Director of the Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovations Center (EPIC) and professor of Genetics and Biochemistry Dr. Kerry Smithhas taken a role with the Clemson University School of Health Research (CUSHR) as campus research director for the Prisma Health Education and Research Institute (PHERI).
Dr. Robert Anholt served on NIGMS COBRE Phase 1 reviews – Special Emphasis Panel/Scientific Review Group 2024/10 ZGM1 RCB-T (C1).
Ph.D. student in Dr. Jim Morris’ lab Sabrina Pizarro has been awarded an EPIC Graduate Translational Research Assistantship.
Dr. Alex Feltus was interviewed by WYFF4 about artificial intelligence and using it in the classroom and beyond.
Authority Magazine recently highlighted Professor Shahid Mukhtar’s work and career journey in science in the article, “AgTech: Shahid Mukhtar of Clemson University on The New Technologies That Are Revolutionizing Agriculture.”
At the American Society of Microbiology Joint Branch Meeting of South Carolina, biochemistry and molecular biology master’s student Bryson Woodard received an Honorable Mention for his poster presentation titled, “Construction and Characterization of Transgenic Cell Lines for the Analysis of Glycosome Heterogeneity in Trypanosoma brucei“.
At the Clemson vs Virgina game on October 19th, Dr. Trudy Mackay was featured as professor of game.
Dr. Robert Anholt was invited to deliver a virtual scientific presentation skills workshop for the University of Chile in Santiago. In addition, he has been appointed a guest professor, in the Master in Genetics Program and Program of Human Genetics at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences within the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Chile.
Elizabeth Caldwell, senior genetics major, was selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the most prestigious and selective major fellowships available to American college students.
At the American Society of Microbiology Joint Branch Meeting of South Carolina, biochemistry undergraduate Hayeon Cho received an Honorable Mention for her poster presentation titled, “Determination of the role of one cathepsin C-like protease, TgCPC2, in Toxoplasma gondii infection.”
Dr. Alex Feltus and Ph.D. candidate Xusheng Ai released open-source generative AI software called GEMDiff that can “deep fake” gene expression in diseased tissue to look like gene expression in normal tissue.
Clemson News featured an article spotlighting Drs. Trudy Mackay and Robert Anholt’s research of how fruit flies could help find treatment for “childhood Alzheimer’s.”
Associate professor of genetics and biochemistry at Clemson University, Dr. Lukasz Kozubowski earned his bachelor’s and then master’s degrees in pharmaceutical sciences at the Medical University of Warsaw in Poland, whihc is one of the oldest and the largest medical schools in Poland. The first academic department of medicine was established as far back as two centuries ago in 1809.
He then completed his doctorate under the mentorship of Dr. Kelly Tatchell at Louisiana State University Medical Center, studying mechanisms of cell division and morphogenesis (more specifically the biology of septin proteins and related cell signaling involving the PP1 phosphatase). He continued similar investigations under the guidance of Dr. Danny Lew, when he moved to Duke University for his postdoctoral studies.
Subsequently, he performed studies in several labs at Duke (including Joseph Heitman, Andy Alspaugh, and John Perfect) investigating the biology and pathogenicity of a human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.
In 2013 he established research program at Clemson University with the main aim to elucidate mechanisms of cell division and stress response in C. neoformans. Dr. Kowzubowski studies C. neoformans to understand the mechanistic cellular processes used by pathogenic microorganisms to allow survival in the infected host. C. neoformans is a major opportunistic fungal pathogen worldwide and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in AIDS patients.
Dr. Kozubowski’s work with C. neoformans leads to the hypothesis that this pathogen has evolved unique pathways to control cell division in a manner that allows it to survive within a human host. Testing this hypothesis would provide insights into how eukaryotic pathogens adapt to the host environment and could potentially reveal new targets for therapeutic interventions.
In addition to research, Dr. Kozubowski teaches, writes grants and publishes papers in peer-reviewed journals. Read more here.
Dr. Julia Frugoli (second from left), among others, is welcomed into the Emeritus College
In April, Dr. Julia Frugoli, retired alumni distinguished professor of genetics, was named professor emeritus and inducted into the prestigious Clemson University Emeritus College.
A Clemson University professor emeritus is a regular faculty member who has served at the university for at least five years and in the academic profession for 15 years, and who has officially retired. The title of emeritus or emerita is added to their professorial rank in recognition of their service to the university, their place in the university community, and their ability to contribute to the university’s intellectual and cultural life.
During her career one of of Dr. Frugoli’s research goals was identifying the plant genes, hormones and environmental signals involved in nodule number regulation and construct a signal transduction pathway for the long distance communication pathway between the roots and shoots. This research is designed to understand nodule development and the plant control of nodulation to benefit agricultural production, both in legumes and other plants.
Emeritus status is an honor that shows respect for a distinguished career!
Drs. Manuel Fierro, Andrew Jezewski and Kristina Mercer (left to right) join the G&B team.
The Department of Genetics and Biochemistry is excited to welcome two new tenure track assistant professors and a new lecturer to their departmental faculty: Drs. Manuel Fierro, Andrew Jezewski and Kristina Mercer.
Dr. Manuel Fierro is currently a post-doctoral researcher with Dr. Josh Beck in the Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology at Iowa State University and will be joining the department and Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC) as a tenure track assistant professor. His research has been focused on characterizing the essential protein trafficking machinery in Plasmodium, a genus of parasites that cause malaria in humans. We look forward to Dr. Fierro joining us this October.
Dr. Jezewski is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Damian Krysan’s Lab in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa. Like Dr. Fierro, he will be joining the department and Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC) as a tenure track assistant professor. Dr. Jezewski brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the field of eukaryotic pathogens. We are excited to have Dr. Jezewski joining the department officially in January 2025.
Dr. Mercer comes to us with 25 years of experience as a research scientist at Emory University, five years as a public health scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and three years as a lecturer of biology and course coordinator of biology labs at Kennesaw State University. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Mercer, who will begin teaching BCHM/GEN 3040 this fall semester in August 2024 as a lecturer for the department.
Please join us in welcoming Drs. Fierro, Jezewski and Mercer to the Genetics and Biochemistry, the College of Science and the Clemson University family!
