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San Diego Postdoctoral Scholars Program Enhances Diversity in Biomedical Research
“I’m most proud of how this program is truly impacting the diversity of academia by including individuals from backgrounds historically underrepresented in STEM and the biomedical research workforce,” says JoAnn Trejo, Ph.D., professor at University of California San Diego (UCSD) and director of San Diego’s Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA). The program, now in its 20th year of NIGMS funding, aims to train a diverse group of postdoctoral fellows (postdocs) for both the teaching and independent research aspects of a career as a professor in the biomedical sciences. San Diego IR...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 5, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

Studying and Sharing the Big Questions of Biology
Dr. Pedro Márquez-Zacarías. Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Pedro Márquez-Zacarías. When he started high school in Mexico, Pedro Márquez-Zacarías, Ph.D., wanted to be a politician. However, as he became aware of issues like corruption, he began looking into other fields. Chemistry fascinated him, so he enrolled in a class at his school that was later canceled partway through the year. He then joined a biology class because it included a unit on biochemistry, and through that experience, found that he enjoyed other aspects of biology as well—so much so that he went on to compete in the International Biology Olympiad, a co...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - September 28, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Evolutionary Biology Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

Career Conversations: Q & A with Bioengineer C ésar de la Fuente
Dr. César de la Fuente. Credit: Martí E. Berenguer. “Science provides adventure and excitement every single day. When you’re pushing boundaries, you get to jump into the abyss of new areas. It can be scary, but it’s an incredible opportunity to try to improve our world and people’s lives,” says César de la Fuente, Ph.D., a Presidential Assistant Professor in the Perelman School of Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Our interview with Dr. de la Fuente highlights his journey of becoming a scientist and his research using artificial intelligen...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - September 21, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Bacteria Computational Biology Drug Resistance Medicines Profiles Source Type: blogs

Sepsis Sleuths
Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies without even realizing it. One devastating example is sepsis: our body’s overwhelming or impaired immune response to an insult—usually an infection or an injury to the body. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sepsis affects at least 1.7 million people in the United States each year, and it can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. (See our sepsis fact sheet for more information.) Credit: CDC. Sepsis is complex and not well-understood, so it’s challenging to diagnose and treat. NIGMS, along with its other NIH and Department o...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - September 13, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Tools and Techniques Computational Biology Research Roundup Sepsis Source Type: blogs

In Other Words: Insult —A “Sick Burn” or a Burn That Makes You Sick?
You probably think of a rude or offensive remark when you think of the word insult, but to biomedical researchers, an insult is the cause of some kind of injury to the body. Insults can come in a variety of forms, such as an infection or a physical trauma. Credit: NIGMS. One type of injury that different kinds of insults can cause is a burn. Most commonly, insults like hot liquid or steam, structural fires, and flammable liquids cause burns. But heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or radiation can also lead to them. No matter the source, burns activate the body’s inflammatory response, which usually protects...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - September 7, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Injury and Illness Burns In Other Words Sepsis Source Type: blogs

Training Students and Communicating Science on Capitol Hill
Dr. Mikhail Bobylev. Credit: Minot State University. “I’ve been infected with this enthusiasm for science, and I think that carries over to my students. Essentially, I lead by example,” says Mikhail Bobylev, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota. He researches ways to improve the chemical synthesis of medicinal molecules, and since 2004, he’s has mentored more than 70 undergraduate researchers in his lab with support from the NIGMS-funded North Dakota IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE). Dr. Bobylev focuses on training students to conduct rigorous,...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 31, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Profiles Training Source Type: blogs

New STEM Teaching Resource: Biomedical Beat Educator ’s Corner
We’ve created a free resource for science educators! The Educator’s Corner is a collection of carefully curated Biomedical Beat posts, designed to align with existing NIGMS science education resources, such as Pathways, for middle and high school students. Our new collection offers educators additional tools and ideas to enhance lesson plans, building upon existing science education material that’s already available at no cost. In the Educator’s Corner, you’ll find blog posts organized by the NIGMS science education resource they align with. Each entry includes a suggested activity for use in classrooms, home ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 24, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: STEM Education Source Type: blogs

Career Conversations: Q & A with Organic Chemist Elizabeth Parkinson
Dr. Elizabeth Parkinson. Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Elizabeth Parkinson. “Being able to discover new, unexpected things is why you wake up every day and go to work as a scientist. The other part is hopefully to have a positive impact on human health—through combatting conditions ranging from antibiotic resistance to cancer,” says Elizabeth Parkinson, Ph.D., an assistant professor of organic chemistry at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. In an interview, Dr. Parkinson shared with us her path to a scientific career, research on natural products made by soil-dwelling bacteria, and advice for students. Q: W...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 17, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Bacteria Medicines Microbes Profiles Source Type: blogs

