The June Graduate Student of the Month is Md Imtiaz Khalil and he is a student in the lab of Dr. Arrigo De Benedetti.

We are saddened to share the news of the recent passing of two former School of Graduate Studies faculty members. The work of Dr. Dunn and Dr. Reed will live on through the countless students and post-docs that they taught throughout their careers. We extend our deepest sympathy to their families during this difficult time.

The scientific accomplishments of Dr. Eric First and Dr. Shile Huang have been recognized by our institution. Each has been promoted to full Professor, effective July 1, 2022. 

The January Graduate Student of the Month is Linda Rubio and she is a student in the lab of Dr. David Gross.

The August Graduate Student of the Month is Siyuan “Simon” Cheng.  Simon works in the lab of Dr. Xiuping Yu in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.  His dissertation project is titled, “The epigenetic changes involved in neuroendocrine prostate cancer development”. 

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has awarded a one-year R56 grant to Dr. Stephan Witt, Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSUHS, and Dr. Joseph Mazzulli, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University.

Dr. Arrigo DeBenedetti receives Spring 2021 Feist Weiller Cancer Center (FWCC) Bridging Award grant in the amount of $100,000.

Ishita Ghosh receives Spring Intra-mural Ike-Muslow Fellowship (Research Distinction Award) on her PhD dissertation titled: TLK1 phosphorylates RAD54 to promote homology-driven double strand break repair. The tenure of the fellowship commences July, 2021.

Trends in Cell Biology - Primordial super-enhancers: heat shock-induced chromatin organization in yeast. This article highlights the rapid dynamics, robust induction, and conserved components of the HSF1-driven heat shock response make it an ideal system to study eukaryotic gene regulation.

Congratulations to Imtiaz Khalil, 4th year graduate student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, for winning 1st place in the LSUHS Graduate Research Day!

Ruhul Abid, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Surgery at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Global Health Initiative faculty member was nominated for a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Abid is one of 318 candidates in the world to receive a nomination for his nonprofit organization Health and Education for All (HAEFA).

Stephen Witt, PhD, was invited for a 2nd 5-year term on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. He was also invited to be on the Editorial Board of Aging, Metabolism and Redox Biology as Review Editor for Frontiers in Aging. 

KSLA 12 - Dr. Robert Rhoads, professor and emeritus chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSU Health Shreveport, developed key components of the mRNA over years of work. The vaccine uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, which essentially provides instructions to the body on how to fight the novel coronavirus.

Our former beloved student, Tara Williams-Hart, died on August 25^th.  She was smart, resilient, kind, and a great teacher and mentor to many.  Loved by all.  Our deepest condolences to her family.

Dr. Stephan N. Witt, professor and chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been invited by the Editor and Associate Editors of the Journal of Biological Chemistry to continue on JBC’s editorial board for another five-year term (January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2025).

Dr. David Gross, professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been awarded a 4-year, $1.2 million grant from the NIH for a project entitled "Genome Architecture and Gene Control in Response to Stress."

Congratulations to Dr. Arrigo De Benedetti, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Dr. Nadejda Korneeva, Assistant Professor of Emergence Medicine, who have been awarded an intramural COVID-19 grant in amount of $50,000.

Dr. Arrigo De Benedetti has had a manuscript accepted by iScience, titled: Generation of Phenothiazine with Potent anti-TLK1 Activity for Prostate Cancer Therapy. 

ASBMB.org - Dr. Robert Rhoads, Professor Emeritus in LSUHS Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology shares how work in his lab carried out in collaboration with researchers in Poland and Germany over 30 years is playing a part in the BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine trials.

Dr. Xiuping Yu was the recipient of the Top Faculty Performer Award in Biochemistry for the 2018-2019 AY. Dr. Yu was also congratulated for her promotion to Associate Professor which began July 1, 2019.