Month: August 2026

Dr. Rajandeep Sekhon has been invited to speak at the CANVAS 2026 symposium in Portland, Oregon, and the 2027 International Climate Resilient Crop Genomics Consortium workshop in San Diego, California.

Dr. Robert Anholt presented “Dazzle ’Em With Style: The Art of Oral Scientific Presentation (Presentation Skills)” at the USC School of Medicine’s 2026 SC INBRE Career Development Workshop. He will also organize and co-moderate “Translational Models for Substance Use Disorders” at the 2026 American Society for Human Genetics Annual Meeting and organize Clemson University’s inaugural Ecology and Evolution Symposium.

Post Doctoral Fellow and Ph.D. student Caroline Palmentiero were co-first authors on “Characterization of two early lead anti-amoebic agents with activity against Naegleria fowleri” which is published in the International Journal for Parasitology:  Drugs and Drug Resistance.

“Drosophila melanogaster reveals distinct metabolic aging trajectories modifiable by the Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme inhibitor Lisinopril” was published by Trudy Mackay and Robert Anholt in the scientific journal Aging Cell.

Dr. Hong Luo and his lab published three articles.

• “LpDREB2A-LpbZIP41/LpbZIP66 module orchestrates heat stress tolerance by modulating ABA biosynthesis and carbonic anhydrase activity in perennial ryegrass” in The Plant Journal.
• “TRNAU1AP and PRPF39 establish integrated control over processing of most abundant human non-coding RNAs” in Nature Communications.
• “The miR319/bHLH094 module regulates plant thermotolerance by modulating auxin biosynthesis and signaling pathway” in Plant Biotechnology.

Ph.D. student Colm Roster had a “An Improved Method for the Isolation of Extrachromosomal DNA from the Pathogenic Free-Living Amoeba Naegleria fowleri” published in Methods and Protocols.

Dr. Rajandeep Sekhon leads the Clemson University team participating in a four-year, $6 million National Science Foundation collaborative grant for the project “Collaborative Research: FEC: Converging AI, Biomechanics, and Genomics to Engineer Lodging Resilient Field Crops.”

Dr. James Morris is part of a team that was awarded a NIH grant, “Optimization of N. fowleri inhibitors for rodent efficacy and validation of target.”

Dr. Hong Luo received the Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB) 2026 Distinguished Service Award for his contribution in fundraising and service as member of the SIVB Board of Directors.

Senior genetics and Honors College student Jennifer Covel was chosen to represent Clemson University at the 20^th annual ACC Meeting of the Minds Undergraduate Research Conference.

Five Department of Genetics and Biochemistry faculty members were promoted at the beginning of the Fall 2026 semester: Lindsey Beebe to senior lecturer; Lukasz Kozubowski to professor; and Miriam Konkel, Lela Lackey and Fabio Morgante to associate professor with tenure.

Genetics and Biochemistry students Elizabeth Polatty and Addison Vondersaar have been selected to explore global policy issues through the Honors College’s selective Dixon Global Policy Scholars program.

Graduate students Alp Ummet, Fengge Chang, Vijay Shankar, Xiaotong (Stone) Chen, Zhaohui (Charlie) Chen, Ryan Watts and Ming Liu attended national and international conferences presenting posters and giving oral presentations.

Alexandra Harrington, an Honors College student and biochemistry and genetics double major with minors in Spanish studies and microbiology was selected for a Fulbright teaching assistantship in Galicia, Spain.

Ph.D. student Xiaotong (Stone) Chen received the Society for In Vitro Biology 2026 Philip R. White Memorial Award for his outstanding research.