In Other Words: Not All Cultures Are Human
The word culture may make you think of a flag, style of clothing, celebration, or some other tradition associated with a particular group of people. But in biomedical science, a culture is a group of cells grown in a lab. Scientists use cultures to learn about basic biological processes and to develop and test new medicines. Credit: NIGMS. The Birth of a Culture Scientists can grow many types of cells as cultures, from bacteria to human cells. To create a culture, a researcher adds cells to a container such as a Petri dish along with a mix of nutrients the cells need to grow and divide. The exact recipe varies depe...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 10, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Tools and Techniques Cool Tools/Techniques In Other Words Source Type: blogs

Career Conversations: Q & A with Biochemist Alexis Komor
Dr. Alexis Komor. Credit: Michelle Fredricks. “DNA is an amazingly beautiful molecule, and it’s so important. Each of our cells has only one copy of DNA, and if it gets damaged, that messes up everything else in the cell,” says Alexis Komor, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Check out the highlights of our interview with Dr. Komor to learn about her scientific journey, research on DNA, and advice for students. Q: How did you decide to study chemistry? A: I really enjoyed math and science in middle and high school. When I applied to c...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 3, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Genes DNA Gene Editing Genomics Profiles Source Type: blogs

Science Snippet: Lipids in the Limelight
This study could inform the advancement of new antibiotics.Developing new imaging technologies to track lipid droplet formation and breakdown in cancer cells. Understanding this phenomenon could shed light on why lipid droplets accumulate in these cells, which could aid in creating new therapies. Learn about other scientific terms with the NIGMS glossary. (Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences)
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - July 27, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Cellular Processes COVID-19 Medicines Science-snippet Source Type: blogs

State of the Art: New Crystallography Equipment Aids Science and the Study of Artifacts
Upgrading X-ray crystallography equipment at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville has had an unexpected benefit: enabling analyses that could help art museums authenticate, restore, and learn more about their pieces. Two copies of a protein (pink and purple) produced by the hepatitis C virus interacting with the same strand of DNA (green). This structure was solved using equipment at the University of Arkansas X-ray crystallography center. Credit: PDB 2F55. Scientists use X-ray crystallography to determine the detailed 3D structures of molecules. In biomedical contexts, researchers often apply X-ray crystallogra...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - July 20, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Molecular Structures Tools and Techniques Cool Tools/Techniques Source Type: blogs

Catching Up With ReMARCable Vanderbilt Graduates
Four of the first-cohort MARC scholars in April 2022. From left to right: Cassidy Johnson, Lucy Britto, Hannah Craft, and Sim Plotkin. Credit: Dr. Katherine Friedman. In 2021, we shared the perspectives of third-year undergraduates who had recently joined the first cohort of the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt’s MARC program provides mentorship and professional development opportunities to third- and fourth-year undergraduates who plan to pursue advanced degrees and are from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical sci...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - July 13, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Training Source Type: blogs

All About Anesthesia
If you’ve ever had a surgery or even a minor procedure, you’ve probably benefited from the medical marvel of anesthesia—the treatment that doctors, called anesthesiologists, give to keep you from feeling pain. And it’s come a long way since the discovery of diethyl ether. Here we dive into the different types, its history, and the way it works. The chemistry of anesthetics has advanced since the 1840s, producing different types of anesthesia depending on the compounds involved. See more chemistry infographics like this one in C&EN’s Periodic Graphics collection. Click to enlarge. Types of A...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - July 6, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Anesthesiology Source Type: blogs

Hunting Disease-Causing Genetic Variants
Dr. Miriam Meisler. Credit: University of Michigan Medical School. “In my lab, we’ve been gene hunters—starting with visible phenotypes, or characteristics, and searching for the responsible genes,” says Miriam Meisler, Ph.D., the Myron Levine Distinguished University Professor at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor. During her career, Dr. Meisler has identified the functions of multiple genes and has shown how genetic variants, or mutations, can impact human health. Becoming a Scientist Dr. Meisler had a strong interest in science as a child, which she credits to “growing up at the tim...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - June 29, 2022 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Genes Injury and Illness Diseases DNA Profiles Research Organisms Scientific Process Source Type: blogs