New leadership for Pulmonary Center of Excellence
Harry Karmouty-Quintana, PhD, associate professor and fellow of the William S. Kilroy, Sr. Distinguished University Chair in Pulmonary Disease, has been appointed director of the Pulmonary Center of Excellence. With faculty appointments in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology…
Jayaraman awarded $3.5 million grant
A five-year, nearly $3.5 million grant to study the mechanisms of brain receptors involved in neurological disorders such as learning disabilities has been awarded to Vasanthi Jayaraman, PhD, professor and John S. Dunn Chair in the Department of Biochemistry and…
Five McGovern postdocs win President’s research awards
The Postdoctoral Association and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at UTHealth Houston have named five McGovern Medical School postdoctoral research fellows as the winners of the 2022 President’s Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Research. This year’s winners (and their mentors)…
Researchers discover novel light-gated potassium channel
A key approach to understanding the brain is to observe the behavioral effects of turning on specific populations of neurons. One of the most popular approaches to controlling neuronal activity in model systems is called optogenetics and depends on expressing…
Dowhan honored by the Biophysical Society for work in membrane protein research
William Dowhan, PhD, professor and John S. Dunn Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, received the 2022 Anatrace Membrane Protein Award at the Biophysical Society national meeting in February. The award and invited lecture were established to recognize an outstanding…
Dowhan retires after half-century of service
In his 50th year of service to McGovern Medical School and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, William Dowhan, PhD, professor and John S. Dunn Endowed Chair in Biochemistry and Molecular…
Koehler, Jayaraman earn AAAS Fellowship
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has named Theresa Koehler, PhD, and Vasanthi Jayaraman, PhD, as part of their 2021 Class of AAAS Fellows. AAAS Fellows are a distinguished cadre of scientists, engineers, and innovators, who have been recognized…
Zheng receives $1.3 million R01 grant
Lei Zheng, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology received a $1.3 million R01 grant for his project titled “Structure and Function of a Metabolic Pacemaker in Bacterial Cell Membrane.” The 4-year grant is funded Aug….
Li research featured in three publications
In an effort to decipher the functional roles and mechanisms of non-coding DNAs and RNAs, Wenbo Li, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has published scientific papers in three separate publications throughout 2021. “The human…
Dowhan named ASBMB Fellow
William Dowhan, PhD, professor and John S. Dunn Endowed Chair in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has been inducted into the first class of Fellows of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). Dowhan joined…