We have exciting new for Illinois Brain researchers who are interested in pursuing large-scale research proposals! IHSI is thrilled to announce Brain Health Center Proposal Planning Grants for Illinois researchers working in the broad area of brain health!

Better understanding cancer, one paper at a time 🔬📝 Neha Chetlangia and Dr. Supriya Prasanth discovered that the ORCA protein plays an integral role in affecting when osteosarcoma cells replicate. (story at the link in bio) #cancerresearch #osteosarcoma🎗 #ILLINOIS #womeninstem

One day, Pallob Barai was scrolling The Human Protein Atlas when something caught his eye: TARS1 was correlated with poor patient survival rates in multiple cancers. 🧪 Stumbling upon those data would lead to discovering a new mechanism that causes some cancers to become aggressive. (link in bio)

Congratulations to all of our fantastic students who were recently honored at the 2025 School of MCB Biochemistry Awards!! 🧬🎉 In addition to our speakers we had students earn awards for research fellowships, travel grants, external fellowships, excellence in teaching and undergraduate service.

Cancer is to hypoxia as MCB research is to a breath of fresh air 🔬 New research from KV Prasanth lab spearheaded by You Jin Song explores how nuclear speckles and the non-coding RNA "MALAT1" regulate genes when cells are deprived of oxygen, causing cancers to grow. 🧬 #MolBiol (story link in bio)

We are excited to announce the winners of our Life Inspiring art competition! We received so many stunning images across the School of MCB community 🧪🧬 #microsky #neuroskyence

To first understand #alzheimers, we have to understand the brain's circuitry. That's why MCB professor Boxuan Zhao and his collaborators mapped neurons in mouse brains by tagging them with molecular “barcodes.” 🧪 #neuroskyence 🔗 Story link in bio. ✍️: Liz Ahlberg Touchstone. 🖼️: Michael Vincent.

🚨New publication!🚨 A research group co-led by #ILLINOIS predict that the adaptable archaea Nitrosopumilus maritimus will play a key role in shaping ocean biodiversity as the climate changes. 🧪 🔗Story link in bio. #MicroSky #newresearch #archaea #microbiology #climatechange

A picture is worth a thousand words or, in this case, billions of calculations. With help from @ncsaatillinois.bsky.social, Drs. Emad Tajkhorshid, Hale Şiir Hasdemir, and PhD candidates Yupeng Li and Carlos Cuellar revealed how membrane transport proteins in E. coli function. (Story link in bio)

In their new study, Dr. Hee Jung Chung's lab wanted to know when and why seizures occur in Alzheimer’s patients. “Can we stop it? If so, does that mitigate dementia risk and disease progression?” they asked. What they found: mcb.illinois.edu/news/2026-02... #Alzheimers #neuroscience #ILLINOIS

How can you leverage data to identify, treat, and manage health and disease? How are large biological datasets transforming research and industry? How can scientists enable efficient and accurate management of massive amounts of technical and biological data?

Celebrating a few of our creative, hard-working undergraduate researchers who earned awards at the campus symposium earlier this year. mcb.illinois.edu/news/2025-07...

Undergrad research shines at campus symposium | School of Molecular & Cellular Biology | Illinois

The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce that several students won awards at the 2025 University of Illinois Undergraduate Research Symposium earlier this year.

mcb.illinois.edu

How does regeneration come to a successful close when a tissue has healed? New research from @rachelsmithbolton.bsky.social explores this question in an article in Science Advances: go.mcb.illinois.edu/sbJune2025 #drosophila #regeneration #ILLINOIS

Fruit fly study reveals a gene’s hidden ability to keep regrowth on the right track | School of Molecular & Cellular Biology | Illinois

Regeneration, the ability to heal damaged or lost tissues, is both everyday and a real life superpower.

go.mcb.illinois.edu

#Illinois researchers have successfully treated a common type of colorectal cancer tumor with a cholesterol inhibitor drug, demonstrating a promising treatment for the disease in animal experiments. The study was published in Nature Chemical Biology: go.mcb.illinois.edu/623 @nelsonlab.bsky.social

Colorectal cancer treated with cholesterol inhibitor in U. of I. study | School of Molecular & Cellular Biology | Illinois

University of Illinois researchers have successfully treated a common type of colorectal cancer tumor with a cholesterol inhibitor drug, demonstrating a promising treatment for the disease in animal experiments.

mcb.illinois.edu

Dr. Anirudh Acharya is investigating how a key protein may influence brain plasticity and energy regulation in Fragile X syndrome, a leading inherited cause of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder.

