News

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor Mary Beth Monroe Receives 2023 Rosalind Franklin Society Special Award in Science

Mary Beth Monroe in lab with studentsMary Beth Monroe, an associate professor of biomedical and chemical engineering at the Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been selected to receive the 2023 Rosalind Franklin Society Special (RFS) Award in Science.

The RFS Awards in Science recognize contributions and dedication to advancing scientific knowledge, and outstanding peer-reviewed research by women and underrepresented minorities in STEM. The anthology of award winners is available digitally on the Rosalind Franklin Society website and in print.

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Innovative sepsis treatment: Juntao Luo, PhD, secures over $2 mil from NIGMS to develop nanotechnology-based therapeutic for life-threatening condition

Continuing his tireless efforts to find an effective treatment for severe sepsis, Juntao Luo, PhD will be developing an innovative treatment for the condition that has a mortality rate of 30-40%. With a newly awarded over $2 million fund from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), he’ll spend the next five years turning his nanotechnology into a bioactive therapeutic that could help prevent sepsis deaths, and potentially treat a wide range of inflammatory diseases.  Continue Reading

Unlocking Proteins’ Potential

Davoud Mozhdehi and Faeze Mousazadeh in lab with Kavindu Kolamunna.
Professor Davoud Mozhdehi (right) discusses research with chemistry doctoral student Faeze Mousazadeh. Both Mousazadeh and chemistry doctoral student Kavindu Kolamunna (left) are members of Mozhdehi’s research lab team.

Syracuse University researcher is pioneering new methods of protein engineering.

Davoud Mozhdehi, associate professor of chemistry in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, likes to tinker with proteins. Through protein engineering, he believes there’s much to discover about the inner workings of lipidated proteins, which are equipped with oil-like appendages (lipids) that interact with cell membranes and are vital to cell functions like signaling and trafficking. “We’re trying to develop platforms to facilitate attaching lipids to proteins and to use the unique properties of lipids to tune the properties of proteins for various applications,” he says.

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Samuel Herberg and Pranav Soman awarded $439,000 grant to develop 3D-model for studying glaucoma’s mechanisms

Samuel Herberg, PhD, of Upstate and Pranav Soman, PhD, of Syracuse University.
Samuel Herberg, PhD, of Upstate and Pranav Soman, PhD, of Syracuse University.

Glaucoma affects 3 million Americans, is incurable, and is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.  Even with the disease’s prevalence, how and why it develops is still largely not understood.

Samuel Herberg, PhD, is an assistant professor of ophthalmology & visual sciences, as well as a researcher at Upstate’s Center for Vision Research, is working to create new ways to study the cells and structures in the eye that can help better understand glaucoma. He was recently awarded $439k from the National Eye Institute (NEI) over two years to develop a unique 3D model to study specific mechanisms of fluid outflow and pressure regulation in the eye. Continue Reading

Creating better tools to study glaucoma; Preethi Ganapathy developing 3D model to study optic nerve cells

Using a grant from the National Eye Institute, an Upstate researcher and ophthalmologist plans to create a new way to test the potential causes of and contributors to glaucoma. Assistant professor Preethi S. Ganapathy, MD, PhD, was awarded $447,000 over two years to develop a model that could help overcome a hurdle researchers face while studying the neurodegenerative disease. Currently, glaucoma affects 3 million Americans, is incurable, and is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.  

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BioInspired Solicits Letters of Intent for Team Science Support

We are writing today with exciting news about the evolution of our seed grant program. These past programs have focused on identifying and supporting collaborative teams that could help build toward large-scale, collaborative grants. Now, we believe several of these teams and likely others from among our members are ready to focus attention on center-grant funding or other multi-investigator opportunities (e.g., NSF MRSEC, NSF BII, DoD MURI, NIH P01). In conversations with Syracuse University’s Office of Research, we have advocated for concrete ways to support teams working on these types of funding opportunities to maintain the growth of the Institute and the University’s research community.

We now expect the Office of Research to very soon launch a standing program designed to facilitate team science and to support faculty pursuing funding opportunities that require a collaborative approach. In anticipation of this imminent program, the Institute is soliciting letters of intent (LOIs) on a rolling basis for teams to describe their existing collaborations and their broader vision for the work and to identify gaps in the team. After interviews with applicants, we will work with teams to develop applications to the team science program from the Office of Research. Continue Reading

2024 Wasserstrom Prize for Graduate Teaching Presented to Physics Professor Christian Santangelo

Award given in memory of noted professor of English William Wasserstrom.

Christian Santangelo
Physics Professor Christian Santangelo is the 2024 recipient of the William Wasserstrom Prize.

Christian Santangelo, professor and director of graduate studies in the physics department of the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and member of the BioInspired Institute, is the 2024 recipient of the William Wasserstrom Prize in recognition of his exemplary mentorship of graduate students. A&S Dean Behzad Mortazavi will confer the award on Santangelo at the Graduate School doctoral hooding ceremony on May 10.

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Samuel Herberg wins national research award for his work on glaucoma

Samuel Herberg in lab

Upstate Medical University’s Samuel Herberg, PhD, assistant professor in the Center for Vision Research and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has been named the recipient of the 2024 Douglas H. Johnson Award for Glaucoma Research. The award, from the BrightFocus Foundation is presented annually to the top-rated proposal in the National Glaucoma Research program. The award is given in recognition of exceptionally promising and forward-thinking ideas in the field of glaucoma research.

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Aerodynamics of Avian Flight: Kasey Laurant Studying Impact of Strong Wind Gusts

Kasey Laurant and Cody Van Nostrand in lab with machine
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Kasey Laurant (left) and student Cody Van Nostrand ’24 running an experiment in the water channel lab.

Boasting an impressive wingspan of over seven feet, the golden eagle is one of the largest birds of prey in North America. In addition to being cunning, skilled hunters and their ability to soar effortlessly for hours, golden eagles might also utilize strong gusts of wind to assist their flight – an ability that piqued the interest of Kasey Laurent, an aerospace and mechanical engineering professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

During her Ph.D. studies at Cornell University, Laurent conducted research on golden eagles by recording their acceleration as they flew, and the study formed the foundation for her dissertation on bird and drone flight. She also participated in Cornell’s Raptor Program, which provides a home for injured or non-releasable birds for research, training and rehabilitation. This experience gave her valuable insights into bird flight and behavior.

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Syracuse Undergraduate Erin McCarthy Spearheads Study Using Physics Principles to Understand How Cells Self-Sort in Development

Erin McCarthy and M. Lisa Manning in front of poster.
Physics alumna Erin McCarthy ’23, right, was lead author on a study published in Physical Review Letters which uncovered mechanisms that cause particles to sort spontaneously into different groups. Professor M. Lisa Manning, left, was a co-author.

A team of biophysicists identified an unexpected collective behavior among particles and their findings were published in the prestigious journal Physical Review Letters.

Erin McCarthy ’23, physics summa cum laude, is a rarity among young scientists. As an undergraduate researcher in the College of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Physics, she guided a study that appeared in March 2024 in Physical Review Letters. It is the most-cited physics letters journal and the eighth-most cited journal in science overall.

McCarthy and postdoctoral associates Raj Kumar Manna and Ojan Damavandi developed a model that identified an unexpected collective behavior among computational particles with implications for future basic medical research and bioengineering.

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