Category Archives: Biochemistry

Biochemistry

Inaugural program with Fresno State, Rowan and Valdosta State universities spurs unforgettable summer of research – Princeton University

How can we create a diverse network of colleagues? That deceptively simple question sparked an "unforgettable" initiative from the Department of Chemistry:the inaugural Visiting Faculty Research Partnership (VFRP), which wrapped recently with a symposium and poster session that celebrated visiting professors and their undergraduates from Fresno State, Rowan and Valdosta State universities.

The two-month summer program draws faculty from moderate to small research institutions that serve historically underrepresented groups. This inaugural year provided research and stipend funding to three visiting faculty who each brought two undergraduates with them.

Visiting faculty in Princeton Chemistrys two-month Visiting Faculty Research Partnership, at Frick Laboratory. From left: Qiao-Hong Chen, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at California State University, Fresno; Tolulope Salami, professor in the Department of Chemistry at Valdosta State University; Rashanique Quarels, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Rowan University; and Princeton Chemistry Department Chair Gregory Scholes, the William S. Tod Professor of Chemistry.

Photo by

C. Todd Reichart, Department of Chemistry

The visitors paired up with Princeton faculty and embedded in labs, group meetings and workshops to complete research collaborations.

I am thrilled to see the positive impact Princeton Chemistrys VFRP had for all participating faculty and students, said Shawn Maxam, associate provost for diversity and inclusion. The relationships and collaborations developed seem to be exceptional. We know that talent exists everywhere, and our pursuit of academic excellence requires a robust engagement with diverse groups of scientists and scholars.

My gratitude to the department for launching this program. I am excited by the future opportunities for science and collaboration catalyzed by VFRP, he said.

The three visiting professors were Qiao-Hong Chen, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at California State University, Fresno; Rashanique Quarels, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Rowan University; and Tolulope Salami, professor in the Department of Chemistry at Valdosta State University.

VFRP is part of department chair Greg Scholes goal to open Princeton Chemistry to non-traditional routes of collaboration.

What a great response we got for this program. It says a lot that we could make three top-quality appointments that spanned three different labs in our department, said Scholes, the William S. Tod Professor of Chemistry. We imagine that the experience will enhance the visiting students applications for graduate school or employment, and that we have seeded productive, long-term connections with them.

Chen and her two students partnered with Erik Sorensen, the Arthur Allan Patchett Professor in Organic Chemistry, and his research group. After two months, Chen declared the program an exciting, unforgettable summer of research. Its been a great chance for me, for my two students who came with me, and my entire group at Fresno State. We were all so happy to do this.

A first-generation college student herself, Chen chose two undergraduates to accompany her whom she felt would most benefit from the opportunity: Jasmine Hang and first-generation college student Khamyl Cooksey, both of whom traveled to the East Coast for the first time.

Coming here pushed me a little bit more towards doing a Ph.D., said Hang. Im actually a biology major, so chemistry wasnt ever anything I was going to touch other than the classes I need to take. But I really enjoyed the hands-on part of the lab. So now, Im thinking maybe I can do research on campus.

Tolulope Salami (center) and his undergraduates Jayden Thomas (left) and Jodeci Mitchell (right) from Valdosta State University atttend the Summer Symposium Poster Session at Frick Laboratory.

Photo by

C. Todd Reichart, Department of Chemistry

I have loved every moment of it, she added. Being able to work here and be a part of the whole environment where everyone is so research-driven, it just makes it so much more impactful.

Said Cooksey: The Sorensen Lab was very welcoming. We got to talk to the postdocs and graduate students and hear a lot about the paths theyve taken. Its definitely given me the opportunity to explore my options.

Jodeci Mitchell, who visited with Salami from Valdosta, embedded with the Bocarsly Lab, the research group of Professor Andrew Bocarsly. This program has given me access to more diverse experimentation and different equipment. Using that knowledge is definitely going to be useful to my career, no matter what I decide to do, she said. The hands-on activity in the lab is definitely beneficial in that aspect. Just getting used to the lab environment in general has been wonderful.

Salami said he feels its important to continue learning throughout ones professional career, and he found the opportunity to do that with the Bocarsly Lab.

The students too, theyve been encouraged that they can do this, he said. They had some trepidation about coming to Princeton, but when they got here, it was like, Hmmm, I actually can do this. Were all just chemists. I think it has done a lot to build their confidence.

Quarels and her two students from Rowan University partnered with Rob Knowles, a professor of chemistry, and his research group. Quarles noted that the Knowles Lab has a piece of equipment integral to her research a cryocooler, a refrigerator designed to reach cryogenic temperatures that is not available at Rowan. Just being able to utilize some of the resources here at Princeton was a big check for me.

She added that one of the students who accompanied her, Jonathan Santoro, was up until this point a chemical engineering major at Rowan. Following this summers fellowship, he plans to change his major to chemistry full time and continue on the path to graduate school.

