These are exciting times for Genetics and Biochemistry!
As a department, we are unique in the country in our blend of genetics AND biochemistry under one roof. We continue to attract and launch high-performing undergraduates who engage deeply with our pathbreaking research teams studying global disease, cancer, addictions and autism, and climate resilience. Our Ph.D. numbers are growing, and we continue to welcome creative new faculty members like James Lewis, Ph.D. Although professional school (e.g., medicine) remains the goal for most of our students, many are now interested in industry jobs, especially with the growing presence of biotechnology in South Carolina. In support of that, we are launching a new one-year professional master’s track aimed at industry employment. Go Tigers in the workforce!
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Parasites under attack!
Jillian Milanes, a student in The Morris Lab, published a paper on June 21, 2022
We encounter many potentially deadly organisms in our day-to-day lives without ever realizing it unless something goes wrong. One group of such organisms is pathogenic free-living amoebae (pFLA). These organisms are single-celled amoebae that are normally found in the soil and freshwater around us, but in some people, they cause devastating infections. Unfortunately, treatments for these infections usually do not work, with resulting infections causing death or permanent disability.
While Naegleria fowleri, also known as the brain-eating amoebae, is the most infamous of these pathogens, canthamoeba and Balamuthia mandrillaris can also cause devastating infections. Acanthamoeba is best known for being associated with infections in contact lens wearers who swim or bathe in their lenses, while B. mandrillaris has been found in people who handle contaminated soil.
Graduate student Jillian Milanes described the characterization of a group of inhibitors that target an important parasite protein that could, in the future, be the basis for drugs against Acanthamoeba and B. mandrillaris. The protein glucokinase is used by the amoebae to metabolize food and is unlike any human counterpart, suggesting that specific inhibitors would not be toxic to people. To that end, the compounds identified did not impact human cells grown in the lab but did kill the amoebae, serving as a promising starting point for new treatments for these diseases.
Milanes, JE, Suryadi, J, Monaghan, NP, Harding, EM, Morris, CS, Rozema, SD, Khalifa, MM, Golden, JE, Phan IQ, Zigweid, R, Abendroth, J, Rice, CA, McCord, HT, Wilson, S, Fenwick, MK, Morris, JC. Characterization of gluckokinases from pathogenic free-living amoebae. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (2022), DOI:10.1128/aac.02373-21. Full publication here.
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An interview with our newest Assistant Professor, James Lewis, Ph.D.
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| What interested you in coming to Clemson University? I was immediately interested in Clemson because of the combination of high-quality academics, location and college-town environment. Research at the Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center and the Center for Human Genetics really stood out as examples of where genetics and biochemistry is going. Faculty in genetics and biochemistry have published in very high-profile journals, including Nature, Science and PNAS, and the Palmetto cluster is an incredible and unique resource available to everyone here at Clemson. It was obvious at a first glance that Clemson University is a place where I could pursue advanced, Tier 1-level research. A bit of my own history: I fell in love with the Blue Ridge during a three-year stay in Blacksburg, Virginia. Combine the top-tier research of Clemson with an emphasis on undergraduate engagement and a college-town feel, sitting at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains — what is not to be interested in?
How did you get interested in your (degree, career and research)? I read “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” by Sean Carroll while I was pursuing my M.A. in philosophy at Virginia Tech. This book introduced me to the idea that small changes in genes and the molecular mechanisms that regulate gene expression can produce the wide array of traits we observe in nature. It also introduced me to butterflies as a model for trait genetics and the mechanisms that guide how traits change between populations and species. A year after “Endless Forms,” I worked on the genetics of bacterial virulence on tomato plants and took prerequisite courses for a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology.
Provide a short overview of what you do and hope to accomplish. Understanding the mechanisms and processes that underlie adaptation is important for a wide range of fields, from the evolution of novel diseases and resistance to those diseases to identifying which agricultural stocks will prove successful. My research uses butterflies and wing color patterns as a model for understanding the genetics and molecular mechanisms that allow populations and species to adapt to their local environments. I also seek to understand how populations remain fit or highly successful as they begin to interact with new populations and species. My long-term goal is to develop a generalized model of when, how and why novel traits evolve in response to natural selection.
