News

Syracuse Native Finds Career in Team Science

Plansky Hoang ’15, G’20 is the youngest of seven children born to immigrant parents in Syracuse. She attended Henninger High School and came to Syracuse University as an undergraduate to major in biomedical and chemical engineering. “When I started college, my goal was to graduate and get a job in industry,” says Hoang. “I interned at a pharmaceutical company and wanted to do that kind of work.” Continue Reading

Hehnly Lab Awarded $1.2M NIH Grant to Research Critical Tissue Formation

A key process during the development of an embryo is tissue morphogenesis, where the number of cells in an organism increase through cell division and tissues begins to take shape. Heidi Hehnly, assistant professor of biology, has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for her group’s research to determine the mechanisms behind the formation of tissues with a lumen, which is a hollow passageway. Organs with these tubular passageways include the heart, kidney and gastrointestinal tract. Continue Reading

$1.5M NIH Grant Funds ALS-Linked Research in Castañeda Lab

The human body is made up of trillions of cells. Within each cell are proteins that help to maintain the structure, function and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. When cells are under stress, as in response to heat or toxins, certain proteins within the cell condense into liquid-like droplets called condensates. These droplets can be thought of as a form of quality control allowing the cell to minimize the effects of the stress condition.

Cases of abnormal condensate formation or persistence have recently been linked to neurodegenerative diseases like ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and cancer. Thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Carlos Castañeda, assistant professor of biology and chemistry, and his team will investigate the regulation and dysregulation of condensates using biophysical and cell biology approaches. This research may lead to determining what causes diseases like ALS. Continue Reading

Manning and Amack Awarded $2.1M NIH Grant to Study Causes of Congenital Heart Defects

Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect, affecting nearly 1% of births in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Doctors have been unable to lower that number due to a lack of knowledge about their source. Thanks to a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, an interdisciplinary team of researchers will work to advance the understanding of causes of birth defects.
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BioInspired Institute Awards First Six Seed Grants

Syracuse University’s BioInspired Institute announced today that it has awarded six seed grants to 12 faculty members to advance interdisciplinary, collaborative research in materials and living systems.  Seed grants provide funding for innovative ideas, producing data that can be used in future funding applications to prove that a new concept or approach is promising and attract additional research funds from outside the University. Continue Reading

Chemistry Professor Mozhdehi and Engineering Professor Wang Receive Powe Award to Enrich Research, Growth

Mechanical and aerospace engineering Professor Yeqing Wang from the College of Engineering and Computer Science and chemistry Professor Davoud Mozhdehi from the College of Arts and Sciences were selected as recipients of competitive 2020-2021 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). The Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program provides funds to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty. Continue Reading

Ph.D. Candidate’s Work in the Patteson Lab Requires Tools from Multiple Disciplines

After completing a master’s degree from the University of Akron in physics, Ph.D. candidate Maxx Swoger attended a seminar hosted by Alison Patteson, assistant professor of Physics at Syracuse University. “Originally and very broadly, I wanted to study soft matter physics or biophysics. And to be perfectly honest with you, I think this is one of the best places in the country to do that,” says Swoger. “The collaboration both within the physics department and the University allows students to approach the systems we’re studying with a variety of techniques. This is something I really liked about Syracuse when deciding which school to attend for my Ph.D.” Continue Reading

The BioInspired Mind

Biophysicist Alison Patteson is using a trio of grant awards to probe the mysteries of complex living systems.

No one was more surprised than Alison Patteson when, at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, she received her first major National Science Foundation (NSF) grant award. “Frankly, it was a shock to me because some of the work is out of my comfort zone,” says the assistant professor of physics, who is using the funding to study the cellular entry of SARS2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. “I’ve had to pivot my research to accommodate the project.” Continue Reading