University of Missouri

Feb. 1, 2024

Revealing cancer: immunotherapy advancement makes cancer easier to find by immune system

Close up illustration of isolated cancer cells at molecular scale. | Adobe Stock Joint release by Hokkaido University, Toyo University and University of Missouri Researchers in Japan and the United States have developed a novel method for boosting the immune system’s capability to detect and eliminate cancer cells. This technology robustly augments the amount of an immune complex called MHC (major histocompatibility complex) class I in cancer cells. “Our discovery has the potential to transform the way we approach cancer treatment,” said Hokkaido University immunologist Koichi Kobayashi, who led the study. “Our innovative technology enables us to…

Jan. 9, 2024

Bond Life Sciences Center: A 20-year journey of scientific triumphs

From the fifth floor of the Bond LSC, one can look down and see the bridges that connect the facility and foster daily interactions and collaboration. |Photo by Beni Adelstein, Bond LSC By Beni Adelstein  When Julia Rodriguez walked into Bond Life Sciences Center in 2004, she and dozens of others were part of a new campus experiment. As an administrative staff member for the newly minted center, she had a big task ahead of her, but, as Bond LSC approaches its 20th anniversary, she thinks the trajectory and results largely accomplished their aims.

Dec. 13, 2023

MU researchers see future where gut microbiome could help detect colon cancer earlier

Lloyd Sumner (left) and James Amos-Landgraf teamed up to work on colon cancer research shortly after Sumner joined Bond LSC in 2016. | Photo by Sarah Kiefer, Bond LSC By Sarah Kiefer Could there be a better way to detect colon cancer than a colonoscopy? A less invasive test might depend on its association with microbes in the gut. University of Missouri researchers looked at the overall microbiome in a rat model of human colon cancer  to discern how differences in the bacteria affect adenomas, benign tumor growth that frequently is precursor to…

Dec. 10, 2023

Bond LSC researchers recognized among most cited scientists of 2023

Bond LSC principal investigators Bing Yang (left) and Ron Mittler were once again recognized on the list of Highly Cited Researchers. | photos by Roger Meissen, Bond LSC By Roger Meissen | Bond LSC Discoveries in research come with time, so the incremental accumulation of knowledge toward breakthroughs is fundamental to science and the future. While many contribute to this understanding, a few scientists consistently produce research that others note more often in their own experiments. Two University of Missouri Bond Life Sciences Center researchers once again landed on that list of most…

Dec. 8, 2023

OPEN leaf system offers affordable, automated option for plant data collection

Landon Swartz, a graduate research student at the University of Missouri in the David Mendoza-Cózatl  lab at Bond LSC, looks at the camera on the OPEN leaf machine and makes adjustments to the plant the robot is photographing. | Photo by Sarah Kiefer, Bond LSC By Sarah Kiefer The LED lights danced as the OPEN leaf system powered up. Quickly, the robot zips down the track to its preplanned destination, hovering above each plant sitting atop a 3D-printed mechanism, then the camera snaps a shot as it conducts this same routine every 30 minutes. …

Nov. 13, 2023

Libault returns to Bond LSC as plant scientist with single cell focus

Marc Libault, a new Bond LSC principal investigator and professor of professor of plant science and technology in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. | Photo by Sarah Kiefer, Bond LSC By Sarah Kiefer | Bond LSC Marc Libault only ended up one floor up from his old stomping ground in his recent move. Libault — the most recent MizzouForward hire at Bond Life Sciences Center — returned this fall to bring his expertise in plant single cell biology to MU. “What is exciting about this research is its innovation…

Nov. 7, 2023

How the tiger’s nose knows

The Bengal tiger was one of five feline lineages compared to gives a comprehensive look at genome sequence structures that could have driven the evolution of distinct cat species. This new reference genome is comparable to the human genome in terms of its completeness, and could be used to for feline veterinary precision health. Denise Allison Coyle/Shutterstock First-ever analysis compares nearly gapless genome across cat species and with humans to shine light on evolution By Roger Meissen | Bond LSC The tiger doesn’t know it, but a difference deep in its genome sets it apart from other cats. This…

Oct. 20, 2023

Protein Fusion as the Solution—Picking’s Path to Vaccine Development

  Wendy Picking, professor of veterinary pathobiology and principal investigator at Bond Life Sciences Center sits in her office and shows off some notes she jotted down about the vaccines she’s working on. | Photo by Beni Adelstein, Bond LSC By Beni Adelstein Wendy Picking uses the power of proteins to fight pesky pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Picking and her team are one step closer to completing their mission to develop weapons like vaccines to fight against this bacterium. In March, they published these findings in Nature’s Journal, npj Vaccines. “If your immune system is weakened…

Oct. 20, 2023

Baker lab IDs rare tuft cells in salivary glands that may prove significant in Sjögren’s disease

Lab of Olga Baker, a Bond LSC researcher and professor of otolaryngology at the University of Missouri. From left to right, Harim Tavares dos Santos, Olga Baker, Kihoon Nam, and Frank Maslow. | Photo by Sarah Kiefer, Bond LSC By Sarah Kiefer A digital declutter is a way to get rid of the seemingly endless files of old photos and documents, but when Harim Tavares dos Santos started sorting through computer files from the Baker Lab at Bond LSC, one image stood out and led him down a rabbit hole. The picture showed tuft cells, a rare…

Oct. 6, 2023

Ongoing vaccine projects address 100-year-old disease and others in fight against tick-borne diseases

Lab of Roman Ganta, Bond LSC principal investigator and McKee endowed professor of veterinary pathobiology. | Photo by Sarah Kiefer, Bond LSC By Sarah Kiefer It only takes a quiet walk through the Missouri woods to encounter ticks. As they crawl from the rich vegetation among the bushes and grass onto humans and animals alike, they wreak havoc on their hosts by passing on disease causing bacterial pathogens. One of those pathogens known to cause a 100-year-old disease is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). University of Missouri scientist, Roman Ganta, hopes to understand its inner workings to…

Sep. 28, 2023

Zooming in on the tools: T33 Secretion System

Zooming in on the tools: TS33 Secretion System William Picking standing next to a poster from his work in the Journal of Molecular Biology.  This diagram depicts the structure of protein PscK from the pathogen Pseudomonas Lanuginose, which is used in a system to inject toxins into immune cells. Images A and C depict the protein’s structure and image B shows how the protein is used with a secretion apparatus. Salmonella is one bacterium everyone’s heard of. It’s the scourge of meatpacking plants and involved in spinach recalls every year, causing unwelcome intestinal unrest and dangerous disease…

Sep. 19, 2023

Fellowship Spotlight: Cynthia Tang

Research skills aren’t built in a day, but Cynthia Tang’s diligence brought those skills to bear as she recently received an NIH fellowship to further her budding career in science. “Receiving the F30 fellowship means that the NIH sees value in my research proposal, in my training environment at the University of Missouri, and in my potential to become an independent physician-scientist,” said Tang, who works in Henry Wan’s lab at Bond LSC. ­ The F30 predoctoral fellowship supports the research of students pursuing M.D-Ph.Ds. These awards can help Tang and others pursue their passions…