Thursday, February 29, 2024

From Aspiration to Admission: Roadmap to Graduate School


Brody Deming began his research career during the summer of the pandemic in the lab of Biochemist Dr. Shahir Rizk. Because of the pandemic, the lab was mostly off-limits so Deming engaged in a theoretical/computational project using the software Chimera to model the interactions of sugar binding proteins that form nanostructures. He has since graduated with a Biochemistry B.S. degree and is now researching in the Purdue Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology program in pursuit of a Ph.D. Deming returned to IU South Bend this Tuesday to talk with current science majors about the "roadmap to graduate school" to give advice based on his experience on how to select a graduate program - and how to prepare as an undergraduate so that this graduate program will select them in return. It is wonderful to see our alumni return to campus to visit their professors, but it is even more exciting to see them give back to IU South Bend. Thanks so much, Brody, for helping to inspire and encourage our students in their pursuit of graduate school.

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

The Secret Social Life of Bacteria


Last night, Maggie Fink gave a talk about the secret social life of bacteria at the downtown public library as part of an outreach lecture series "Our Universe Revealed" by the University of Notre Dame and IU South Bend. Fink is the perfect candidate for this joint effort because she is a graduate of IU South Bend (biochemistry major) and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Notre Dame where she is supported by the prestigious National Science Foundation Fellowship. Bacteria are infamous as harmful germs, but they are also responsible for symbiotic relationships in the digestive system. Furthermore, scientists have been farming bacteria for decades to produce particular proteins like insulin to treat diabetes. But in this talk, Fink described how bacteria communicate with each other and sometimes work in cooperation to give us a "new appreciation for the invisible hidden dramas unfolding all around us." A video recording of her talk is available at the link below, which also archives past talks.

Video Recordings of "Our Universe Revealed" lectures

Friday, December 15, 2023

Kasey Clear inspires some future chemists!

On Wednesday, organic chemistry professor Kasey Clear led activities for a group of elementary students to engage them in chemistry.  This was conducted at the Center for Civic Innovation, right across from our Center for Civil Heritage in downtown South Bend. Clear used dry ice to increase the carbon dioxide content in water, thus acidifying it, which the children could observe from the color change of a pH indicator - after having used the indicator themselves to test the pH of common items in the home. For more information on the Center for Civic Innovation please click on the link below. The two pictures shown above were taken from the Center's Facebook page which is also listed below.

Center for Civic Innovation (main web site)

Facebook page: Educational Programs at the ND Center for Civic Innovation (Facebook page)

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Crocheted protein structures


Ilona Lehman, a pre-nursing major in Dr. Marmorino's second-semester chemistry course (C102), was inspired by the beautiful images of proteins in the textbook and class to crochet examples of the four levels of protein structure.  Thank you so much for these lovely and creative illustrations!

Top image: Primary structure is the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. Each blue knot represents an amino acid linked to the next by a peptide bond.  

Middle image: Secondary structure is the local folding of the polypeptide chain into regular structures such as the alpha helix illustrated by the twirling dark pink yarn and the beta-pleated sheet illustrated by the zig-zagging light pink yarn. In both cases, hydrogen bonding (in white) stabilizes these local structures.

Bottom left image: Tertiary structure is the overall three-dimensional shape of a single polypeptide chain shown here with dark pink alpha helices, dark blue sheets, and cyan random coils.

Bottom right image: Quaternary structure describes how multiple polypeptides interact to form a single protein. The example shown here is hemoglobin with four subunits (folded chains) each given a different color. Hemoglobin carries oxygen in our red blood cells from the lungs to the tissues - one oxygen molecule for each subunit.


Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Science outreach at the Kennedy Academy


On Wednesday evening, the Biology-Chemistry Club hosted a booth at the Kennedy Academy for their Family STEAM night to showcase science, engineering, and arts at a level that kids can appreciate. The Kennedy Academy teaches elementary and middle school aged children about midway between downtown South Bend and the airport. Club members Zahra Aljuboori, Morgan Blank, Guillermo Cardenas, Carlos Lopez Chavez, Zulema Lopez, and Jennifer Ngoumape all helped Professor Shahir Rizk demonstrate the excitement of biology and chemistry. While the youngest students at the academy might not be able to distinguish a professor from an undergraduate student, the older students can certainly tell the difference and interacting with someone who could be an older sister or brother is much more impactful than another parent or teacher figure. So thanks very much to all of the students who volunteered their time to this event.  

Monday, November 6, 2023

Students present their summer research in Chicago


Professors Muna (Chemistry) and Nair (Biology and Informatics) accompanied our students to the annual Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence (LSMRCE) research conference. These same students had previously presented their summer 2023 research to fellow students and faculty on our campus, but this weekend they presented to a much broader audience in Chicago. From left to right in the photo above we have Erik Vardanian (Computer Science BS), Nathanael Smith (Biochemistry BS), Hannah Gregor (Biochemistry BS), Ashley Rojas Romero (Biological Sciences BS), Allyce Rogers (Biological Sciences BS), Professor Nair, Zahra Aljuboori (Biochemistry BS), Professor Muna, and Abigael Ngoumape (Biochemistry BS). It looks like they had a great time at this three-day even from November 3rd to 5th. Thanks to all the students for representing IU South Bend at the conference - and thanks also to Professors Muna and Nair for their support.

Friday, October 27, 2023

Talk on Protein Engineering


This week, professor Shahir Rizk gave a talk on protein engineering as a part of a seminar series hosted by the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the IU School of Medicine. While you are probably aware of Rizk's many research endeavors involving our undergraduate students in the two areas of protein engineering listed above, you may not be aware that Rizk also teaches as an adjunct instructor for the IU School of Medicine. When he sometimes can take a break from teaching and researching, you may find him at a number of special events at the local LangLab (which is a mixture of cafe, art, science, and entertainment) or holed away finishing a general-audience book on the marvels of proteins.