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Inaugural program with Fresno State, Rowan and Valdosta State universities spurs unforgettable summer of research - Princeton University

Biochemistry

The CHIPS and Science Act becomes law – ASBMB Today

President Joe Biden today signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act, which authorizes funding and policies to bolster American research and development and increase national science and technology competitiveness.

The act contains several provisions endorsed previously by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology:

The Bioeconomy Research and Development Act of 2021 will help to unify and strengthen bioengineering efforts across U.S. agencies.

The Restore and Modernize Our National Labs Act originally proposed $6.1 billion to repair and modernize U.S. national laboratories. The final legislation authorizes $4 billion across fiscal years 2023 to 2027.

The STEM Opportunities Actwill facilitate participation of historically marginalized groups in science, technology, engineering and math. Notably, the legislation contains language, for which the ASBMB advocated, to extend caregiving flexibilities to trainees, not only investigators awarded federal grants.

The Rural STEM Education Research Act supports rural communities access to STEM education and research through several mechanisms. The legislation includes the ASBMBs preferred language expanding investments in the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. This means that the National Science Foundation will increase the percentage of funds (to 20% from 13%) that go to emerging research institutions, many of which are in rural communities.

The majority of the MSI STEM Achievement Actwas included in the legislation. It will increase capacity and infrastructure at minority-serving institutions of higher education, including historically Black colleges and universities and tribal colleges and universities.

The Combatting Sexual Harassment in STEM Act has funding for executing preventative measures and response frameworks for addressing sexual and gender harassment in STEM.

The ASBMB-endorsed language in the NSF for the Future Actwill increase the number of graduate research fellowships and improve the NSFs training policies by instating mentorship plans, career exploration and increased inclusivity.

It has taken a lot of effort to get the CHIPS and Science Act over the finish line.

In June 2021, as the U.S. experienced increasing inflation and supply-chain deficiencies and fell behind in R&D globally, the U.S. Senate responded by passing the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, also known as USICA.

This bipartisan bill combined multiple legislative efforts to strengthenthe nations leadership in R&D by protecting American intellectual property with enhanced research security policies, robust scientific funding authorizations and investments in the STEM workforce.

In February, the U.S. House passed its version of the bill, the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength Act of 2022, calledCOMPETES for short.

COMPETES expanded on the science provisions in USICA with strong bipartisan input and engagement with stakeholders from the science, education and industrial sectors. It also significantly differed from USICA by including provisions related to clean energy and trade provisions.

At the time, U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., the ranking member of the House Science Committee, said in a statement how much he opposed the COMPETES Act but called for consensus between Democrats and Republicans: While there are many flaws in USICA, I believe that we had a good opportunity to find a consensus agreement through a formal House and Senate Conference.

In March, the ASBMB published a statement detailing its position on the two versions and endorsed several provisions that remain largely intact in the CHIPS and Science Act.

In April, the bill entered a bicameral conferencing process, during which a conferencing committee of 107 lawmakers would negotiate the more than 1,000 differences between USICA and COMPETES. The ASBMB shared its statement with the offices of those members.

During the ASBMBs annual Capitol Hill Day in May, the societys Public Affairs Advisory Committee strongly advocated for provisions in USICA and COMPETES that would modernizethe infrastructure of national labs, strengthen the bioeconomy, and support the next generation of scientists.

Over the summer, the legislation faced many negotiation hurdles and political attacks. Yet more pressure stemmed from looming deadlines to pass incentives for semiconductor manufacturing before companies set up shop internationally. Communication began to break down among congressional and conferencing leaders.

Once concerns emerged that Congress would strip the pro-science provisions in the U.S. competitiveness legislation to meet the semiconductor deadlines, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed to a test vote on July 19 to assess support for a bill that had semiconductor manufacturing incentives and the pro-science provisions that had been successfully negotiated. That version of the legislation was called CHIPS+.

After a successful test vote, the ASBMB called for passage in the Senate on July 25. Notably, the ASBMB was one of many other scientific stakeholders that demonstrated their support for CHIPS+ upon the rapid arrival of the bill in both chambers.

The Senate passed the final iteration the CHIPS and Science Act on July 27.

This is one of the most significant long-term thinking bills weve passed in a very long time, Schumer said after the Senate vote. Our grandchildren will hold good paying jobs in industries we cant even imagine because of what we are doing right now and we did it together, both sides cooperating in good faith, on some truly difficult issues.

The House passed the legislation the next day, and President Joe Biden signed it into law today.

Sudip Parikh, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, called the CHIPS and Science Act one of the most important pieces of science and technology legislation in a generation and a down payment on our future to ensure America remains a world leader in scientific discovery and innovation.

The scientific community played an important role in making the legislation a reality.

Sarina Neote, ASBMBs director of public affairs, said: The ASBMB applauds the work of congressional leadership and conferencing members who laid the groundwork for the (legislation). We also really appreciate all the time and effort our PAAC members have dedicated to advocating for the science workforce provisions in the final version of the bill. Its important for scientists to make sure their voices are heard, and our committee members did exactly that.

