KU Molecular Biosciences
We are an interdisciplinary group of faculty who perform cutting edge research in a wide range of areas including biochemistry, biophysics, structural biology, bioinformatics, cancer biology, genetics, genomics, immunology, microbiology, virology, neurobiology, molecular, cellular and developmental biology.
Yinglong Miao (assistant professor) received a grant from the National Science Foundation, “A public workflow for predicting peptide binding structures” (Number: 2121063, role: PI), 09/01/21 - 08/31/24.
Liang Xu received an award from The Midwest Biomedical Accelerator Consortium (MBArC), an NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) program, entitled: “Improve cancer immunotherapy by targeting RNA-binding protein HuR”. MBArC bridges the gap between academic research and industry by providing proof-of-concept funding and training to researchers to perform experiments and generate data that can attract follow-on funding from federal sources, investors and strategic partners to continue commercialization of the technology. KU provides 1:1 matching fund to the project.
Ilya Vakser received a competing renewal of NIH R01 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, entitled Integrated Resource for Protein Recognition Studies. He also received a grant from the KU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences within Research Excellence Initiative (REI), entitled Deep Learning of the Cell.
Undergraduate Programs
We sponsor several undergraduate degrees covering a variety of current topics in the life sciences, from single molecules, to cells, development, and disease. Find more information regarding our majors.
Graduate Program
Our graduate program in life sciences research is designed to provide world-class training in both the classroom and research laboratory to prepare students for the next stage of their careers.Presentations
Tony Fehr (assistant professor) gave an invited talk entitled “On the Battlefront: Host PARPs vs the Coronavirus Macrodomain” to the Biology Department at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Virtual. January 21, 2021, and the same seminar to the Department of Biology at Kansas State University. Virtual. February 1, 2021.
Josephine R. Chandler (associate professor) November 18, 2020. Brazilian Society for Microbiology Workshop on Pathogenesis (virtual meeting). Invited oral presentation. “Bacterial social behavior: communication, cooperation and conflict among microbes"
Dan Dixon (professor) gave an invited talk entitled “Control of exosome secretion by the RNA-binding protein HuR“ for the Kansas City VA Life Science Seminar Series, Kansas City, MO, January 21, 2021 (Virtual)
Publications
Shamal M. Gunawardhana, Erik D. Holmstrom (2021) Apolar chemical environments compact unfolded RNAs and can promote folding.Biophysical Reports
Ly CY, Yu C, McDonald PR, Roy A, Johnson DK, Davido DJ (2021) Simple and rapid high-throughput assay to identify HSV-1 ICP0 transactivation inhibitors.Antiviral Res.
Schultz CW, Dhir T, McCarthy GA, Nevler A, DuHadaway JB, McCoy MD, Jiang W, Brown SZ, Goetz A, Jain A, Calvert VS, Vishwakarma V, Wang D, Dang H, Cassel J, Summer R, Shaghaghi H, Pommier Y, Baechler AS, Pishvaian MJ, Golan T, Yeo CJ, Petricoin EF, Prendergast GC, Salvino JM, Singh PK, Dixon DA and Brody JR (2021) The FDA approved anthelmintic Pyrvinium Pamoate inhibits pancreatic cancer cells in nutrient depleted conditions by targeting the mitochondria.Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.
Keffeler EC, Iyer VS, Henderson AJ, Huck IL, Schwarting N, Cortez A, Hancock LE (2021) Activity of CcpA-regulated GH18 family glycosyl hydrolases that contribute to nutrient acquisition and fitness in Enterococcus faecalis.Infect Immun.
Keffeler EC, Parthasarathy S, Abdullahi ZH, Hancock LE (2021)Metabolism of poly-β1,4-N-acetylglucosamine substrates and importation of N-acetylglucosamine and glucosamine by Enterococcus faecalis. J Bacteriol.
Parthasarathy S, Wang X, Carr KR, Varahan S, Hancock EB, Hancock LE (2021)SigV mediates lysozyme resistance in Enterococcus faecalis via RsiV and PgdA.J Bacteriol.