👏 A round of applause for Dr. Stephanie Ceman, professor of cell & developmental biology, chosen for a campus teaching award! 🏆 💙 🧡 #welldeserved news.illinois.edu/awards-honor...

Some notoriously difficult to treat infections may not be as resistant to antibiotics as has been thought, according to new research from #ILLINOIS using a microfluidic device that more closely duplicates the fluid flow found in the body than standard cultures. go.mcb.illinois.edu/flow

“Yerba mate is a very important plant to South America. To be able to say that we now have its genome is very powerful. It allows for in-depth research of how these valuable metabolites are produced,” said Dr. Andrea Hernandez Garcia. go.mcb.illinois.edu/yerba

Genome map of yerba mate reveals insights into caffeine biosynthesis, paves way for new varieties  | School of Molecular & Cellular Biology | Illinois

A recent biochemistry PhD graduate was part of the team of researchers to generate the first genome assembly of Yerba mate, a plant species and herbal tea native to South America.

go.mcb.illinois.edu

Dr. Haneui Bae’s interest in neuroscience was ignited in high school while reading Eric Kandel’s, In Search of Memory. Today she is a postdoc at Illinois investigating the mechanisms and implications of liver dysfunctions in myotonic dystrophy. go.mcb.illinois.edu/hbae

Fellowship recipient Dr. Haneui Bae explores liver dysfunctions in Myotonic Dystrophy | School of Molecular & Cellular Biology | Illinois

Shaped by a lifelong curiosity about the brain and a drive to make a tangible impact in medicine, Dr. Haneui Bae investigates the mechanisms and implications of liver dysfunctions in myotonic dystroph...

go.mcb.illinois.edu

Current treatment options for metastatic breast cancer are limited, but targeting cholesterol metabolism is a promising option for new therapeutics. go.mcb.illinois.edu/cholesterol

Cholesterol and cancer: Q&A with the Nelson Lab | School of Molecular & Cellular Biology | Illinois

Cholesterol is an essential lipid that plays a critical role in hormone production, digestion, and immune function.

go.mcb.illinois.edu

Meet Pallob, a Cell & Dev. Biology PhD student who focuses on muscle regeneration and the role of a protein called threonyl-tRNA synthetase (TARS) in cancer. When not in the lab, you can find him running through the streets of Champaign-Urbana.

We are grateful to have so many inspiring, accomplished, and generous alumni. In a little over a month we will celebrate two of them: Michelle Barton and Keith Westcott. The biochemistry alumni have been selected for College of Liberal Arts & Sciences alumni awards! las.illinois.edu/news/2025-02...

New research from the Ceman Lab will enhance scientists’ understanding of brain development and provide insight into the ways fear memory can plague individuals with autism, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. go.mcb.illinois.edu/memory

From his medical training in Nigeria to his current research on myonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), ‘Fola Adesanya is working to better understand how diseases work at a molecular level and the development of new potential treatments.

"We still have a long way to go, but I believe that unlocking the immune system is going to revolutionize our ability to treat the disease." Shout out to Erik Nelson and team @nelsonlab.bsky.social #inspiring

Nelson Lab, UIUC@nelsonlab.bsky.social · last yr.

A bit after-the-fact, but thanks to WAND -TV for highlighting our work! www.wandtv.com/news/u-of-i-...

The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is hiring a lecturer of physiology and human anatomy. Please share with potential applicants! The deadline to apply is March 7, 2025. go.mcb.illinois.edu/anatomy

A truly heartening 'fireside chat' today with Dr. Anthony Fauci! “The future of science and medicine is bright even though we are in an arena of anti-science … The fact is the opportunities in science are really extraordinary.”

Congratulations to Dr. Ceman on a well-deserved award!

“Meet the Microbiologist" podcast recently featured our very own Brenda Wilson and Brian Ho. They spoke about the inspiration behind the book, Revenge of the Microbes, and offered insights on antimicrobial resistance and what is needed to improve the situation. asm.org/Podcasts/MTM... #AMR

New research from the Kalsotra lab provides insight into maturation and specialization of the fetal liver and offers valuable information to the field of regenerative medicine. Their findings were published in @genesdev.bsky.social go.mcb.illinois.edu/liver Congrats, @kalsotra-lab.bsky.social!