James Brown, executive director of the STEM Education Coalition, said in a statement: Our future prosperity depends on our ability to lead the world in technology development, job creation in high demand technical fields, and our ability to train more Americans for the best, highest paying jobs in the global economy. We are delighted that so many members of both parties in the U.S. Senate have come together behind this goal.

The next hurdle will be actual follow-through on the funding authorizations agreed to in the act. The scientific community will be watching the negotiations for FY23 appropriations closely.

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The CHIPS and Science Act becomes law - ASBMB Today

Biochemistry

Toragen, Inc. Announces the Appointment of Board of Directors and Senior Staff – Business Wire

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Toragen, Inc., a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on developing, repurposing and commercializing uniquely selective drugs targeting cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), announced today the appointment of Mr. Paul Engler, of Amarillo, Texas, to the Board of Directors of the Company. Additionally, Toragen announced the appointment of Cheryl Collett as CFO, effective June 20, 2022, and Dr. Richard Lumpkin as Director, Research & Development, effective July 1, 2022.

Mr. Engler is the founder of Cactus Feeders. In 1960, he started the first cattle-feeding operation in Texas and grew the company to become the largest cattle-feeding company in the world. At age 93, Paul is extremely active and healthy. He remains actively involved in investments and philanthropic activities of his private foundation, the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation.

Mr. Engler stated that, I invest in people. I was immediately impressed with the team at Toragen. In fact, I have known Dr. Sandra Coufal, Toragens CEO, to be an extremely competent medical practitioner and have made investments in other ventures that were successfully directed by Dr. Coufal. We are all aware that HPV can induce a number of cancers and I found Toragens platform solution to be unique. I was eager to be a lead investor and welcomed a seat on the board.

Ms. Collett brings over 20 years progressive finance and accounting experience to Toragen. Most recently, Ms. Collett served as CFO of Anivive Lifesciences, an animal-health pharmaceutical company commercializing the first-ever oral lymphoma treatment for dogs. Prior to Anivive, Ms. Collett served as VP, Finance and Accounting for Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ: PBYI) where she spent nearly a decade growing the company from four employees to over 300, from privately held to public, and from clinical-stage to commercial. Additionally, Ms. Collett has worked in finance and accounting roles at Sierra Scientific Instruments, Cougar Biotechnology, Hythiam and 20th Century Fox after beginning her career in public accounting. She received her degree from California State University, Los Angeles and is a California-licensed CPA.

Richard Lumpkin, PhD, has over 30 years experience in early-stage research in biotechnology companies. Dr. Lumpkin previously served as Senior Director at Global Blood Therapeutics becoming the first employee of this Third Rock Ventures founded company. Dr. Lumpkin was also instrumental in spinning off Portola Pharmaceuticals from Millennium Pharmaceuticals and held positions in early-stage research for Cor Therapeutics, Ribogene, Amylin and Corvas International, Inc. Dr. Lumpkin received his undergraduate in Geology and graduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

About Toragen

Toragen, founded by Andrew Sharabi, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences at UC San Diego, is targeting the root cause of virally induced cancers. https://toragen.com.

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Toragen, Inc. Announces the Appointment of Board of Directors and Senior Staff - Business Wire

Biochemistry

How Paleo is using biochemistry to bring plant-based mammoth meat to consumers – Food Dive

Meat alternative makers are working to create products that look, feel, taste and smell like the products consumers are already familiar with.

Belgian startup Paleo is developing an ingredient that will create an entirely new taste sensation: plant-based wooly mammoth.

The company creates different animal heme proteins through precision fermentation. Heme, an iron-rich protein found in the muscles of animals, is a substance that helps provide meat with its trademark taste. Paleo can use fermentation to make heme that is normally found in beef, chicken, pork, lamb, tuna and, yes, wooly mammoth.

You can describe it as being more meaty, said Co-founder and CEO Hermes Sanctorum.Mammoth heme has a stronger aroma and taste, he said though it usually depends on the ingredients its being used with, as well as its application.

But Paleo isnt just out there to resurrect tastes from the ancient past and add them to tomorrows soy and pea analogs. Its heme proteins can also customize alternative versions of the food many meat-loving consumers enjoy today, making them more likely to make sustainable and kinder choices, Sanctorum said.

Sanctorum acknowledges he is impatient. A bioengineer and former member of Belgiums Federal Parliament, he left politics because it took too long for things to get done.He said he is a firm believer in the power of cultivated meat, but it will still take years to get to the scale in which it can make a difference in what people eat. Plant-based food is here and available, but making the products taste like something consumers would want is a challenge, Sanctorum said.

Since heme is such an important part of taste in meat, if you want to make plant-based foods taste more like meat,it makes sense to add heme to it, Sanctorum said.

Because Paleo uses precision fermentation, its heme ingredients are identical to whats found in the corresponding animals. (Or, in the case of wooly mammoth, what would be found.) Its patent application was recently published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Sanctorum said the company is currently talking with some food manufacturers, and its ingredient could be on the market as soon as next year.

