News

Margaret Zimmerman received the prestigious American Physiology Society: Water and Electrolyte Homeostasis Predoctoral Research Recognition Award at the 2013 Experimental Biology Meeting. Zimmerman’s abstract entitled “Ang (1-7) has a Greater Contribution to the Blood Pressure Lowering Effects of AT1 Receptor Blockade in Female Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) Compared to Males” was one of three finalists chosen to compete for the award. Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM Biochemistry and Biotechnology majors Nick Berthelsen, Alex Novak, and Harrison Pantera attended the National Experimental Biology Meeting in Boston. MSUM faculty members Mark Wallert, Biosciences, and Joseph Provost, Chemistry, also attended the meeting. All three students participated in the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Undergraduate Poster Competition along with presenting their work in the regular poster sessions at the meeting. Read the rest of this entry →

Please join the Chemistry Department in wishing Joe Provost the best of luck as he leaves us to take a new job in San Diego. Hagen Hall, Science Library HA 104 Wednesday, May 8 from 1-3 p.m.

Please join the Chemistry Department in wishing Joe Provost the best of luck as he leaves us to take a new job in San Diego. Hagen Hall, Science Library (HA 104) Wednesday, May 8 from 1-3 p.m.

The Elizabeth Austin-Minor chemistry seminar for Feb. 18 has been postponed until Feb. 25 due to the blizzard watch for Sunday through Monday. Time (1:30) and room (SL 102) will remain the same.

Department of Chemistry Seminar presents:

Elizabeth Austin-Minor
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and The Large Lakes Observatory
University of Minnesota – Duluth
Monday, Feb. 18
1:30 p.m., Room SL102
Organic matter in Lake Superior

Abstract:

Read the rest of this entry →

Gregory K. Friestad
Department of Chemistry | University of Iowa
Friday, Feb. 8, 2013
1:30 p.m., SL 102
Taming Free Radicals and Carbocations for Asymmetric Synthesis of Bioactive Compounds Read the rest of this entry →

Students in the Departments of Biosciences and Chemistry submitted proposals for the Fall 2012 Student Research Grants offered by MSUM. Students who received grants were announced in mid-November. Congratulations to Biochem/Biotech students: Harrison Pantera, Rachel Walsh, Nicholas Berthelsen, Alex Novak, and Clarice Wallert. Also, congratulations to Biosciences students: Calvin Flander, Olivia Hansen, Julie Piche, Brittney Rother, Evangeline Holley, Kari Mrosla and Kaitlyn Ludwig.

A two-year $262,000 grant was recently awarded from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program to co-PIs Tim Harms (Mathematics) and Alison Wallace (Biosciences). Senior personnel include: Linda Houts-Smith (Languages and Cultures), Richard Lahti (Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy), Steve Lindaas (Physics and Astronomy), and Teresa Shume (School of Teaching and Learning). Read the rest of this entry →

Drs. Joe Provost, Chemistry, and Mark Wallert, Biosciences, review article “Inside Out: Targeting NHE1 as an intracellular and extracellular regulator of cancer progression” was accepted for publication in the journal Chemical Biology and Drug Design. The article was part of a theme whose focus is on beyond the $100 genome. The themed journal is about the potential therapeutic possibilities after an individual can get a full inexpensive reading of their genome. Wallert and Provost present ways that the sodium hydrogen exchanger is critical for cancer invasion and migration and how a better understanding of the genetic make up of patients could provide for a customized therapy to fight cancer.

Last week MSUM hosted the Discovery Science Camp, a residential and day camp for middle school students. Forty students participated in hands-on learning about crime scene science, time-lapse photography, river and pond ecology, and robotics. This STEM camp has been funded by the Center for College Readiness at MSCTC, providing numerous scholarships for underrepresented students and subsidizing the costs for full-paying students. Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM’s Discovery Science Camp is June 18 – 22, 2012

A residential camp is being offered at MSUM for students entering grades 7-10. Students will work with college science faculty doing a variety of hands-on science activities, use specialized equipment, go on field trips, and complete a research project. Classes include: Read the rest of this entry →

Erin Geissler

Gabe Sauvageau

The Tri-College University vaccinology program has awarded the first ever vaccinology scholarships to eight students who enrolled in the newly established program. This past fall 2011, Tri-College University partners Concordia College,

Nicholas Kohles

Alane Korf

Minnesota State University Moorhead and North Dakota State University, in collaboration with the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation and Sanford Health, launched a first-in-the-nation undergraduate academic minor in vaccinology. Read the rest of this entry →

Barry Pemberton (BS-Chemistry, 2006) will present a seminar entitled “Supramolecular photocatalysis: Mechanistic studies of Cucurbit[8]uril facilitating the [2+2] photodimerization of 6-methylcoumarin” on Friday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. in SL102.

