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Awards and Honors

2007

Barry J. Marshall, co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has accepted an appointment at Penn State as the Francis R. and Helen M. Pentz Professor of Science to further his groundbreaking research in bacterial infections.

Andrey Krasilnikov and Anton Nekrutenko, both assistant professors of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, have received Young Investigator Awards from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. The award recognizes the most promising young faculty members in the chemical and life sciences. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Award recognizes young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers. (5/31/07)

Carsten Krebs promoted to Associate Professor and David Gilmour promoted to Professor. (5/20/07)

Wendy Hanna-Rose has been named a winner of the C. I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching. Sponsored by the Eberly College of Science Student Council and Alumni Society, the award is designed to recognize faculty members who have taken a special interest in students and who, through interaction with students, have had a positive impact upon them. Instituted in 1972 and named in honor of Clarence I. Noll, dean of the college from 1965 to 1971, the award is the highest honor for undergraduate teaching in the college. Winners are chosen by a committee of students and faculty from nominees suggested by students, faculty, and alumni. (5/10/07)

Frank Pugh appointed Willaman Chair in Molecular Biology. (5/9/07)

Spring Awards Reception honors winners. (5/4/07)

Wedler Outstanding Schreyer Scholar Dissertation Award--Anastasiya Yakhnina (Keiler)
Wedler Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award--Jennifer Biddle (Brenchley)
Undergraduate Scholarships/Fellowships
Leah Liu (Hanna-Rose)--Goldwater Scholarship
Graduate Scholarships/Fellowships
Sarah Barchinger (Ades)--National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Postdoctoral Scholarships/Fellowships
Jennifer Biddle (Brenchley)--NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship

Frank Pugh, Stephan Schuster and colleagues reveal structure of gateways to gene control. (3/29/07)

Julie Maresca, a BMMB graduate student in Don Bryant's lab, has won the 2007 Graduate School Alumni Dissertation Award and a prize of $5000. The award has been in existence six years, and each year a BMMB student has received the award. Previous winners were Kate Huisinga (Pugh), Shilpa Mehta (Ng), Yumiko Sakuragi (Bryant) and Lana Saleh (Bollinger) and Rob Cicchillo (Booker). (12/15/06)

2006

Lorraine Santy, research assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Andrey Krasilnikov, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, have received American Heart Association National Scientist Development Awards. (12/1/06)

Carsten Krebs, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry, has received a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. (9/19/06)

Andrea Mastro, professor of microbiology and cell biology and the director of the Immunomodulation Core Laboratory with the General Clinical Research Center at Penn State, has been named to the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC) as Vice-President for North Central Pennsylvania. (10/5/06)

Andrey Krasilnikov, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Anton Nekrutenko, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, have been named 2006 Beckman Young Investigators.

Rob Cicchillo, a BMMB graduate student in Squire Booker's lab, has won the 2006 Graduate School Alumni Dissertation Award and a prize of $5000. The award has been in existence five years, and each year a BMMB student has received the award. Previous winners were Kate Huisinga (Pugh), Shilpa Mehta (Ng), Yumiko Sakuragi (Bryant) and Lana Saleh (Bollinger).

T. Ming Chu, who received his Ph.D. from our department in 1967, was the 2006 recipient of the Graduate School Alumni Society’s Humanitarian Award. Last year, the first time the award was presented, the recipient was Bob Shaler, who received his Ph.D. in our department, is now a faculty member in our department, and is director of Forensic Sciences at Penn State. Ming Chu developed and patented the prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) test.

Peter Eric Dowd, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been selected as the first recipient of the Robert T. Simpson Graduate Student Award for Innovative Research.

Mitchell Holland, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been invited by the National Center for Forensic Science (NCFS) to participate on two focus groups supported by the National Institutes of Justice (NIJ), one titled "Identifying the Missing" and the other titled "Mass Fatality Incident Management."

Teh-hui Kao, chair of the plant physiology program and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, was awarded the 2005/2006 Graduate Program Chair Leadership Award for his service to the Plant Physiology Graduate Program.

Frank Pugh, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, was selected to receive the 2005/2006 Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Life and Health Sciences.

2005

Craig Cameron, a member of the Penn State faculty since 1997, has been named the Paul Berg Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Craig’s research focuses on positive-strand RNA viruses, which cause diseases ranging from the common cold to chronic hepatitis. Cameron completed his postdoctoral work at Penn State in 1997 after earning his doctoral degree in biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University in 1993. He earned his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude in chemistry at Howard University in 1987. He was previously named to the Louis Martarano Career Development Professorship in 2002.

Carsten Krebs, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry, has been named an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator in support of his studies on the mechanism of oxygen sensing by the iron and alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases.

Mary Osborn, who received her Ph.D. in 1967 in Biophysics (one of the departments that eventually became Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), is a recipient of the Eberly College of Science Distinguished Alumni Award presented Fall Semester 2005.

Katsuhiko Murakami, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences for his X-ray crystallographic studies of the archaeal RNA polymerases (RNAPs).