Heme protein plays two vital roles in meat, Sanctorum said. It provides the characteristic meaty taste that consumers are used to. But it also makes iron bio-available. Both of those aspects are vital for meat analogs, he said.

It's taste, which is very important for a consumer preference, but it's also about health, nutritional value, so it's a good and healthy protein, Sanctorum said.

A small amount of heme protein can make a great impact on a plant-based products taste and nutrition, he said.

Paleo co-founders Hermes Sanctorum and Andy de Jong.

Courtesy of Paleo

Paleo, which Sanctorum founded with medical doctor Andy de Jong, uses precision fermentation technology to create this protein without any animal. It modifies yeasts to produce these specific heme proteins when fermented. And, Sanctorum said, this method gets around Europes strict restrictions around genetically modified food though whether it would be considered a GMO product by consumers or other groups is an open question.

There are already alternative heme ingredients out there. Impossible Foods has one for its products that comes from soy and is made through precision fermentation, and Motif FoodWorks launched its Hemami ingredient late last year. But Paleo is the only company with a portfolio of different heme choices, Sanctorum said.

Sanctorum said it was important to come out with several heme protein options because customers will be making different products and have different needs. The proteins are generally similar from animal to animal, but Sanctorum said that there are differences in things like amino acid composition or compounds. The work of designing the heme proteins is done through biochemistry, he said, and Paleo is working with potential clients to see how closely the proteins can meet different needs.

The companys biochemistry-based portfolio building is how they got to creating wooly mammoth heme, Sanctorum said.

It started as a challenge, Sanctorum said.We thought, if you can do all the obvious species, could we do it for an ancient protein that has been consumed a long time by humanity, but not any more, right? I mean, it's about 12,000 years ago.

Paleo partnered with paleozoic researchers to see what they could learn about wooly mammoth DNA, which has been preserved in part. It was a real puzzle, Sanctorum said, but they were able to figure it out through using science to figure out some of the missing pieces.

As they worked more on mammoth heme, Sanctorum said they found that the protein was more stable than those found in other animals. When the mammoth heme was cooked, it released more aromatic compounds than other ingredients.

The mammoth heme is more than a demonstration of Paleos tech knowhow, Sanctorum said. Its also not just something wacky that the company can offer.

I know that it's a bit more exotic,he said. I can imagine that not everyone is really into trying something like that. But at least we can show also that we are able to produce something less obvious.Because I can imagine that we sit together with a large potential client and they say, Yeah, but in fact,we need something that is slightly different. Well, we are able to anticipate on that, and we just make the protein that they need.

Paleo is working on its growth and moving toward creating enough ingredients to sell. The company has a partnership with the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant an independent fermentation lab in Belgium that helps with product development as it is scaling up, Sanctorum said.

The scale-up process should be complete next year, Sanctorum said, but getting the ingredient to market is another story. Because Paleo is Europe-based, it designed its products to get around the EUs provisions dealing with GMO food, but the ingredients still need regulatory approval. Sanctorum said Paleo is working with regulators in Europe, as well as the U.S., Latin America and Asia.

The companys first launch, Sanctorum said, will depend on several things coming together. It will be in a country that grants regulatory approval, and with a manufacturer known for its innovation that is ready to use Paleos heme in a product intended to truly do something different. Sanctorum said his team is talking to about 10 companies who are candidates for a first launch.

Paleo is also working on fundraising. Late last year, the company closed a 2 million euro ($2.26 million) seed round. Those funds were used on R&D and designing future facilities, including its own pilot plant. Sanctorum said Paleo is working on finding investors for its next funding round, which it hopes to close this fall.

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How Paleo is using biochemistry to bring plant-based mammoth meat to consumers - Food Dive

Biochemistry

Assistant to Full Professor job with Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology | 37289513 – The Chronicle of Higher Education

We are seeking outstanding candidates for Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor positions in Biochemistry and Structural Biology with initial appointment level commensurate with experience and accomplishments (tenure-track or tenured). Candidates may complement existing areas of expertise and/or bring exciting new directions to the BSB department (https://lsom.uthscsa.edu/biochemistry/).

We are interested in exceptional candidates in all areas of biochemistry and structural biology with particular emphasis on nucleic acid, virus, and/or cancer biology. The Department houses University-supported core facilities in macromolecular structure and interactions (X-ray crystallography, Cryo-EM, NMR spectroscopy, SPR, ITC/DSC), mass spectrometry (proteomics and metabolomics), as well as a Center for Innovative Drug Discovery (high throughput screening and medicinal chemistry) (https://wp.uthscsa.edu/biochemistry/core-facilities/).

UT Health San Antonio comprises of Medical, Graduate, Dental, Nursing and Health Profession schools. It is also home to the NCI-designated Mays Cancer Center, the Greehey Childrens Cancer Research Institute, the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, and the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimers and Neurodegenerative Diseases. San Antonio is the seventh largest city in the U.S., with a historical downtown, a vibrant economy, affordable housing, and many recreational opportunities.

