School of Medicine

Biochemistry



 

Dr. Rinku Majumder, associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been awarded a 4-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a project entitled "A Mechanistic Study to elucidate the role of Protein S in elevating the risk of Thrombosis in Obese, Pre-menopausal women". The goal of the proposal is to elucidate the biochemical and molecular basis for the dramatic increase in thrombosis in obese women using oral contraceptives with a major focus on the role of anticoagulant, Protein S (PS) deficiency. The findings from the proposal will answer the key question whether plasma PS levels and parameters of increased thrombin generation normalize after adaptation of a healthy lifestyle and/or cessation of oral contraceptive use. The project commences on January 15th, 2021.

 


LSU HEALTH'S ALAHARI NAMED 2020 AAAS FELLOW

            New Orleans, LA - Suresh Alahari, PhD, Fred G. Brazda Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

            Members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Dr. Alahari was elected for his distinguished contributions in cancer research and teaching, with a focus on signal transduction.

            Dr. Alahari ‘s research interests include the biochemistry of cell adhesion and the mechanism of action of Nischarin in tumor cell migration and invasion. Nischarin is a novel protein Dr. Alahari discovered that is involved in a number of biological processes including the regulation of breast cancer cell migration and movement. He joined the LSU Health New Orleans faculty in 2004.

            This year's AAAS Fellows will be formally announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on 27 November 2020. A virtual Fellows Forum - an induction ceremony for the new Fellows - will be held on 13 February 2021.

            The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the association's 24 sections, or by any three Fellows who are current AAAS members (so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee's institution), or by the AAAS chief executive officer. Fellows must have been continuous members of AAAS for four years by the end of the calendar year in which they are elected. The AAAS Fellow honor comes with an expectation that recipients maintain the highest standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity.

Each steering group reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list.

The Council is the policymaking body of the Association, chaired by the AAAS president, and consisting of the members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Association of Academies of Science.

http://lsuh.sc/nr?a=1987

 


Dr. Suresh Alahari was awarded 4th round of LIFT grant for the project entitled, “ A potential inhibitor of breast cancer”. The core innovation of this technology is a therapeutic cocktail for the treatment of breast cancer.  Dr. Alahari's lab identified for the first time, the functional effect of two microRNAs, miR-27b and miR-23b, as novel regulators of tumor growth (Jin et al,  Cancer Research; May 1, 2013, Pages 2884-2896). Based on this key finding, his lab proposed the development and in vivo testing of an anti-cancer therapeutic cocktail composed of nucleotide-based compounds (antagomirs) that target these microRNAs. This funded proposal examines the effect of the novel antagomirs on breast tumor growth.


Dr. Suresh Alahari received the 2016 Outstanding Service to the Community Award for selfless acts that benefit the School of Medicine and those served by the School of Medicine.


Dr. Kim won the Outstanding Mentor Award presented by the LSU School of Medicine Faculty Assembly.


Minmin Luo was awarded travel to the Biophysical Society meeting in Los Angeles, California. The title of her abstract is, "Trapping the transition state of kinesin-5 produces a different multimotor force outcome than inhibiting product release”.


Congratulations to our students who presented posters and talks at Graduate Research Day 2015. This year's top presenters were: 3 Minute Talks Minmin Luo and Jessica Richard!


Congratulations to Micquel Downs in Dr. Kim's lab. She was the first place winner for research excellence in the NSF REU program in basic sciences. Her research project showed that a quantum mechanical phenomenon, known as tunneling, is used in biological enzymes in the breakdown of ATP, the primary energy molecule in cells. Micquel is a rising sophomore at Tulane and a graduate of the Patrick Taylor High School in New Orleans. Dr. Fern Tsien's National Science Foundation grant provides 10-week research experiences to undergraduate students interested in a career in the biological sciences.Congrats to Dr. Desai's Summer Student, Sameer Nair-Desai from Ben Franklin High School. He was the 2nd place winner of the Summer Research Internship Poster Symposium.


Dr. Desai in the news.

Dr. Shyamal Desai , Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, is asking the public to help her help children with a rare inherited brain disorder that can confine them to a wheelchair by age 12 and take their lives a decade later. read more...


Three graduate students in the Kim lab presented their research on nanomotor kinesin proteins at the 58th annual Biophysical Society meeting in San Francisco, CA.  Over 7,000 scientists from around the world attended the meeting and there were 950 poster presentations daily.  Minmin Luo submitted her study on variations in anticancer drug targeting; Rebecca Buckley presented her work on biochemical interactions required a drug-binding loop; and Jessica Richard showed her computational analysis of allostery wiring diagrams. read more...


The LSU School of Medicine and LSU Health Sciences Center are pleased to announce the establishment of the Arthur L. Haas Endowed Lectureship. An anonymous donor made a $100,000 gift to fund this lectureship in honor of Dr. Haas' illustrious career in research, mentoring, and academic leadership and to support higher education within the School's membership and the New Orleans public.read more...