University of Missouri

Dec. 8, 2017

Madeline McFarland #IAmScience

Madeline McFarland, a senior biochemistry major, works in the Burke Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC Science isn’t limited to the lab. It’s more of a mindset than a discipline, and Madeline McFarland knows this all too well. As a senior biochemistry major working in Donald Burke’s lab in Bond LSC, McFarland experiments with ribonucleic acid (RNA) to study the origin of life before DNA and protein served as genetic material and catalyst, respectively. “I’m interested in the RNA World Hypothesis and how RNA may have played a role in getting…

Dec. 6, 2017

Inside agriculture’s hottest controversy: dicamba

A soybean plant grows in the Bond Life Sciences Center’s greenhouse. | Photo by Samantha Kummerer, Bond LSC. By Samantha Kummerer, Bond Life Sciences Center Every summer, MU Bond Life scientists Gary and Bing Stacey plant soybeans. In the summer of 2016, they were testing mutant crops’ tolerance to different herbicides. Among the multiple weed killers tested was one called dicamba. The researchers knew this particular chemical was tricky so they turned to an expert to apply it, MU herbicide researcher Kevin Bradley. The next morning, a soybean breeder with a neighboring plot discovered his soybeans…

Dec. 4, 2017

German heart and lung researcher speaks at Bond LSC

Scientist Thomas Braun speaks at Bond LSC about skeletal muscle regeneration. Braun is the director of the Max-Planck Institute that studies the heart,lungs and blood vessels.| Photo by Samantha Kummerer, Bond LSC By: Samantha Kummerer, Bond LSC Thomas Braun, a researcher with the German-based Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, visited MU for a Bond Life Sciences and Mizzou Advantage seminar. The Max Planck Institute aims to find treatment for heart and lung disease. Part of its research focuses on stem cells and how they can decrease damage done to patients’ tissues who suffer…

Dec. 1, 2017

Makenzie Mabry #IAmScience

Makenzie Mabry, a Ph.D. candidate, works in the Pires Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC For Makenzie Mabry, every day is a new puzzle when it comes to science. That desire to solve new problems led her from wanting to be a veterinarian to considering much less cuddly focus in plants. “I think the beautiful thing about research is that it evolves itself,” Mabry said. Although she had an acceptance letter to vet school in tow, she altered her career path to work with a new passion: plants. That led her…

Nov. 30, 2017

Celebrating a mystery solved

Roberts honored for breakthrough discovery in reproductive biology 30 years ago By Eleanor C. Hasenbeck | Bond Life Sciences Center In 1987, Michael Roberts published a groundbreaking discovery that changed the world of reproductive biology research. Roberts and members of his lab discovered that a type of protein, an interferon, impacted how the bodies of animals such as sheep, goats and cows, recognized an embryo early in pregnancy. Previously thought to only be a part of a cell’s immune system response, this new signaling role changed the field. In honor of his lab’s groundbreaking discovery,…

Nov. 29, 2017

Engineering the Immune System

Chemical engineering students Caitlin Leeper and Rui Zhang work in Bret Ulery lab. The lab conducts innovative research combining chemical engineering with immunology.| Photo by Samantha Kummerer, Bond LSC.   Saturday Morning Science talks engineering our next defense By: Samantha Kummerer, Bond LSC Saturday Morning Science brings science to the people, bagels included. In an effort to highlight this outreach effort, we’re profiling a recent SMS speaker who talked about … well, read for yourself below. Inside your body is a complex network of interlocking biological pieces. Tissues, cells and organs are consistently working together…

Nov. 22, 2017

Kris Budd #IAmScience

Kris Budd, a Ph.D. candidate in Lori Eggert’s lab, works with Bond LSC to track elephant DNA in Southeast Asia. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I have the ability to transform the fate of endangered species.” If someone had told Kris Budd that she’d be investigating elephant feces on daily basis in her Ph.D. program, she wouldn’t have bought it. If they’d said she’d realize it’s a passion of hers, she would’ve been in shock. As a third year Ph.D. candidate in Lori Eggert’s lab, Budd is able to do meaningful…

Nov. 17, 2017

A zebrafish’s empty stomach can help scientists understand brain function

A new test can show how much a zebrafish larva has eaten. This basic information could be crucial to upcoming discoveries. A zebrafish swims in its tank. Understanding how zebrafish move can give researchers insight into how certain diseases impact human motion. Photo courtesy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. By Eleanor C. Hasenbeck | Bond Life Sciences Until now, it was hard to know when a zebrafish larva had a full stomach. Researchers in Anand Chandrasekhar’s Lab at the Bond Life Sciences Center are studying the networks of neurons that control the…

Nov. 17, 2017

Lisa Caesar #IAmScience

Lisa Caesar is a biological sciences Ph.D. candidate who works in Laura Schulz’s lab. | photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC   “#IAmScience because education and my pursuit of learning became my ticket out of poverty and a way that I can really help others.” “Mother knows best” rings true for Gerialisa Caesar. In her family, the career options were either to be a lawyer, engineer or doctor. But with little interest in law and a greater love for science than math, Caesar decided to pursue her doctorate. “I graduated high school at 16 fully…

Nov. 14, 2017

Dr. Burke wins Distinguished Professor Award

Donald Burke-Agüero stands in his office in Bond LSC, holding a model of an RNA protein structure. Burke-Agüero studies the bio-chemical functions of RNA, and how those functions might be able to be artificially designed or replicated. | Phillip Sitter, Bond LSC By Samantha Kummerer, Bond LSC “He’s a triple threat in science,” Bond Life Sciences researcher David Pintel said. Donald Burke’s combination of scientific excellence, caring mentorship and devotion to the University of Missouri led Pintel to nominate Burke for the 2017 William H. Byler Distinguished Professor Award. The university agreed, awarding him the…

Nov. 10, 2017

Julia Brose #IAmScience

Julia Brose is a senior studying biochemistry at Mizzou. She works in Chris Pires lab in Bond LSC. | Photo by Allison Scott, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I really enjoy discovering and being around people who cultivate a positive learning environment.” As a freshman at Mizzou four years ago, Julia Brose knew she had a love for plants. That, however, competed with her fascination with biochemistry. Luckily, she found and was selected for FRIPS, Freshman Research in Plant Sciences, which allowed her to do both. The program is made up of 10 freshman each year…

Nov. 3, 2017

Marianne Emery #IAmScience

Marianne Emery is a Ph.D. candidate in Ruthie Angelovici’s Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison, Bond LSC “#IAmScience because it leads to innovation that makes for a better world, which is an awesome thing to be a part of.” It’s good to have a role model, and Marianne Emery has always looked up to female pioneer scientists. One of her favorites is Barbara McClintock, a Nobel prize winning botantist who studied how the chromosomes of corn change during reproduction. It is from women like McClintock that Emery is encouraged to always be impactful…