Philip Mohr, Director of Undergraduate Studies, and Richard McCarl, Professor Emeritus, both received the 2005 Eberly College of Science Distinguished Service Award.

Ross Hardison, a member of the Penn State faculty since 1980, has been named the T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Andrea Mastro, professor of microbiology and cell biology at Penn State, recently received a Stepping Stone Award from the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition at the Keystone Breast Cancer Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

2004/05

Lana Saleh, a graduate student with Marty Bollinger, is one of the winners of the 2004/5 Graduate Alumni Dissertation Award.

Yumiko Sakuragi and Shilpa Mehta are the 2004/05 recipients of the Frederick C. Wedler Doctoral Dissertation Award for outstanding graduate research in the BMB department.

Lauren Makuch is the 2004/05 recipient of the Frederick C. Wedler Honors Dissertation Award for outstanding research by an undergradutate in the department.

2003-04

Squire J. Booker, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been recognized as one of 57 of the country’s most promising scientists and engineers by President George W. Bush with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

Wendy Hanna-Rose, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, is the 2003/04 recipient of the Daniel R. Tershak Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award.

Dennis Lee, a graduate student with Ken Keiler, was named the 2003/04 outstanding teaching assistant receiving the Althouse Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.

Mike Troyan received the 2003/04 Althouse Outstanding Instructional Faculty Award in recognition of his teaching excellence.

Department Newsletter

Summer 2005

Previous Newsletters

Events

First annual BMB Summer Poster Session: Join us for the first (hopefully annual) BMB summer poster session, presented by the BMB Graduate students. Everyone in BMB is encouraged to present their research in a poster format. The 2006 Summer Poster Session will be held on August 30th at 1pm on the bridge of the Life Sciences building. For more details and to submit your poster abstract go here.

BMMB Faculty Host Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology: Over 1300 virologists were on campus from June 18-22 giving over 600 presentations. The awesome facilities and wonderful landscaping impressed all, and the great weather was an added benefit. The annual banquet took the form of a gourmet tailgate in the Beaver Stadium Club. All were dazzled by the amazing video on the scoreboard and the corresponding sound effects. The view of the sunset from the club was extraordinary, and the moon was full and glowing red early in the evening. The event was such a success that the society would like us to host the meeting at Penn State again in 2011. Other info on the event can be found at: www.asv2005.com and on the society at: www.mcw.edu/asv/.


