News
April 6, 2019
#IAmScience Patience Okiring
By Danielle Pycior | Bond LSC In the warm, inviting atmosphere of the Bond LSC fiscal office reside the unsung heroes that make science possible. When a new discovery is made, few look back to see who wrote the grants and secured funds that allowed the research to thrive, yet those staff members quietly fight for researchers every day. After only a year as a grant writer, Patience Okiring has worked on so many grants that she can’t keep count. “There are a lot of challenges, of course, but it’s like a new discovery…
March 22, 2019
#IAmScience Lucas Woods
By Mariah Cox | Bond LSC Ten years ago, Lucas Woods stepped into Gary Weisman’s lab with a fresh perspective on P2 cell receptors. Now, as an experienced lab manager, Woods dives deeper into the role of these receptors in a myriad of diseases. Woods came to the Bond Life Sciences Center after graduating from Missouri State University in Springfield with a degree in cell and molecular biology. He studied P2 receptors as a part of his undergraduate research with Dr. Richard Garrad, who completed his post-doctoral research in Weisman’s lab. Garrad recognized Woods’s interest…
March 18, 2019
Hot topic research networking
Moving science forward through discussion By Danielle Pycior | Bond LSC A casual conversation amongst friends two years ago turned into an initiative to better connect scientists doing related work across the University of Missouri campus. Hot Topic research networking was born out of informal discussions, growing into a cross-campus and cross-discipline network. “They need to talk and communicate to build things up and down the chain,” said Karla Carter, executive assistant to Bond LSC director. “That’s where some of the most exciting science is born.” Carter explained that by helping facilitate these discussions, Bond LSC helps…
March 15, 2019
#IAmScience Michael Greenlief
By Danielle Pycior | Bond LSC In high school, Michael Greenlief had teachers that led his curiosity into a passion for science and problem-solving. Decades later, he is an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Missouri and director of Charles W. Gehrke Proteomics Center located in Bond Life Sciences Center. Depending on the day, Greenlief could be found many places on campus, but his favorite part of MU is working with students. “They keep things going; they keep things fresh,” he said. Through all aspects of his roles on campus, there exists an underlying…
March 14, 2019
Pumping Iron: Leaves play a larger role in controlling how plants absorb micronutrients
By Mariah Cox | Bond LSC How do plants take up and use iron? For David Mendoza, a scientist at Bond Life Sciences Center, it’s not an inconsequential question. He works to decipher the answer in an effort to better fortify the food we eat. “We need to understand how plants accumulate iron,” Mendoza said. “Iron is really important for plants and for us because iron is a critical part of proteins that help produce energy, especially for plants in photosynthesis. Without iron, plants are sick. Without iron, we get sick.” His most recent published work further…
March 8, 2019
#IAmScience Amith Reddy
Mariah Cox | Bond LSC Amith Reddy has been in academia for some time and doesn’t plan to leave anytime soon. With two master’s degrees under his belt, Reddy is only a few months away from completing his Ph.D. in plant sciences. Reddy began his secondary education career in India where he spent most of his life before moving to New Mexico for his second master’s. He cites the hands-on application of science that he first began to experience at the Directorate of Sorghum Research in India as the turning point of his interest in plant sciences.
Feb. 28, 2019
#IAmScience Yul Eum Song
By Danielle Pycior | Bond LSC As an undergraduate student, Yul Eum Song had experiences that put her on a path to help create change. Now as an experienced and educated doctoral researcher, she studies the mechanisms of retroviruses in the lab of Bond LSC’s Marc Johnson, and she continues to love science and the way it answers questions and positively influences the world. “I like viruses because they can be deadly, so it’s really fascinating for humans to learn about,” Song said. Song received her undergraduate degree from Dongguk University in Korea. Though she…
Feb. 27, 2019
B TrCP protein required for HIV to hide in host cells
Researchers are one step closer to understanding HIV By Danielle Pycior | Bond LSC Usually, the human immune system is good at recognizing infected cells and then killing them, but in the case of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus has ways to hide. One of the ways is by using a viral protein called Vpu. Vpu helps HIV survive by hiding the fact that it is infected from its host cells. For the past few years, researchers at the University of Missouri have helped uncover how this works. “If you delete Vpu, those virus-infected cells…
Feb. 15, 2019
#IAmScience Frank Baker
By Danielle Pycior | Bond Life Sciences Center With eyes wide open, glued to metal tubes, researchers from across the University of Missouri’s campus are searching for answers that are unseeable to the unequipped human eye. The Molecular Cytology Core is a resource for anyone to come and further understand their research. The Core’s Imaging Specialist, Frank Baker, has been an intermediary between the facilities equipment and researchers for four years. Molecular cytology is the localization of molecules within the cell. In other words, researchers look at molecular methods occurring to understand cellular functions.
Feb. 13, 2019
What makes us trust science?
Mariah Cox | Bond LSC When Simine Vazire began teaching undergraduate research methods she focused on its difference from pseudo-science or nonscience, the value of the scientific method and the notion that science is self-correcting. However, it became harder for her to teach that lesson with a clear conscience as she began to grapple with issues of credibility and replicability in the field of psychology with her own research. “Credibility is arguably the eye of the storm of the in the replication crisis. I didn’t call this the replication crisis in psychological science because that’s pretty controversial,”…
Feb. 8, 2019
#IAmScience Ashley Meyer
Mariah Cox | Bond LSC Situated in the Bond Life Sciences Center is an almost empty research lab on the fourth floor, which to some may look like an end but is really just a new beginning. Inside you may find a few boxes of gloves, a stack of brightly colored test tube racks and a sole thermocycler sitting on the lab bench. You’ll also find Ashley Meyer, the first researcher hired on by Wes Warren. “This is a brand-new lab. Dr. Warren came from Washington University in Saint Louis, and he didn’t bring anything with him…
Jan. 30, 2019
The start of an academic relationship
Joint recruitment weekend welcomes prospective grad students to MU family By Danielle Pycior | Bond LSC As laughter and conversation began to fill the hall with the arrival of graduate students from across the country, new relationships began to form. Entering its 10th year, the annual Graduate Life Sciences Joint Recruitment Weekend continues a unique recruitment tradition at the University of Missouri that has only grown with time. Chris Pires, a Bond Life Sciences Center investigator, professor of biological sciences and associate dean for research in MU’s College of Arts and Science, has utilized the event every…