Biochemistry

May 10, 2021

Senior Spotlight: Laura Valencia

Growing up in Columbia, Laura Valencia always loved the University of Missouri. She had a chance to officially become a Tiger when she transferred to Mizzou in 2018. As she heads toward graduation, Valencia said her time at MU has been incredible. “My favorite memories at Mizzou include all of the homecoming festivities over the years, the late nights studying at Ellis, getting coffee at Memorial Union, and attending the football and basketball games,” Valencia said. “I also really enjoyed going to the student center before the pandemic hit.” When Valencia graduates in May, she will earn a degree in…

Jan. 27, 2021

Roberts, Spencer Named Society for the Study of Reproduction Distinguished Fellows

Two University of Missouri faculty were among 15 individuals recently named Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) Distinguished Fellows. R. Michael Roberts, Chancellor’s Professor with appointments in animal sciences and biochemistry, and Thomas Spencer, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Animal Sciences, were both honored. This is the inaugural year of the program. From the SSR press release about the Distinguished Fellowship honor: The SSR Distinguished Fellowship is one of the highest professional scientific honors awarded for outstanding contributions to the scientific discipline of reproductive biology. The SSR Distinguished Fellowship recognizes the impact of active SSR members and their outstanding contributions…

Dec. 16, 2020

CAFNR Office of Research Recognizes Drivers of Distinction

The CAFNR Office of Research recently recognized 10 faculty members as Drivers of Distinction. The honor was given to the faculty members, listed below, who had the highest total shared credit research expenditures over the past 10 years (2011-20). David Diamond – director, Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership (School of Natural Resources) Felix Fritschi – C. Alice Donaldson Professor in Bioenergy Crop Physiology and Genetics (Division of Plant Sciences) Shibu Jose – associate dean, CAFNR Office of Research; professor (School of Natural Resources) Henry Nguyen – professor (Division of Plant Sciences) Craig Paukert – cooperative professor (School of Natural Resources) Randy…

Barry Edwards

Sep. 17, 2020

Barry Edwards

Olga Baker smiling.

June 1, 2020

Olga J. Baker

Sep. 15, 2019

Michael Baldwin

Baldwin’s laboratory is focused on understanding how bacterial pathogens cause disease in the human population. In particular, he is studying botulinum neurotoxins, soluble proteins that readily diffuse from the site of infection to alter neuronal cell function with damaging effects on the intoxicated individual. The central theme of his research is to understand the molecular basis of protein translocation, the process by which the toxin catalytic domain is transported across the endosomal membrane bilayer to the cell cytosol. To pursue this goal, he has developed new spectroscopic and biochemical approaches to study the insertion of toxin into the membrane,…

Lloyd Sumner

Sep. 7, 2019

Lloyd W. Sumner

The research focus of the Sumner lab includes the development of cutting-edge technologies for large-scale biochemical profiling of plant metabolites (i.e. metabolomics) and integrating these with other omics data. These technologies are then applied in a symbiotic manner for plant gene discovery, gene characterization and the elucidation of mechanistic responses to external stimuli; especially related to plant specialized metabolism or plant natural products biosynthesis. Technology enables the biology and the biology drives technology development. Current technology development projects include the development of a sophisticated and integrated ensemble including UHPLC-MS-SPE-NMR for the systematic and biologically driven annotation of plant metabolomes.

Jay Thelen smiling.

Sep. 7, 2019

Jay J. Thelen

Educational background Ph.D. Biological Sciences, University of Missouri Courses taught Biochemistry 4272/7272: Biochemistry…

Portrait of Scott Peck

Sep. 7, 2019

Scott C. Peck

Educational background Ph.D., Michigan State University Courses taught Biochemistry 2480: Introduction to Macromolecular Structure and Function Biochemistry 8200: Principles and Research Practices in Biochemistry…

Lesa J. Beamer smiling.

Sep. 7, 2019

Lesa J. Beamer

Educational background Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Courses taught Problem-Based Learning (PBL) for 1st and 2nd year medical students Graduate Level Structural Biology for the Life Sciences…