University of Missouri

Feb. 6, 2017

Beginning of a journey

By Jinghong Chen | Bond Life Sciences Center Emily Million, a prospective biochemistry graduate student from Truman State University and Kevin Muñoz-Forti of University of Puerto Rico’s Pontifical Catholic University talk at the Graduate Life Sciences Joint Recruitment Weekend on February 4 after looking at posters about many different research programs and projects. | Roger Meissen, Bond LSC Nick Dietz was not certain where to start his research journey this time last year. But the atmosphere during a recruitment weekend nearly a year ago convinced him to pick MU over three other offers of…

Jan. 30, 2017

A plant remedy

MU Center for Agroforestry symposium talks medicinal plants By Jinghong Chen | Bond LSC Rob Riedel from Wild Ozark Ginseng Farm introduces their products at the agroforestry symposium on Jan. 26th, 2017 | photo by Jinghong Chen, Bond LSC Researchers, landowners and entrepreneurs converged at Bond Life Sciences Center to discuss current developments and topics in medicinal plants and agroforestry at the eighth UMCA Agroforestry Symposium. This daylong annual event, hosted by the Center for Agroforestry, took place on Thursday, Jan. 26. People have been using medicinal plants as natural remedies and medicines for thousands…

Nov. 10, 2016

Mizzou Epigenetics 2016

Five faculty speakers from five different universities, along with two trainees selected based on the merits of their poster abstracts, presented on current topics in epigenetics. The daylong symposium, titled Mizzou Epigenetics, took place on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at the Bond Life Sciences Center. Kenote speaker Dr. Jean-Pierre Issa talks about epigentic drift at the epigenetics symposium on Nov. 9th, 2016 | photo by Jen Lu, Bond LSC Dr. Jean-Pierre Issa of Temple University, the keynote speaker, said he was a stickler for the definition of classical epigenetics: stable, long-term changes in gene expression. Textbook examples…

Nov. 3, 2016

“Bucket” actor kicked Hollywood career, has enjoyed life in veterinary medicine

Dr. Peter Ostrum spoke at Bond LSC in celebration of World One Health Day By Phillip Sitter |Bond LSC Dr. Peter Ostrum, who once played the character of Charlie Bucket in 1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” —also starring the late Gene Wilder — smiles after giving a lecture to an audience at Monsanto Auditorium in Bond LSC. After “Willy Wonka,” Ostrum did not pursue acting further, and went into a career in veterinary medicine. | photo by Phillip Sitter, Bond LSC   The character of Charlie Bucket found his golden ticket to a happy…

Sep. 16, 2016

Saturday Morning Science returns to Bond LSC

This past weekend not only ushered in Mizzou’s first home game of the season, but the return of Saturday Morning Science. The weekly lecture series connects the Columbia community with MU scientists and their research, from bio-engineering to volcanology to anthropology and linguistics. Elizabeth G. Loboa, dean of the College of Engineering, kicked off the semester with her talk on tissue engineering in the age of drug-resistant bacteria. Tissue engineering is about turning cells into tissues and organs, for example, fat-derived stem cells into muscle, bone and cartilage. The tissues take shape on tiny scaffolds that are bio-compatible…

Aug. 15, 2016

Research Core offers new capabilities

Grand opening highlights specialty of large-scale metabolite profiling By Phillip Sitter | Bond LSC Dr. Zhentian Lei , assistant director and assistant research professor of the MU Metabolomics Center, provides an overview of an ultra high-pressure liquid chromatograph coupled to mass spectrometry for the large-scale profiling of metabolites at the University of Missouri Metabolomics Center open house on Aug. 12. | photo by Zivile Raskauskaite, Bond LSC You might think you’ve entered the inside of a pinball machine for a moment when you enter lab 243 at the Bond Life Sciences Center. But the wires…

June 29, 2016

Science on Tap CoMo serves up food for thought while you drink

Grad students present brain science, crop biology research in series kick-off By Phillip Sitter | MU Bond Life Sciences Center University of Missouri PhD student in biological sciences Nat Graham introduces the first Science on Tap CoMo event on the evening of Tuesday, June 28 at Ninth Street Public House. | photo by Phillip Sitter, Bond LSC You never know what conversations you might overhear at a bar. The talk centered on neural proteins and vitamin A-fortified bananas Tuesday night as about 40 science-minded people met at 9th Street Public House for the first Science on…

June 28, 2016

Symposium brings Columbia together around protecting native pollinators

By Zivile Raskauskaite | MU Bond Life Sciences Center The Mizzou Botanic Garden organized Native Pollinators Symposium in Columbia as a part of National Pollinators’ Week, which runs June 20-26. | photo by Zivile Raskauskaite, Bond LSC While walking through the A.L. Gustin Golf Course in Columbia you might be surprised by blossoms of milkweed or wild bergamot. While some golfers consider it a pests, golf course superintendent Isaac Breuer said properly managed wildflowers in the golf course turned into an important sanctuary for pollinators, such as bees, birds and butterflies.

June 23, 2016

More than meets the eye

Molecular Cytology Core magnifies scope of research By Phillip Sitter | MU Bond Life Sciences Center A sample is shown in the foreground that can be used in the digital light sheet microscope at MU’s Molecular Cytology Core as Anand Chandrasekhar explains how he uses it to study neuronal development in zebrafish. | photo by Roger Meissen, Bond LSC Microscopes have come a long way since Anton van Leeuwenhoek first looked at single-cell organisms in the 1600s. Now, cutting-edge microscopes allow scientists a better look at how cells interact and work. The results were easy to…

March 15, 2016

Climate change to heat up discussion at annual LSSP symposium

By Jennifer Lu | MU Bond Life Sciences Center Thinkstock by Getty Images Climate change is a pressing issue. Just last week, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine published a report linking climate change to extreme weather conditions such as heat waves, droughts, and heavy snows and rains. Globally, 2015 was the warmest year on record, according to climate updates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And January kicked off this year by logging temperatures exceeding those of all previous Januaries on record, a disturbing trend that’s persisted for nine…

Jan. 26, 2016

Bond Life Sciences Center Scientists Named to Thomson Reuters’ 2015 List of Highly Cited Researchers

By Bobby Remis | MU Bond Life Sciences Center You can imagine it’s hard to distinguish yourself from the crowd when it comes to scientific papers. But, publishing quality work in a well-known journal adds value to the whole scientific world by assisting others and inspiring new science. Three Bond LSC researchers recently were recognized for doing just that. Bond Life Sciences Center scientists Chris Pires, Shuqun Zhang and Yidong Liu are among five University of Missouri System researchers named in the 2015 Thomson Reuters’ Highly Cited Researchers list. This list spotlights the top 1 percent of papers published from nearly…

May 8, 2015

Unlocking plants’ metabolic thermostat — award-winning LSW posters

Matthew Salie would like to see chubbier plants. “You’ve probably never really seen a fat plant before, right?” said Salie, a fourth year MU graduate student in biochemistry­. “Humans, we make plenty of extra fat and store that as energy. But plants don’t really need to do that — they make just as much as they need, and that’s about it.” Salie studies plant metabolism with Bond LSC researcher Jay Thelen, an associate professor of biochemistry. He’s one of 25 winners honored for research presented during Missouri Life Sciences Week 2015. The Thelen lab looks for ways to increase the…