Chemistry, biosciences and biotechnology majors Danielle Rastedt, Andrea Slusser, Craig Kutz, Tony Nguyen, Jenny Canine and Kristina Anderson co-author a new paper with professors Provost and Wallert in Cellular Oncology, a highly ranked cancer research journal. Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM’s Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Biotechnology degree at North Hennepin Community College has been recognized as an innovative program in the October issue of Bio-Link Connection, the newsletter of the National Advanced Technological Education Center for Biotechnology.

The program allows students to complete an entire MSUM B.S. degree at the NHCC campus, giving them the benefit of an MSUM quality education without having to leave the Twin Cities area. Courses are taught by MSUM faculty members at NHCC as well as Moorhead-based MSUM faculty via ITV. This cooperative program is unique in the biochemistry and biotechnology field and will serve as a model for continued developments in biotechnology education. Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM was host to the 7th Annual Undergraduate Research in the Molecular Sciences (URMS) meeting October 28-29, 2011.

Students and faculty from as far away as Minot State University, South Dakota State University and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (Winona) enjoyed two days of stimulating scientific discussions and debate. The 110+ participants took part in oral and poster presentations of undergraduate research efforts, as well as hearing from a number of keynote speakers from academia and industry. Read the rest of this entry →

The American Chemical Society Student Chapter at MSUM has received an Honorable Mention for its activities conducted during the 2010-2011 academic year. The club is involved in campus and community outreach and service projects including volunteering at the Dorothy Day House and providing drop-in tutoring for students in freshman- and sophomore-level chemistry courses.  The club also organizes student participation in the annual American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition. Professor P. Asoka Marasinghe, faculty advisor, received special commendation from the ACS President, Nancy Jackson. Jackson stated, in her award notification letter, that Dr. Marasinghe represents the best in undergraduate science education and mentoring around the country.

Physics seminar Sept. 23 on “Lasting Media Based on Novel Vitreous Rare Earth Phosphates:  High Energy X-Ray Diffraction and X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Studies”

A physics seminar on “Lasting Media Based on Novel Vitreous Rare Earth Phosphates:  High Energy X-Ray Diffraction and X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Studies” will be held Friday, Sept. 23 from 2:30 to 3:20 p.m. in Hagen Hall 325. The speaker is Dr. Kanishka Marasinghe from the University of North Dakota.

High energy/power lasing media based on vitreous rare earth phosphates (VREPs) are the materials of choice for a wide range of applications including fusion energy research and directed energy weapons. However, lasing efficiency of REPG depends heavily on their atomic structure, especially the coordination environment of rare earth ions, which is highly dependent on many factors including concentration and type of are earth ions and processing conditions. We have studied the atomic-scale structure of a series of rare earth doped sodium phosphate glasses with compositions (R2O3)x(Na2O)y(P2O5)1-x-y where R = Nd, Eu and Dy, 0.04 < x < 0.13, and x + y ~ 0.4 using high energy X-ray diffraction (HEXRD) and X-ray absorption (XAS) techniques. Structural features such as inter-atomic distances and coordination numbers and their dependence on the concentration and type of the rare-earth ion have been obtained by analyzing pair and radial distribution functions. Emission spectra of these materials have also been measured. Our studies suggests that the [O]/[P] ratio of these materials is primarily responsible for dictating the coordination environment of rare earth ions. When this ratio is in the 2.9-3.0 range, rare-earth coordination environment undergoes a significant change. Emission spectra show that their florescence efficiency decreases with increasing rare-earth content even at relatively low concentrations (0.05 < x < 0.25) suggesting that concentration quenching of lasing action may be present even at these concentrations.

The Student Organization Advisory Committee is pleased to present Joe Provost with the December–January Student Organization Advisor of the Month Award. He was nominated for her commitment to the Chemistry and Biochemistry Club (CBC).

Provost is a professor of Biochemistry and Biotechnology. He is dedicated to his teaching as well his research, involving many of the students of CBC. Provost’s leadership focus is on member involvement and committee formation. This unique style means that all members have an opportunity to take part in a leadership role. He has also had a significant role in this year’s club fundraising, helping to set up drop-in tutoring in the chemistry department as well as keeping the day-to-day business of the club running smoothly. As an advisor, Provost leads with limited intervention, allowing the club to run by the needs and passions of its members and stepping in when needed to make sure that the mission statement is followed at all times. Read the rest of this entry →