifer Lu, Bond LSC When developmental plant geneticist Paula McSteen thinks about the specimens she studies, one word comes to mind: potential. She thought it as she stood in the midst of the first corn field she ever planted as a post-doctoral fellow in corn genetics. She thinks it as she counts kernels from corn crosses that will be sent to Hawaii, a hotspot for corn geneticists looking to…

June 6, 2017

Dean Bergstrom #IAmScience

Dean Bergstrom, the new building manager for Bond LSC. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I provide the world class scientists of Mizzou’s Bond Life Sciences Center with the finest facilities available.” As the new building manager for the Bond Life Sciences Center, Dean Bergstrom makes it possible for everyone else to focus on his or her research. He’s worked in Bond LSC for nine and a half years as a research technician, and in Tucker Hall eleven years before that. His unique science background and…

May 24, 2017

Small steps to treat neuromuscular disorder

Researchers find evidence of a genetic modifier that can improve symptoms of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Chris Lorson examines axons through a microscope. Lorson’s lab recently published results that showed evidence that the protein plastin 3 affects the severity of SMA. | Photo by Eleanor Hasenbeck, Bond LSC Eleanor Hasenbeck | Bond Life Sciences Center Two new potential treatments might improve the lives of patients living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Researchers in the Lorson lab at Bond Life Sciences Center recently produced a new drug that increases the lifespans of mice with SMA, and they found…

May 15, 2017

BPA rewires the sex of turtle brains

By Jinghong Chen | Bond Life Sciences Center Painted turtle eggs were brought from a hatchery in Louisiana, candled to ensure embryo viability and then incubated at male-permissive temperatures in a bed of vermiculite. Those exposed to BPA developed deformities to testes that held female characteristics.Photo by Roger Meissen | © 2015 – MU Bond Life Sciences Center Cool dudes, hot mommas. This is the underlying concept behind sex development in painted turtles, a species that lacks sex chromosomes. A painted turtle’s sex is determined by temperature at which the eggs are incubated at…

May 12, 2017

Old friends, new ideas

A partnership between MU and Gyeongsang National University in South Korea has created lasting connections By Eleanor Hasenbeck | Bond Life Sciences Center Discussion went global this week as researchers converged from Gyeongsang National University in South Korea, MU and Washington University at Bond Life Sciences Center for the sixth MU-GNU International Joint Symposium in Plant Biotechnology. Plant biologists from each university shared their research, ranging from molecular biology and signaling to breeding soybeans for improved yields. The symposium is held every two years, alternating locations between the U.S. and South Korea. This conference marks the eleventh…

April 26, 2017

Erica Majumder #IAmScience

Erica Majumder, a biochemistry Ph.D candidate. | photo by Morgan McOlash, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I am endlessly curious and the world needs scientific solutions to our grand challenges.” That is the attitude of someone who does her research with a purpose. Since the age of 14, Erica knew she wanted to pursue a degree in chemistry. Today, she uses that passion to research how anaerobic bacteria interact with uranium; essentially asking the question, “How do microbes and metals interact?” What’s her end game? Improved health of the…

April 5, 2017

From neuroscience to negotiations

Neuroscientist and former Secretary of State science adviser to speak at Life Sciences Week By Eleanor C. Hasenbeck | Bond Life Sciences Frances Colón has spent the past decade representing the United States all over the world on topics ranging from climate change to the advancement of women scientists. She will reflect on that experience in her talk at 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 11 in Monsanto Auditorium. | Photo courtesy of Frances Colón A career in science doesn’t only mean working in a lab, and no one knows that better than Frances Colón. Colón, a…