{"id":26,"date":"2016-07-13T14:05:52","date_gmt":"2016-07-13T18:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/biochem\/?page_id=26"},"modified":"2026-03-13T12:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:41:14","slug":"news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/geiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/biochem\/news\/","title":{"rendered":"News"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Registration Opens Summer 2026<\/strong>
\ngeiselmed.dartmouth.edu\/lss<\/a><\/h3>\n

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January 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Join us in congratulating two BCB faculty members for their recent recognition at the Geisel School of Medicine\u2019s 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Awards luncheon! Professor Dean Madden was selected for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Legacy Award, and Professor Oluwatoyin Asojo was selected for the Outstanding Staff Award. You can read more about this award series and <\/span>view other recipients here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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November 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Congratulations to BCB postdoc Abubakar Khan on being elected to the Dartmouth Postdoctoral Association (DPA) executive board as co-president.<\/p>\n

\"Muhammad Abubakar Khan is a postdoc in biochemistry and microbiology in the Madden and Cramer Labs. He was recently elected to the Dartmouth Postdoctoral Association (DPA) executive board as co-president. Postdoctoral researcher Muhammad Abubakar Khan combines creativity, collaboration, and curiosity in his work at Dartmouth. In addition to studying fungal adaptation in the Madden and Cramer Labs, he was recently elected to the Dartmouth Postdoctoral Association\u2019s executive board, where he champions connection and career development.\" Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"Congratulations to BCB Professor Soni Lacefield on Receiving the Genetics Society of America Ira Herskowitz Award!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are thrilled to share that Soni Lacefield, PhD<\/strong> has been honored with the Ira Herskowitz Award<\/strong> from the Genetics Society of America<\/strong>. This prestigious award recognizes \u201coutstanding contributions in the field of yeast research in the last 20 years\u201d<\/em> and is typically given to scientists under the age of 50 who have made significant advances in the field.<\/p>\n

Professor Lacefield\u2019s innovative work continues to deepen our understanding of yeast genetics and cell division, reinforcing her leadership in the research community.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the award and this year\u2019s honorees on the Genetics Society of America website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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July 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jamie Moseley Named Chair of the Biochemistry & Cell Biology Department<\/strong><\/p>\n

Note from Duane Compton<\/p>\n

I am pleased to share that Jamie Moseley, PhD, has been appointed chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, effective July 1. Jamie brings to this role a deep commitment to scientific excellence, a strong record of institutional service, and a collaborative spirit that has enriched our community since he joined the Geisel faculty in 2010.<\/p>\n

A distinguished cell biologist, Jamie\u2019s research has advanced our understanding of how cells coordinate growth and division\u2014work that has important implications for cancer biology and beyond. His leadership will build on the department\u2019s strong foundation and continue its tradition of excellence in research, training, and mentorship.<\/p>\n

Please join me in congratulating Jamie on this well-deserved appointment and in thanking Charlie Barlowe for his 17 years of outstanding leadership as chair.<\/p>\n

You can read more about Jamie's appointment here: Full Article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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June 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Congratulations to the Biochemistry & Cell Biology Program 2025 Graduates!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nHieu Nguyen (Kettenbach Lab)
\nPostdoctoral Fellow - Pfizer<\/p>\n

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\nChenhui Deng (Compton\/Godek Lab)
\nStem Cell Scientist - Colossal Biosciences<\/p>\n

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\nRachel Berg-Murante (Moseley Lab)
\nPostdoctoral Associate - Virginia Tech\/Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine<\/p>\n

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\nJunghoon Lee (Chang Lab)
\nTechnology Specialist - Proskauer Rose<\/p>\n

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\nJohn Fuesler (Barlowe Lab)<\/p>\n

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\nThao Huynh (Chang Lab)
\nSenior Analyst - Health Advances<\/p>\n

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\nAmanda Ya (Compton\/Godek Lab)
\nResearch Scientist - Fujifilm Biosciences Irvine<\/p>\n

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\nBrian North (Shoemaker Lab)<\/p>\n

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\nMaddie Chrupcala (Moseley Lab)
\nPostdoctoral Fellow - Yale<\/p>\n

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\nNatasha Mariano (Kettenbach Lab)<\/p>\n

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April 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pallavi S. Gadgil & Susu He receive
\n2024 E. Lucile Smith Award for Scientific Excellence in Biochemistry<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology is pleased to announce Pallavi S. Gadgil and Susu He as the recipients of the 2024 E. Lucile Smith Award for Scientific Excellence in Biochemistry. The Smith Awards honor the ground-breaking career of Dr. E. Lucile Smith, the first woman to attain the rank of Professor at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Pallavi and Susu received this award in recognition of their exceptional research accomplishments during the past year. The Dr. E. Lucile Smith awards are funded by the generosity of Dr. Smith\u2019s nephew Gray Parker, his wife Mary Kay, and the Booth-Bricker Fund.<\/p>\n

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Pallavi<\/strong> is being recognized for her accomplishments as a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Soni Lacefield. Pallavi\u2019s work combines live-cell fluorescence microscopy, functional genomics, and biochemistry to understand the regulation of mitosis and meiosis in budding yeast. Pallavi's current work focuses on how chromosome gain, through aneuploidy, can sometimes become beneficial to cells. This work is relevant to understanding how aneuploidy contributes to cancer progression, as most cells in solid tumors have extra chromosomes. She is studying a gene called BUB3<\/em> whose loss causes an increase in chromosome missegregation. Surprisingly, cells lacking Bub3 retain additional copies of specific chromosomes. Pallavi found that there are multiple genes on those chromosomes whose upregulation provides a benefit to the cells. This work was published in PLoS Genetics<\/em><\/a> and sets the groundwork for understanding how aneuploidy becomes beneficial to cells with chromosome instability.<\/p>\n

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Susu<\/strong>\u00a0is being recognized for her accomplishments as a postdoctoral research scientist in the lab of Dr. Dean R. Madden. She graduated with a Ph.D. in Microbial and Enzymatic Engineering from the Institut National des Sciences Appliqu\u00e9es de Toulouse in France and joined the Madden Lab in July 2016. Susu\u2019s research in Madden lab focuses on the regulation mechanism of a bacterial virulent factor from Pseudomonas aeruginosa<\/em>, a pathogen that persistently infects the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Previous work from the Dartmouth CF research consortium found that P. aeruginosa<\/em>\u00a0produces a virulent factor Cif, an epoxide hydrolase, that is associated with worse clinical outcomes. Using biochemical and structural approaches, Susu and co-authors determined the molecular structures of a transcription factor CifR, which regulates the expression of Cif, and uncovered the molecular mechanisms controlling this virulent factor. These findings offer new insights into the stereochemical regulation of an epoxide-based virulence circuit in a critically important clinical pathogen. This work was published in Nucleic Acids Research in 2024.<\/p>\n

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Soni Lacefield Named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology is pleased to announce that Dr. Soni Lacefield, PhD, has been named a 2025 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) the world\u2019s largest general scientific society and the publisher of the journal Science<\/em>. The honor, bestowed upon members by their academic peers since 1874, recognizes researchers for scientifically and socially distinguished achievements throughout their careers. Professor Lacefield was recognized for her contributions to the field of meiotic cell cycle control, and for initiating and directing summer research programs for students from Africa.<\/p>\n

Full Articles:<\/p>\n