When Kristen Barwick made the decision to attend the University of Missouri, her primary goal was to get into a research laboratory. Barwick enjoyed biology and chemistry as a high school student and developed an interest in research after listening to a professor describe their research endeavors. “I honestly didn’t even know research was an option until my senior year…
Biochemistry ⋅ Page 1
Senior Spotlight: Laith Almashharawi
Almashharawi will graduate with degrees in biochemistry and film studies
The son of a physician, Laith Almashharawi chose the pre-med path when he made the decision to attend the University of Missouri, and the biochemistry degree program at MU offered him exactly what he was looking for. Almashharawi grew up in Columbia and attended Rock Bridge High School, and said Mizzou was his first choice when it came to secondary…
Senior Spotlight: Emerald McKinley
McKinley will graduate with a degree in biochemistry
Emerald McKinley had no doubt about her decision to attend the University of Missouri – it was the only college she applied to. McKinley became familiar with the university through her aunt, who worked on campus in residential life. Growing up, McKinley spent numerous summers with her aunt, taking in campus life. Those experiences were more than enough for McKinley…
Senior Spotlight: Laura Valencia
Valencia will graduate with a degree in biochemistry
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…
Tackling a New Challenge
Ritcha Mehra-Chaudhary joins CAFNR as an assistant teaching professor of Biochemistry
Ritcha Mehra-Chaudhary loves a challenge. Mehra-Chaudhary has tackled a variety of challenges and switched her fields of study a handful of times throughout her career. She recently joined the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources as an assistant teaching professor of Biochemistry. She joins CAFNR from The Molecular Interactions Core in the Mizzou Office of Research.…
Building a Bridge to Success
MU and Danforth Center collaborative agreement showcases Missouri's plant biology strength
It was four years ago when the University of Missouri and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center entered into a collaborative agreement that would lead to the hiring of four new researchers, each of whom would enhance the plant biology research not only in the state, but also across the globe. Three of those positions are now filled, with the…
Addressing Big Problems
Hallie Thompson uses the rainout shelters at Bradford to simulate drought
A hard-working attitude was instilled in Hallie Thompson at an early age. Growing up on her family’s beef farm in High Point, Mo., an unincorporated community of around 50 people, Thompson spent much of her early life with her grandfather, learning what it took to operate a farm. That hard-working spirit has served her well at the University of Missouri,…
A Humbling Recognition
Jon Cody wins J. Perry Gustafson Award for Outstanding Graduate Research
Teaching and research have been at the forefront of J. Perry Gustafson’s distinguished 40-plus-year career. It makes perfect sense, then, that the J. Perry Gustafson Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in the Life Sciences would be awarded to a stellar Ph.D. student whose quality research deserves wide recognition. Jon Cody, a graduate student in the Division of Biological Sciences, earned…
A Prestigious Program
Biochemistry student selected for Cornell undergraduate research program
Alex Clarke, a junior majoring in biochemistry, has been selected to serve as a summer research scholar at Cornell University. The program will run from May 31 through July 28 and will take place at Cornell’s New York Agricultural Research Station in Geneva, New York. The Ashland, Missouri, native will be working under Marc Fuchs, associate professor of plant pathology…
‘World-Class Players’
Trio of MU Biochemistry researchers serve as chairs at prestigious Gordon Research Conferences, Seminars
Two faculty members from the University of Missouri’s Division of Biochemistry – as well as a Ph.D. student – were chosen to serve as co-chairs for meetings of the Gordon Research Conferences (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminars (GRS). In 2013, GRC attendees at the salivary gland and exocrine biology meeting voted that Gary Weisman, Curators Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, should serve…