Applicants must have strong research and publication portfolios and compelling plans for future work supported in part by extramural funding. Each position offers a generous startup package, a supportive scientific environment, and the potential for additional recruitment funds from the UT STARs Program and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Successful applicants will be able to develop a competitive research program, form extensive internal and external collaborations, serve as mentors for students and research fellows, and contribute to teaching in graduate and professional programs. UTHSA is committed to a culturally and gender diverse faculty and is a designated Hispanic Serving Institution.

Interested candidates should visit https://uthscsa.referrals.selectminds.com/faculty and enter job number 2100-0985 in the keyword search to apply. Please upload a cover letter, a curriculum vitae, and a two-page description of current and future research interests before August 15th. The search committee will review applications in late August and begin interviews in September. For questions regarding these opportunities, please email: BSB-Search@uthscsa.edu

UT Health San Antonio is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer including protected veterans and persons with disabilities. All faculty appointments are designated as security sensitive positions.

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Assistant to Full Professor job with Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology | 37289513 - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Biochemistry

Leap of faith: The people who left science to answer a call from God – ABC News

"Science and religion are incompatible," argues biologist, Jerry A. Coyne, in his 2015 book, Faith Versus Fact.

"They have different methods for getting knowledge about reality, have different ways of assessing the reliability of that knowledge, and, in the end, arrive at conflicting conclusions about the universe."

Coyne believes science and religion are diametrically opposed, locked in an irreconcilable "war between rationality and superstition".

For others, however, science and faith go hand in hand.

Some have even left a career in science to answer a call from God.

Benji Callen, Minister at Burnside City Uniting Church in Adelaide, always wanted to be a scientist a geneticist, like his dad.

"Where some people imagined a trophy for a footy premiership, I would imagine a Nobel Prize sitting on my bookshelf," he says.

"I always loved the scientific world. I loved imagining that I could understand something about the universe that no one else had understood before."

Reverend Callen studied science at the University of Adelaide before completing honours in biochemistry. He then spent five years working on a PhD in molecular biosciences.

He was working in a nanotechnology lab at the University of Liverpool in the UK when he received news that his PhD had been accepted.

His five years of hard work had paid off he'd done well and "got a good paper".

His wife, dad, and colleagues at the lab were all elated on his behalf.

But, despite his success, Reverend Callen's heart was elsewhere.

He realised it wasn't his burgeoning science career that most animated him.

Instead, his mind was drawn to his recent discussion with two other members of his church youth group about the meaning of life.

"I thought, 'My science career is going really well why am I far more excited about this conversation?'"

Reverend Callen had started attending church in his late teens and worked in youth ministry at his church in Australia. In Liverpool, he'd joined a Methodist church whose minister also had a PhD biochemistry. "The minister before him had a PhD in astrophysics," the reverend notes.

One of Reverend Callen's lab colleagues also volunteered at a church youth group. "He was happy being a science educator and doing ministry on the side. It was good to know that was possible."

But Reverend Callen realised he was different. While he "enjoyed the intellectual rigour and creativity" of working in science, he "always had this sense that something wasn't quite right".

So, when he and his pregnant wife returned to Australia, he applied for a role as youth pastor at his old church.

He got the job and started studying for a Bachelor of Theology in 2005.

The unease he had felt throughout his lab career vanished.

"I did feel a little sense of sadness or loss," he acknowledges.

"As soon as you step out of science, particularly research science it's really hard to get back into the game. I knew that there was no turning back."

Reverend Callen is now the minister at Adelaide's Burnside City Church, after spending eight years as a minister in the fishing town of Port Lincoln.

"People talk about it being one of the hardest jobs around, and I'd agree with that," he says. "I enjoy the huge variety no one day is ever the same."

Ann Edwards, Priest-in-Charge at St Mark's Anglican Church at The Gap, remembers always having a sense of faith.

As a child, her grandmother would take her to church.

In the days before women's ordination, she used to joke she would become the first female priest in the Anglican church.

"That idea was always there," she says. "I had a sense of vocation and call even from my early teens."

When a wristinjury prevented Reverend Edwards from pursuing the clarinet after school, she chose a new career path almost at random: speech pathology.

"I fell in love with the science of it," she says. "I loved anatomy and physiology and the psychology of it how brains worked. It captivated me."

Reverend Edwards established a rewarding career working with people with swallowing disorders caused by stroke and neurological disease.

"I had no plans to go anywhere," she says.

Despite the satisfaction she derived from speech pathology, Reverend Edwards still felt a call to God.

"I had this real sense of pull into ordained ministry," she says.

In 2014, she followed the call and began training as a priest.

She felt the skillsets she developed in her life as a speech pathologist, manager and researcher would be of great use in the practical business of running a church, particularly in improving disability inclusion, an issue she was passionate about and the focus of her theology thesis.

At the same time Reverend Edwards was embarking on her theology studies, she took up an academic role in speech pathology at the Australian Catholic University. She now wore "two hats" one "as a researcher in speech pathology, and as a researcher in church access."

As a minister, Reverend Edwards finds the same satisfaction from building relationships that she did in her clinical work.

