News

Gage O. Leighton received his PhD!
April 17, 2023Gage O. Leighton successfully defended his PhD dissertation titled Probing the Importance of MBD2 in the Localization and Formation of the NuRD Complex on April 6th 2023. His thesis work was completed under the direction of Dr. David C. Williams Jr.

Congratulations to our new PhD, Dr. Odessa Goudy!
March 22, 2023Dr. Odessa Goudy successfully defended her thesis, titled “Computational design of autoinhibitory domains for a protease-activated PD-L1 inhibitor” on Friday, February 17th. As a graduate student, Odessa was an active member of Brian Kuhlman’s lab and a student leader within the Biochemistry and Biophysics department.

Cathy Spangler (’22 Ph.D.) receives the 2023 Dean’s Distinguished Dissertation Award
March 16, 2023Each year, The Graduate School recognizes four doctoral candidates or recent doctoral graduates for creating exceptional dissertations in each of the following fields: biological and life sciences; humanities and fine arts; mathematics, physical sciences and engineering; and social sciences.

Sharon Campbell receives an Award for Excellence in Basic Science Mentoring
March 10, 20232022-23 Award for Excellence in Basic Science Mentoring Presented by the Office of Graduate Education Sharon Campbell, PhD As part of the nomination process, letters of support were provided by trainees, alums, and faculty. The Office of Graduate Education compiled these quotes from the nomination letters that theye felt stood out the most. “Sharon is an exemplary mentor and role model for the trainees in her laboratory and throughout [the] department” “Sharon epitomizes to me … Continued

Gary Pielak awarded the 2023 Johnston Teaching Excellence Award
March 8, 2023Created in 1991, these awards recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching. Winners are nominated by Johnston Scholars and selected by a special committee of scholars in the James M. Johnston Scholarship Program.

Celebrating Black History Month – Xavier Bonner
February 28, 2023Xavier Bonner is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the UNC School of Medicine. He attended Morehouse College before coming to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in fall 2018. His research focuses on HIV—specifically, better understanding the genotypic and phenotypic determinants of macrophage tropism—or, how HIV viruses enter different cell types.

Amrita Nallathambi’s outreach with Shadow a Scientist
January 31, 2023On December 9th, Amrita Nallathambi served as a Shadow A Scientist graduate student science ambassador. Amrita is currently a 2nd year PhD student in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and also a trainee in the Molecular and Cellular Biophysics program. Amrita is a member of the Kuhlman lab. Shadow A Scientist is a graduate student run organization that provides opportunities for high school students to interact with science in an exciting new way by experiencing … Continued

Student Spotlight – Trainee Uriel Jean-Baptiste Featured
January 23, 2023Uriel Jean-Baptiste, a MCBP trainee and member of the Biochemistry and Biophysics PhD curriculum was featured as the student spotlight this month. Visit BCBP’s news post to learn more about Uriel’s research in the Neher lab.

Morgan Walker earns her PhD
January 18, 2023Morgan Walker defended her dissertation under the guidance of Dr. Matthew Redinbo on January 13, 2023 and received her PhD. Her dissertation is titled “Structure and Function of Diverse Gut Microbial Enzymes.” Morgan received her B.S.Chem in Chemistry from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA in 2017. During her time there, she worked with Dr. Arthur Roberts to elucidate differences in P-glycoprotein transport of the opioids methadone and loperamide using biochemical and biophysical methods. … Continued

Darex Vera-Rodriguez and Odessa Goudy attend SACNAS conference in Puerto Rico
November 16, 2022Two Molecular and Cellular Biophysics trainees, Darex in the Lee lab, and Odessa in the Kuhlman lab, attended the 2022 STEM SACNAS conference in Puerto Rico. View the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics news post for details.