Home Graduate Studies Undergraduate Studies Faculty About Us Contact Search
About Us Faculty Facilities Seminars Publications News and Events Outreach Links	About Us News Awards and Honors 2007 BMB Holiday Party Barry J. Marshall, co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has accepted an appointment at Penn State as the Francis R. and Helen M. Pentz Professor of Science to further his groundbreaking research in bacterial infections. Andrey Krasilnikov and Anton Nekrutenko, both assistant professors of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, have received Young Investigator Awards from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. The award recognizes the most promising young faculty members in the chemical and life sciences. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Award recognizes young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers. (5/31/07) Carsten Krebs promoted to Associate Professor and David Gilmour promoted to Professor. (5/20/07) Wendy Hanna-Rose has been named a winner of the C. I. Noll Award for Excellence in Teaching. Sponsored by the Eberly College of Science Student Council and Alumni Society, the award is designed to recognize faculty members who have taken a special interest in students and who, through interaction with students, have had a positive impact upon them. Instituted in 1972 and named in honor of Clarence I. Noll, dean of the college from 1965 to 1971, the award is the highest honor for undergraduate teaching in the college. Winners are chosen by a committee of students and faculty from nominees suggested by students, faculty, and alumni. (5/10/07) Frank Pugh appointed Willaman Chair in Molecular Biology. (5/9/07) Spring Awards Reception honors winners. (5/4/07) Wedler Outstanding Schreyer Scholar Dissertation Award--Anastasiya Yakhnina (Keiler) Wedler Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award--Jennifer Biddle (Brenchley) Undergraduate Scholarships/Fellowships Leah Liu (Hanna-Rose)--Goldwater Scholarship Graduate Scholarships/Fellowships Sarah Barchinger (Ades)--National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Postdoctoral Scholarships/Fellowships Jennifer Biddle (Brenchley)--NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship Frank Pugh, Stephan Schuster and colleagues reveal structure of gateways to gene control. (3/29/07) Julie Maresca, a BMMB graduate student in Don Bryant's lab, has won the 2007 Graduate School Alumni Dissertation Award and a prize of $5000. The award has been in existence six years, and each year a BMMB student has received the award. Previous winners were Kate Huisinga (Pugh), Shilpa Mehta (Ng), Yumiko Sakuragi (Bryant) and Lana Saleh (Bollinger) and Rob Cicchillo (Booker). (12/15/06) 2006 Lorraine Santy, research assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Andrey Krasilnikov, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, have received American Heart Association National Scientist Development Awards. (12/1/06) Carsten Krebs, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry, has received a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. (9/19/06) Andrea Mastro, professor of microbiology and cell biology and the director of the Immunomodulation Core Laboratory with the General Clinical Research Center at Penn State, has been named to the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC) as Vice-President for North Central Pennsylvania. (10/5/06) Andrey Krasilnikov, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Anton Nekrutenko, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, have been named 2006 Beckman Young Investigators. Rob Cicchillo, a BMMB graduate student in Squire Booker's lab, has won the 2006 Graduate School Alumni Dissertation Award and a prize of $5000. The award has been in existence five years, and each year a BMMB student has received the award. Previous winners were Kate Huisinga (Pugh), Shilpa Mehta (Ng), Yumiko Sakuragi (Bryant) and Lana Saleh (Bollinger). T. Ming Chu, who received his Ph.D. from our department in 1967, was the 2006 recipient of the Graduate School Alumni Society’s Humanitarian Award. Last year, the first time the award was presented, the recipient was Bob Shaler, who received his Ph.D. in our department, is now a faculty member in our department, and is director of Forensic Sciences at Penn State. Ming Chu developed and patented the prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) test. Peter Eric Dowd, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been selected as the first recipient of the Robert T. Simpson Graduate Student Award for Innovative Research. Mitchell Holland, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been invited by the National Center for Forensic Science (NCFS) to participate on two focus groups supported by the National Institutes of Justice (NIJ), one titled "Identifying the Missing" and the other titled "Mass Fatality Incident Management." Teh-hui Kao, chair of the plant physiology program and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, was awarded the 2005/2006 Graduate Program Chair Leadership Award for his service to the Plant Physiology Graduate Program. Frank Pugh, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, was selected to receive the 2005/2006 Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Life and Health Sciences. 2005 Craig Cameron, a member of the Penn State faculty since 1997, has been named the Paul Berg Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Craig’s research focuses on positive-strand RNA viruses, which cause diseases ranging from the common cold to chronic hepatitis. Cameron completed his postdoctoral work at Penn State in 1997 after earning his doctoral degree in biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University in 1993. He earned his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude in chemistry at Howard University in 1987. He was previously named to the Louis Martarano Career Development Professorship in 2002. Carsten Krebs, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry, has been named an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator in support of his studies on the mechanism of oxygen sensing by the iron and alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases. Mary Osborn, who received her Ph.D. in 1967 in Biophysics (one of the departments that eventually became Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), is a recipient of the Eberly College of Science Distinguished Alumni Award presented Fall Semester 2005. Katsuhiko Murakami, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences for his X-ray crystallographic studies of the archaeal RNA polymerases (RNAPs). Philip Mohr, Director of Undergraduate Studies, and Richard McCarl, Professor Emeritus, both received the 2005 Eberly College of Science Distinguished Service Award. Ross Hardison, a member of the Penn State faculty since 1980, has been named the T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Andrea Mastro, professor of microbiology and cell biology at Penn State, recently received a Stepping Stone Award from the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition at the Keystone Breast Cancer Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 2004/05 Lana Saleh, a graduate student with Marty Bollinger, is one of the winners of the 2004/5 Graduate Alumni Dissertation Award. Yumiko Sakuragi and Shilpa Mehta are the 2004/05 recipients of the Frederick C. Wedler Doctoral Dissertation Award for outstanding graduate research in the BMB department. Lauren Makuch is the 2004/05 recipient of the Frederick C. Wedler Honors Dissertation Award for outstanding research by an undergradutate in the department. 2003-04 Squire J. Booker, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been recognized as one of 57 of the country’s most promising scientists and engineers by President George W. Bush with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Wendy Hanna-Rose, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, is the 2003/04 recipient of the Daniel R. Tershak Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award. Dennis Lee, a graduate student with Ken Keiler, was named the 2003/04 outstanding teaching assistant receiving the Althouse Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. Mike Troyan received the 2003/04 Althouse Outstanding Instructional Faculty Award in recognition of his teaching excellence. Department Newsletter Summer 2005 Previous Newsletters Events First annual BMB Summer Poster Session: Join us for the first (hopefully annual) BMB summer poster session, presented by the BMB Graduate students. Everyone in BMB is encouraged to present their research in a poster format. The 2006 Summer Poster Session will be held on August 30th at 1pm on the bridge of the Life Sciences building. For more details and to submit your poster abstract go here. BMMB Faculty Host Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology: Over 1300 virologists were on campus from June 18-22 giving over 600 presentations. The awesome facilities and wonderful landscaping impressed all, and the great weather was an added benefit. The annual banquet took the form of a gourmet tailgate in the Beaver Stadium Club. All were dazzled by the amazing video on the scoreboard and the corresponding sound effects. The view of the sunset from the club was extraordinary, and the moon was full and glowing red early in the evening. The event was such a success that the society would like us to host the meeting at Penn State again in 2011. Other info on the event can be found at: www.asv2005.com and on the society at: www.mcw.edu/asv/.
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