"All those things that I loved about speech pathology are still here I'm still seeing people succeed, I'm still mentoring people," she says.

Reverend Edwards believes her scientific training is good preparation for the challenge of adapting ministry to a digital world, a prospect she finds exciting rather than daunting.

She sees no conflict between her "absolute belief [in] and love of science" and her faith. "My faith is informed by science," she says.

At Christmas, she delivered a sermon on the religious and scientific conceptions of creation and "how beautifully the two work together it's almost like a tapestry".

"The [Bible] stories have so much depth," she says. "They still speak truth if we don't hold them literally, and we hold them as they were meant to be."

She doesn't feel that her scientific background makes her an outlier in the religious world she now occupies.

"If you look at my community it's full of doctors and nurses and social workers," she says.

"There are more PhDs than you can poke a stick at here I'm not unusual at all."

Like Reverend Edwards, Reverend Callen sees science and faith as "complementary" not contradictory.

"Science does a great job of the 'how' of life, answering those 'how' questions 'How do cells work? How do stars work? How does gravity work?' but it does a pretty rubbish job at the 'why' questions 'Why are we here? Why do we have hope? Why do we love? Why do we hate?'"

He believes Christianity offers answers to those philosophical 'why' questions.

Both ministers talk about the "awe and wonder" they find in equal measure in faith and science.

Reverend Edwards finds affirmation of her faith in the natural world. Observing a "tawny frogmouth standing so still that you couldn't even see it in the tree that was a thing of awe and wonder for me," she says.

Reverend Callen says, "To be a good scientist, you need to have a sense of awe and wonder and curiosity about the universe."

He believes worship requires the same qualities. "For me, going into the lab and discovering something new about the universe was my meditation and prayer. It was my awe and wonder."

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Leap of faith: The people who left science to answer a call from God - ABC News

Biochemistry

Biological Optical Microscopy Platform Manager job with UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE | 302639 – Times Higher Education

Location:ParkvilleRole type:Full time / Fixed-termfor 3 years (with the possibility of extension)Faculty: Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health SciencesDepartment/School:Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologySalary: Level B($110,236 - $130,900) or Level C ($135,032 - $155,698) p.a. plus 17% super

The University of Melbourne would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campuses are situated, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung Peoples, the Yorta Yorta Nation, the Dja Dja Wurrung People. We acknowledge that the land on which we meet and learn was the place of age-old ceremonies, of celebration, initiation and renewal, and that the local Aboriginal Peoples have had and continue to have a unique role in the life of these lands.

About the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is a research and research-lead teaching department of the School of Biomedical Science in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. The Departments research laboratories are mainly located in the Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute (Bio21 Institute) which is adjacent to the University of Melbourne campus at Parkville and the University of Melbourne, Medical Building. We use our strengths in research to create high-quality courses for our undergraduate and graduate students in biomedicine, science and medicine.

https://biomedicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au/departments/biochemistry

About the Role

This is an academic position with major responsibility for management and ongoing development of the Biological Optical Microscopy Platform (BOMP), which makes state-of-the art fluorescence microscopy equipment available to the staff and students of the University of Melbourne, as well as the wider community. You will be actively involved in oversight of the maintenance of a suite of instrumentation, as well as training and research projects.

You will provide leadership and direction to all users of the BOMP facilities in a collaborative research and teaching environment and will manage a team of application specialists.

Other responsibilities include:

The Department and the Bio21 Institute provides superb training facilities and environment for students, as well as outstanding career opportunities for staff.

Biological Optical Microscopy Platform (unimelb.edu.au)

About You

You are a collaborative researcher, with excellent time management and the flexibility to manage and respond to changing priorities and deadlines. You can demonstrate your high level problem-solving and well as your effective verbal and written communication skills. Your ability to foster relationships will set you up for success in this role.

You will also have:

To ensure the University continues to provide a safe environment for everyone, this position requires the incumbent to hold a current and valid Working with Children Check.

About the University

The University of Melbourne is consistently ranked amongst the leading universities in the world. We are proud of our people, our commitment to research and teaching excellence, and our global engagement.

Benefits of Working with Us

In addition to having the opportunity to grow and be challenged, and to be part of a vibrant campus life, our people enjoy a range of rewarding benefits:

To find out more, visithttps://about.unimelb.edu.au/careers/staff-benefits.

Be Yourself

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Position description:PD_BOMP Platform Manager.pdf

Applications close: 24 AUGUST2022 11:55 PMAUS Eastern Standard Time

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Biological Optical Microscopy Platform Manager job with UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE | 302639 - Times Higher Education

Biochemistry

Researchers Working To Find New Effective Treatments For Tuberculosis – Gilmore Health News

Treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections is difficult, especially with the emergence of strains that are drug-resistant. Researchers led by University of Oklahoma professor Helen Zgurskaya are now working to find new, more effective drugs for tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis

Read Also: SMARt751 Brings a Solution to Drug Resistance by Tuberculosis Bacteria in Animal Models

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogenic bacterium that is implicated in the incidence of tuberculosis. Experts say it is the number one cause of infectious disease globally. It affects billions of people worldwide about 25 percent of the worlds population.

