News
April 11, 2023
Yang uses CRISPR-Cas9 technology to fight bacterial infections in plants
Bing Yang, a Bond Life Sciences Center researcher and MU professor of plant sciences. | Photo by Josie Heimsoth By Josie Heimsoth | Bond LSC When it comes to making better crops, CRISPR-Cas9 based gene editing have revolutionized plant science with its ability to more precisely and quickly alter plant DNA. But the technology can also aid researchers in finding weaknesses in the enemies of crops like rice. Bing Yang, a Bond Life Sciences Center researcher and MU professor of plant sciences, recently used the genome editing tool to modify bacteria responsible for rice blight, and it…
April 7, 2023
#IAmScience Clement Bagaza
By Sarah Kiefer Arabidopsis may just look like a small, kelly-green weed to the naked eye, but this plant holds a particular importance in the lab. For first-generation college student, Clement Bagaza, it’s part of why he moved to the United States. Coming from Rwanda, Africa, he found an opportunity to study plants and experience a different lifestyle than the one he would have had back home. He now studies seed amino acid regulation in the Ruthie Angelovici lab at Bond LSC. “When I came here, I didn’t know where to go. I thought working…
April 3, 2023
Gangwani joins Bond LSC to expand neurodegenerative research for Mizzou Forward
Bond Life Sciences principal investigator, Laxman Gangwani. | Photo by Josie Heimsoth, Bond LSC By Josie Heimsoth | Bond LSC Laxman Gangwani had a choice to make in January of last year. His old friend, Chris Lorson had an opportunity at MU that was difficult to pass up. Gangwani and Lorson, principal investigator at Bond Life Sciences Center and professor of veterinary pathobiology, have known each other for more than 20 years while they were post-docs in different labs in Massachusetts. They would attend conferences for families with children diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy across the United…
March 24, 2023
#IAmScience Kristyn Conrad
By Sarah Kiefer Whether it’s on the tennis court or in the lab, Kristyn Conrad keeps a firm grip on her plans for the future. One way she maintains her goal-oriented mindset is in the lab doing cancer research. “This type of work makes me feel amazing. I don’t know how else to describe it, to be honest; it’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” Conrad said. “The main reason I got into research was to do cancer work. Throughout the years, I’ve always wanted to do something that could benefit a lot of people.”…
March 17, 2023
#IAmScience Dario Alavez Mercado
By Sarah Kiefer | Bond LSC With a few clicks and taps on a cellphone, the timeline of a seedling of corn is preserved forever. Dario Alavez Mercado is responsible for this simple yet effective method of recording the growth of corn from seedling to maturity. “I know that only by understanding the things that surround us and trying to solve problems with the help of the scientific method, will we be a society better prepared to face the challenges that will come in the future,” Alavez Mercado said. The research assistant…
March 10, 2023
#IAmScience Shin-Ichiro Agake
By Sarah Kiefer | Bond LSC It may have taken almost three years, but Shin-Ichiro Agake made it back to the Prof. Gary Stacey lab. The Japanese native had his study abroad cut short in 2020, sending him packing, and a lot happened in that time. He got married, has a five-month-old baby, earned his Ph.D., and became an assistant professor. “At the time I was disappointed that my research had been put on hold, but after that I tried to look ahead to the future and how I can go back to the United States again,…
March 2, 2023
Scientists discovered a NEET connection in leaf-specific iron deficiency responses
By Josie Heimsoth and Cara Penquite | Bond LSC David Mendoza unflinchingly faces the “black box” of plant science everyday, asking the question, ‘how do plants know if they don’t have enough nutrients?’ Mendoza’s study of micronutrients — elements vital to plant health and energy but only present in small quantities — led him to iron and a collaboration with Ron Mittler on a $1.2 million grant. The grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation in October 2022 to advance the understanding of autonomous leaf-specific iron deficiency responses. “For iron, the window between being…
Feb. 24, 2023
#IAmScience Leah Whitley
By Sarah Kiefer | Bond LSC When cold and dry air collide in a battle of wind and debris, a tornado begins to form. This process got Leah Whitley into the field of science, intrigued with how things materialize in the world. “I’ve always had a fascination with how things build up, and how everything has to come together to produce the weather, and that’s what interested me in science” Whitley said. Between meteorology, anesthesiology and more, Whitley found a premed academic track, studying biological sciences, to be the path that’s stuck thus far and one that can…
Feb. 24, 2023
Bond LSC researchers recognized among most cited scientists of 2022
Bond Life Sciences principal investigators Bing Yang (left) and Ron Mittler (right) are recognized for making the Highly Cited Research List by Clarivate. | Photos by Erica Overfelt, Bond LSC. By Josie Heimsoth | Bond LSC Science builds on the work of all those experiments that come before, so it’s no surprise that being frequently cited is an honor that reflects on the quality and importance of a researcher’s work. Two members of Bond Life Sciences Center once again join a list of the most Highly Cited Researchers for 2022. Bing Yang…
Feb. 17, 2023
#IAmScience Adam Shoemaker
By Sarah Kiefer | Bond LSC With each fresh streak of transformed E. coli cells growing in a Petri dish, Adam Shoemaker finds a bigger purpose in the lab work he is doing every day. “I’ve always had the philosophy that I want to have the world be a better place when I’m gone because of my work, and anything I can do to contribute towards that is work that I’m interested in,” Shoemaker said. Missouri born and raised, Shoemaker is doing essential research that yields results with time and dedication. Although now working…
Feb. 10, 2023
#IAmScience Roberto Nascimento
By Sarah Kiefer | Bond LSC Roberto Nascimento believes a personal touch led him to where he is today. Nascimento found it essential to reach out via email to the programs where he might land, which is something many of his peers questioned. But, Nascimento saw it very clearly. “If you don’t try, you already have the no. If you take a chance, you might get it. It’s always worth trying,” Nascimento said. One of those emails and a desire to combine new skills with his previous experience in mass spectrometry led him to become a…
Feb. 3, 2023
#IAmScience Barbara Sumner
By Sarah Kiefer | Bond LSC Barbara Sumner grew up in Houston, Texas, and discovered her enthusiasm for chemistry in high school, captivated by how chemical processes can explain how things work in our everyday lives. “It was a subject that I just really loved,” Sumner stated. Sumner originally pursued chemical engineering in college, which she thought she would love because of how much she liked piecing things back together or fixing problems that arise in an experiment. But after deciding she enjoyed learning about the detailed understanding provided by the fundamental chemistry more than…