Get to Know PhD Student Sarah Ermatinger
Sarah is a 2018 matriculant whose research focuses on Staphyloccoccus aureus biofilm infections. Read about her pre-Duke experience and how the department supports her current research.
Brennan and Schumacher Labs Publish Research on the Most Infectious Agent
The bacterium Francisella tularensis is one of the most infectious agents known. Published in Cell Press, the Brennan and Schumacher labs reveal how it regulates its pathogenicity. Read more in Duke Today
Yokoyama Lab Reveals New Pathway
Currently used as agricultural fungicides, nucleoside natural products are also under clinical investigation to treat invasive fungal infections in humans. The Yokoyama Lab discovered their unprecedented cryptic phosphorylation and revealed the entire biosynthetic pathway for peptidyl nucleosides. Read more in Nature Chemical Biology.
New Calcium Binding Site Found in TMEM16A
The Yang Lab’s, Son Le, found a new calcium-binding site in TMEM16A and demonstrated its long-range allosteric gating mechanism. This helps explain TMEM16A’s involvement in secretion, smooth muscle contraction, pain sensation, & cancer progression. Read more in Cell Reports.
Dr. Hashim Al-Hashimi Named ISMAR Fellow
Dr. Hashim Al-Hashimi elected Fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance.
New Research Helps Understand TMEM16F's Role in Cancer & Ischemia
Dr. Pengfei Liang of the Yang Lab discovered that the once elusive activity of the scramblase and ion channel, TMEM16F, is regulated by intracellular pH in a calcium-dependent manner. Read more in the Journal of General Physiology.
A New Memoir From Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Robert Lefkowitz
With the untimely death of three collaborators, Dr. Robert Lefkowitz went on to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Read an excerpt from his new memoir, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm The Adrenaline-Fueled Adventures of an Accidental Scientist" in ASBMB Today.
Al-Hashimi Named Biophysical Society Fellow
Dr. Hashim Al-Hashimi was noted for his "excellence in science" specifically developing and deploying NMR methods that reveal the dynamic nature of nucleic acids and their functional complexes. Read more
Mike Boyce, PhD, Receives New Mathers Foundation Funding
Mike Boyce, PhD, is expanding his work to research a novel approach to understanding common lung diseases. Read more
Research From Blanca Rodriguez Published in Scientific Reports
New research from Blanca Rodriguez and Meta Kuehn, PhD, reports the presence of RNA and DNA molecules in extracellular membrane vesicles secreted by the human pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus and reveals a novel mechanism of host-pathogen interactions. Read more