Treatment of patients with active symptoms typically involves the use of multiple antibiotics for months. But, as with an increasing number of other bacterial infections these days, this infectious disease is becoming more drug-resistant.

Currently, the treatment requires a combination of antibiotics taken by patients for six months, but now imagine that the disease does not respond to the treatment, stated Zgurskaya, who is the studys corresponding author and a George Lynn Cross Research Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.

We are out of therapeutic options for this infection, and we need new drugs. The paper we published is focused on understanding how recently discovered new inhibitors kill the pathogen, she added.

Read Also: Antibiotics: Two Antibacterial Compounds Effective Against Resistant Tuberculosis Discovered

The new paper appeared in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Aside from OU scientists, its authors included researchers from Colorado State University, Creighton University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

In this study, researchers investigated the mycobacterial membrane protein Large 3 (MmpL3) transporter and its analogs. This inner membrane protein is very critical for coming up with new drugs for tuberculosis.

MmpL3 transporters are vital for shuttling materials that are needed to build the outer membrane of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. They are, thus, essential for bacteria growth and building antibiotic resistance.

Zgurskaya and her colleague isolated MmpL3 from bacterial cells and purified it. Next, they reconstituted this major target for anti-tuberculosis discovery and its analogs in artificial membranes.

The team went further to make a range of substrate mimics and transporter-specific inhibitors. It also examined the activities and properties of these molecules.

Findings showed that all reconstituted proteins aided proton transfer across membranes. However, striking differences were observed in the responses of MmpL3 analogs to pH and their interactions with substrate mimics and indole-2-carboxamide inhibitors.

Read Also: The BCG a Tuberculosis Vaccine Boosts Immune Cells and Reduces Risk of Other Infections

This new paper suggests that certain inhibitors stop the transport activity of MmpL3, together with its analogs, by blocking proton translocation.

This study creates a potent method for characterizing and making new drugs for tuberculosis.

The research lays the groundwork for working out the mechanism of MmpL3 transporters. It also provides a biochemical basis for grasping the inhibition of these transporters by tiny molecule compounds. This will hopefully prove crucial for developing new effective antibiotics for tuberculosis treatment.

The expected next step following the publication of this paper would be to use the developed methods to study other inhibitors, said Zgurskaya. This will help to know which ones are most effective for possible evaluation in clinical trials.

Read Also: Vitamin D Can Help Treat Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis

Proton transfer activity of the reconstituted Mycobacterium tuberculosis MmpL3 is modulated by substrate mimics and inhibitors

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Researchers Working To Find New Effective Treatments For Tuberculosis - Gilmore Health News

Biochemistry

Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor, Bio Sciences and Technology job with VELLORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | 302478 – Times Higher…

Job Description:

Designations Available:

Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor

Desired Skillset:

Preferred Qualifications:

Ph.D. in Life Sciences / Biotechnology/Molecular Biology/ Biochemistry/ Chemical Engineering

Areas of Specializations:

Responsibilities:

Academics:

Research Consultancy:

Academic / Administration:

Apart from the above duties, any other relevant work is assigned by the Dean of the respective schools.

Department:School of Bio Sciences & Technology (SBST)Location:Vellore, Tamil Nadu, IndiaPosted On:19-Jul-2022Years Of Exp:0 to 20 Years

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Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor, Bio Sciences and Technology job with VELLORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | 302478 - Times Higher...

Biochemistry

Phage therapeutics can be used to fight multidrug-resistant pathogens – News-Medical.Net

Scientists with the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences were among those providing the biochemical tools needed to help save a man's life through a unique emergency intervention in 2016.

Now those Center for Phage Technology scientists in the Texas A&M Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Bryan-College Station, have completed a study about that treatment as well as other opportunities for phage therapy.

Their study, "Comparative genomics of Acinetobacter baumannii and therapeutic bacteriophages from a patient undergoing phage therapy," was published recently in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

The threat of antimicrobial resistance has become a worldwide concern, with the World Health Organization estimating at least 50 million people per year worldwide could die from it by 2050. Center for Phage Technology scientists believe phage therapeutics can be used to fight these resistant bacterial infections.

The premiere case involved phage center scientists working in collaboration with other scientists and physicians at University of California San Diego, UC San Diego, School of Medicine and the U.S. Navy Medical Research Center Biological Defense Research Directorate. Together, they worked to identify phages and determine a treatment plan for Tom Patterson, a professor of psychiatry at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, who was infected by a deadly pathogen while vacationing in Egypt.

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that can infect and kill bacteria without having a negative effect on human or animal cells. Phages can be used alone or in combination with antibiotics or other drugs to treat bacterial infections.

Bacteriophage therapy is an emerging field that many researchers think could yield novel ways to fight antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. At the center, we are interested in the applications of phage therapeutics to fight multidrug-resistant bacterial infections."

