University of Missouri

Nov. 4, 2022

Complementary Crafts: New Bond LSC investigators bring dual microbiology projects to the center

By Cara Penquite | Bond LSC Wendy and Bill Picking tackle a stomach-churning area of science. Fascinated by the bacterium responsible for bacillary dysentery, Bill studies its structure and function, while Wendy aims to use information on that same bacterium for healing. “I do the vaccine stuff, but he’s a protein chemist. So the proteins are what keep us together,” Wendy said. As two of Bond LSC’s newest investigators, the couple brings pathogenic microbiology expertise to the center. Their hiring is part of MizzouForward, an investment that aims to elevate and promote the University of…

Oct. 11, 2022

Mendoza lab receives $200,000 Pew Charitable Trusts grant for plant microbe nutrition collaboration

Pew Charitable Trusts may be best known for its non-partisan think tank subsidiary that focuses on demographic and social science issues, but its mission to improve public policy and inform bleeds over into support for science. David Mendoza — a Bond Life Sciences Center principal investigator and associate professor of plant sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources — received a $200,000 grant for biomedical sciences from the Pew Charitable Trusts. “To have people you need plants, so if we manage to engineer better and more nutritious plants, the chances of improving…

Sep. 30, 2022

#IAmScience: Jaime Barros-Rios

By Cara Penquite | Bond LSC When Jaime Barros-Rios explains his work to others, he says he studies how plants make wood. All plants — from oaks down to daffodils and clovers — do, in fact, make wood …. or at least components of it. That component is lignin, a functional unit of plant cell walls and wood. Barros-Rios studies it as he learns the ins and outs of research at Bond LSC in hopes of potentially holding a faculty position at MU as part of the Preparing Future Faculty – Faculty Diversity (PFFFD) postdoctoral program.

Sep. 15, 2022

Becoming distinguished: Mittler awarded Board of Curators’ academic honor

By Roger Meissen | Bond LSC Bond Life Sciences Center’s Ron Mittler was recently named Curators’ Distinguished Professor by the University of Missouri System Board of Curators. This top honor is bestowed on professors for outstanding scholarship who have established substantial reputations within their field. “I am honored. Mizzou is such an amazing, supportive, and collaborative research environment and I feel lucky being here,” Mittler said. “I enjoy every moment working at Bond LSC.” Mittler’s research substantially focuses on the role reactive oxygen species (ROS) play in the regulation of different biological processes. While ROS can be…

Sep. 13, 2022

Structural change: Singh moves into Bond LSC Investigator role with focus on drug and cellular interactions

By Cara Penquite | Bond LSC Kamlendra Singh sat down in his fourth floor office as a Bond LSC Investigator for the first time on September first after nearly 14 years at the Bond Life Sciences Center studying HIV, COVID-19 and how the right molecule can interact to fight disease. Designer compounds are Singh’s specialty, and as a new principal investigator he directs four projects on microscopic treatments for various diseases. He will also continue his work as Molecular Interactions Core Director alongside his new role. “Everyone [in the center] is such a tight community…

Aug. 26, 2022

#IAmScience: Negin Manshour

Negin Manshour first stepped into biology research as an engineering student using robotic algorithms to simulate proteins. When she left academia for her nine-year career developing elevator systems, her fascination with biology never faded. “I always had it in my mind that I wanted to work with proteins or biological concepts,” Manshour said. Manshour, a second year Ph.D. student in the Dong Xu lab at Bond LSC investigates formation and structures of certain molecules. She uses machine learning to design peptides, small chains of amino acids which combine into proteins – building blocks for cells –…

Aug. 17, 2022

Cutting into CRISPR: Walking through the process driving plant research

Gene-editing is the pinnacle of a biologist’s toolbox, but often left unexplained it seems more magic than science. Growing rice from a small cluster of cells to 4-foot stalks can take six-months or more of planning and careful nurture. But how do scientists change the intricate genetic material in each cell of the plants? The CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool changes a plant’s DNA. As Ph.D. student Ajay Gupta knows firsthand through work altering plants for the Bing Yang lab. “CRISPR is relatively new. It’s like 10 years old only and still we are working to modify it and improve it…

June 9, 2022

Stacked stress: climate escalation increasingly compound plant mortality

By Karly Balslew | Bond LSC If the world can be taxing on a person as pressure mounts, just think about how stress must feel to plants. Humans can add a layer of clothing when cold or get a glass of water when thirsty, but plants do not share this simple luxury and must endure whatever environment they sprout in. As climate change, pollutants, and extreme weather patterns escalate, this poses a serious global threat to plants and our food supply. Ron Mittler, a principal researcher at the Bond Life Sciences at the University of Missouri, recently…

May 12, 2022

Picture-Perfect Science: Contest highlights best microscopic images of the year

By Cara Penquite | Bond LSC One step into the Advanced Light Microscopy Core (ALMC) sounds an automated bell prompting Alexander Jurkevich, the core’s director, to step out of his corner office into the open square room. With a friendly smile, Jurkevich coordinates biologists across MU’s campus to reveal the wonders of the microscopic world. “Our mission is to provide researchers campus-wide with advanced microscopy instrumentation,” Jurkevich said. “We not only provide access to instrumentation, but we also train, advise users and support them during their early research at the core.” The core hosts an annual image contest celebrates MU…

April 8, 2022

#IAmScience: Dong Xu

Data connects all: ‘Champion collaborator’ Xu bridges research disciplines with bioinformatics By Cara Penquite | Bond LSC Dong Xu extracts wonder from numbers with a keyboard and eager teams of scientists at his fingertips. With his salt-and-pepper hair visible above the cubicle walls and his voice softly but steadily articulated, the beauty of bioinformatics takes shape in his mind although it might not be inherently evident in the rows of computers tucked into a small first floor lab. Xu weaves a multifaceted masterpiece of research methodologies and makes sense of a sea of data from cell…

March 24, 2022

Bond Welcomes New Principal Investigator John Driver

Photo by Roger Meissen By Karly Balslew | Bond LSC Pigs may have a reputation for being lazy and dirty but to immunologist John Driver, they are the key to understanding influenza in humans. “Pigs are a great animal to study influenza in because they are susceptible to getting the flu,” Driver said. “They are like a mixing vessel for influenza viruses.” Swine have their own strains of influenza virus but can also contract strains from other species like birds and humans. When that happens, these different flu viruses can recombine…

March 18, 2022

#IAmScience: Jiude Mao

By Cara Penquite | Bond LSC Learning has no borders for Jiude Mao. His inquisitive mindset drives him to cross research disciplines and countries chasing the answers to his questions. Mao studies mutations in the gene Ighmbp2 that result in spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type one (SMARD1) and Charcot Marie Tooth 2S (CMT2S) in the Chris Lorson lab. Mao’s research attempts to better understand the effects that different mutations have on disease severity and progression that could help develop treatment options to alleviate disease symptoms. The idea of finding treatment for a genetic disease…