New year, new semester, new students. Today, the lab grew by adding three new students for the coming semester. Today we added CJ Booterbaugh (Jr, PSYC), Ella Jacoby (Fr, Biochem) and Nathan Philips (Soph, Biochem). We are excited to see what they can accomplish on existing and new projects in the lab!
FIRST HEISLER LAB PUBLICATION!
Today, our efforts, in collaboration with Dr. Thomas Montgomery (Duquesne) was published in ACS Organic & Inorganic Au (DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.5c00098). The Montgomery group was interested in a novel synthetic pathway for producing 1,2,4-Triazolidines with multiple different substitutions.
Given the involvement of triazolidines in diverse bioactivities, we found that many of these compound possess antibacterial properties. Led undergraduate Trista Newman, this project has spurred new questions and avenues of research lead by PhD student Elias Griffin.
First Preprint goes live!
Today, the first preprint that the Heisler lab has had the honor contribute their expertise towards has gone live. A collaboration with Rita Mihailescu’s lab here at Duquesne shows the importance of DNA secondary structures in the regulation of the 5′ untranslated region (5’UTR) of a gene implicated in multiple sclerosis. Morgan (PhD student) and Zoe (NSF-REU and NIH-NURE student) contributed all of the molecular and cell biology in the paper!
Undergraduates Awarded Multiple Awards for ABASM!
Today, undergraduates Megan Lyons, Elizabeth Stahovich (Cascio Lab), Trista Newman, and Cate Chalovich all presented at the Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology Regional Conference in California, PA.
Elizabeth presented a poster on her summer research experience at at the University of Bern in Switzerland with a project that focused on neurolisteriosis, an infection of the central nervous system caused by the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.
Megan presented a poster on her summer research experience at Penn State in Dr. Dudley’s on project that focused on Sequencing of the O-Antigen Region in E. coli using CRISPR Cleavage assays.
Cate presented, and was awarded with a Top Undergraduate Poster Presentation Award (and cash), a poster on her continued efforts to make knock out strains of Listeria to advance projects uncovering the interactions with host proteins.
Trista, whose abstract was selected for an oral presentation, was awarded with the Top Undergraduate Oral Presentation Award (and cash), for her efforts in identifying novel antibiotic scaffolds that target common foodborne-pathogens!
Congrats to everyone!
Trista, Cate, and Megan will Present at ABASM regional Conference!
Undergraduates Trista Newman, Cate Chalovich, and Megan Lyons all had their abstracts accepted to present at the Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology Region Symposium next month! Best of luck to each one!