Mei Liu, Ph.D., program director at the Center for Phage Technology and a primary investigator for the study

She said the center's work is aided by the team's deep knowledge of phage biology, particularly in the areas of phage lysis and phage genomics.

In 2015, while on vacation in Egypt during the Thanksgiving holiday, Patterson began to experience severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Local doctors diagnosed him with pancreatitis and treated him accordingly, but the treatments didn't work and his condition worsened.

He was later transported to Germany, where doctors found fluid around his pancreas and took cultures from the fluid's contents. The cultures showed he had been infected with a multidrug-resistant strain of Acinetobacter baumannii, an often-deadly pathogen found in hospital settings and in the Middle East. The same pathogen was also identified in many injured U.S. military members returning home after serving in that part of the world.

In Germany, Patterson was treated with a combination of antibiotics, and his condition improved to a degree where he could be airlifted to the intensive care unit at Thornton Hospital in the UC San Diego Health academic health system. There, however, the medical team discovered that the bacteria had become resistant to antibiotics.

Tom Patterson, in hospital bed, received phage therapy from Robert "Chip" Schooley, MD, left, of UC San Diego Health. (Courtesy photo used with permission of Dr. Tom Patterson)

A "compassionate use" exemption for phage therapy was requested by Dr. Robert "Chip" Schooley, the UC San Diego physician treating Patterson. He was given rapid approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, to proceed.

Shortly after the phage treatment began, Patterson awakened from a months-long coma. After a long recovery, his health improved greatly, and he was able to return to life as it was before the infection.

Acinetobacter baumannii is recognized as a significant bacterial pathogen in health care-associated infections. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report from 2019 stated that antibiotic-resistant pathogens cause more than 2.8 million infections and more than 35,000 deaths annually in the U.S.

Several characteristics of the pathogen that infected Patterson impacted the treatment regimens and outcomes, said Ry Young, Ph.D., director of the Center for Phage Technology.

Patterson's wife, Steffanie Strathdee, Ph.D., associate dean of global health sciences with UC San Diego School of Medicine and an infectious disease epidemiologist, had contacted Young to seek his help in finding a treatment for her husband once she became aware of Young's extensive work with phages.

Young and his lab team took up the challenge and worked almost nonstop for three months to help find a solution.

Phages are viruses that can infect and kill bacteria without affecting human or animal cells. Phage therapy was used extensively in the early 20th century prior to the use of antibiotics. (Stock illustration)

"Cases of resistant infections are becoming more prevalent and very few new antibiotics are available, so the use of bacteriophages to treat or control multidrug-resistant infections is being reconsidered as an alternative strategy," Young said. "Phage therapy is actually a very old concept, having been used extensively in the early 20th century during the pre-antibiotic era."

Phage treatment also has been successful in several more recent case studies involving multidrug-resistant strains of P. aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria.

"Phages had been sidelined as a potential treatment for bacterial infections when antibiotics came into wide use in the U.S.," Liu said. "But in other areas of the world, particularly where antibiotics were not immediately available, researchers and doctors have continued developing and practicing phage therapy. Now we are seeing more instances of how phage therapy can be used when antibiotics alone are not sufficient to treat bacterial infections."

Jason Gill, Ph.D., professor in the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science and associate director of the Center for Phage Technology, said while the Patterson case and similar case studies treating multidrug-resistant bacteria have been encouraging in terms of clinical outcome, a more in-depth examination of the phage-host interaction during treatment and its implications is needed.

"The recent study showed that resistance to the therapeutic phages emerged early, and the acquisition of new mobile elements by the bacteria can occur during treatment," said Gill, a corresponding author of the study. "It is important to have a thorough genomic analysis of phages prior to phage treatment in order to maximize treatment success and minimize both effort and resources. There is also a need for conventional experimental testing for phage host range and growth characteristics."

Gill also noted the use of well-characterized phages in a phage cocktail can avoid redundancy and significantly save time and effort in phage production and purification. Eight of the nine phages used for treatment in the Patterson case turned out to be closely related, and this knowledge could have been used to streamline the process if the investigators had known this when assembling the treatment.

"The Patterson case has done a lot to increase awareness of phage therapy and its effectiveness as an alternative therapy for multidrug-resistant pathogenic strains," Liu said. "The success of phage therapy in that case and other cases has brought wider attention to its use and efficacy."

Liu added that the Center for Phage Technology is focusing on developing the technology, standardizing optimal delivery procedures and securing necessary approvals from regulatory agencies to make phage treatment available to patients in the U.S.

"Much of what we did in the Patterson case was unconventional due to the context of phage therapy at that time," Liu said. "But there have been many advances in genomic sequencing and other technologies since then. Today, it would be a much quicker and more efficient process to develop and implement phage therapy if there was another case similar to Patterson's."

Source:

Journal reference:

Liu, M., et al. (2022) Comparative genomics of Acinetobacter baumannii and therapeutic bacteriophages from a patient undergoing phage therapy. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31455-5.

Originally posted here:
Phage therapeutics can be used to fight multidrug-resistant pathogens - News-Medical.Net