What have you discovered in your research? I believe my most important discovery has been that the genetic mechanisms that underlie changes in Mendelian traits — traits with “simple” genetic architectures, like the yellow or green pea pods we learn about in grade school — can be quite complex. I found that the molecular and biochemical mechanisms that control the change in a Mendelian wing pattern trait required dozens of genes and gene regulatory loci spread throughout the genome. This discovery also highlights my fit with Genetics and Biochemistry here at Clemson. My personal view is that understanding trait genetics and how traits change over time requires that we investigate both the genetics and the nuclear biochemistry that drive trait evolution.
What do you hope to teach our students? I will be teaching Population Genetics, where I hope to accomplish two learning goals. First, I would like to see my students leave this course with conversational knowledge of population genetics, including both the methods and concepts of population genetics. Students should be able to discuss and engage with the material in this area at a high level. Second, I want students to develop a working knowledge of population genetics. My vision for this leverages the unique availability of the Palmetto cluster at Clemson to teach “real-world” use of population genetic and genomic analyses in the classroom.
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Geoff Ford, Ph.D. promoted to Senior Lecturer!
Geoff Ford, Ph.D. was promoted this year to Senior Lecturer after five years of developing and leading laboratory courses for Department majors. Much loved by his students, he has been diligent in creating compelling laboratory experiences at a high standard. Ford is also active in service as a member of the Dean's Faculty Advisory Committee and the University Faculty Senate. He is now Department liaison with the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), which provides accreditation for the program. More about Ford
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Researchers discover genetic cause of sometimes deadly esophageal disorder in dogs.
Researcher Leigh Anne Clark, an associate professor in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, and her collaborators developed a genetic test for a disease that causes an often deadly esophageal disorder. German shepherd dog breeders can use the test to reduce the risk that puppies in future litters will develop the disease. The journal PLOS Genetics published the findings on March 10. Full article
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The Department is proud of its current and former students' achievements and congratulates them!
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Louise Franke was an Honors College student who majored in Biochemistry and did research in the EPIC laboratory. She was Clemson University’s first-ever Rhodes Scholar! Click here to learn more.
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Brittany Avin McKelvey, an alumna and former Smith Lab student with departmental honors in genetics, was just federally appointed to the National Cancer Institute Council of Research Advocates, the top and only federal advisory committee composed of advocate leaders at the National Cancer Institute. To learn more about NCRA, click here.
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Clemson Alumni Spotlight: Ashley and Josh Rickey: After earning their undergraduate degrees from Clemson University, the Rickeys met in medical school, married and now are both surgeons at Novant Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is a vascular surgeon. He does general and robotic surgery.
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Grant Wins for our Faculty
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Professor Fabio Morgante was awarded a five-year grant of $1.8 million from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to ultimately improve understanding of the genetic architecture of human complex traits and will be a significant advance towards effective and equitable personalized medicine. Read more here.
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Professor Jennifer Mason, assistant professor of genetics and biochemistry and a researcher in Clemson’s Center for Human Genetics, has received more than $2.6 million in grant funding to investigate how cells repair DNA damage and what happens when those processes go wrong. Read more about it here.
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Lukasz Kozubowski, Ph.D., was awarded a five-year grant of $1.9 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to focus on a fungal infection associated with HIV/AIDS. The study will help to identify safer and more effective drugs. Project details.
In collaboration with Julia Brumaghim, Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry, Kozubowski received an NSF award of $492,000 split between their two laboratories to study the mechanisms that lead to the development of resistance to azole drugs in Cryptococcus neoformans. Project details.
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| Trudy F. C. Mackay, Ph.D., and Robert R. H. Anholt, Ph.D., with the Center for Human Genetics were awarded nearly $2.5 million on a five-year grant renewal from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This grant builds off their previous work, and their research could lay the groundwork for developing new drugs or repurposing already approved drugs to treat or prevent addiction in humans. Click here for more information.
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We’re Growing!
The Center for Human Genetics is accepting applications for three tenure-track assistant professors and Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC) is accepting applications for a tenure-track assistant professorship. Click here for details.
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