August 2024
The international scientists issue
The visa voyage
Essays
Immigrants in the sandwich generation
Stories of three scientists wedged between science and family, told by Arti Dumbrepatil.
Scammed upon arrival
“I couldn’t admit my ignorance to my family, and I didn’t have enough information to make a police report," Ishita Ghosh writes.
Advancing science through adventure
“Everyone ... assumed that the privilege and support of my family, coupled with my natural proclivity for science and writing, would lead me inevitably to biomedical science,” Yamini Dalal writes. “And so it has.”
Seeking refuge in science
“Be it our racial background, upbringing or gender, diversity helps advance science by filling in gaps,” Minh Bui writes. “Each person alone is not equipped to address every question.”
'I can do it without making a face'
Betty B. Tong describes the life lessons she learned 35 years ago as a Chinese graduate student in the U.S.
Shades of cultural difference
“I was perplexed,” Humphrey Omeoga writes. “(M)y greetings frequently went unacknowledged.”
Standing out and fitting in
"I never go out of my way to hide who I am, but in the 10 years since I first moved to the U.S., it was the first time I’d said those words out loud," Andrea Lius writes.
‘Who am I?’ Finding yourself in a different country
“In my first acting class, I had to read aloud, and I realized I was the only foreigner in the room. ... I was terrified," Carmen Morcelle writes.
Illuminating the path to permanent residency
Jessica Desamero interviews Natalie Chernets and Paola Cepeda, who each came to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. Now they both help international postdocs navigate the ins and outs of immigration.
Visa issues? PIs can help
“Constituent service is an important job for members of Congress, and they will help even people in their state who cannot vote,” Mark Rasenick writes.
The language barrier
“Because I’m afraid of being misunderstood or judged for my accent or grammar mistakes, I sometimes hesitate to speak up in meetings,” Thiago Pasin writes.
Outside of the inside
“I’m somewhere between South American, American, Middle Eastern, and Sephardic–Spanish … This made it challenging for me to fully melt into the American melting pot," Alan Attie writes.
Following my own path
“The chance to start from scratch doing something I’ve always been passionate about is the perk I associate with interdisciplinary research in the U.S. — something I will always be grateful to this country for,” Krishnakoli Adhikary writes.
Will Congress revive the China Initiative?
The 2018 program to counter economic espionage increased anti-Asian discrimination.
PROLAB brings researchers into North American labs
The program has changed the trajectory of careers and forged lasting collaborations.
See the latest cohort of grant recipients.
Journal news
No oxygen? No problem.
Studies of electric fish that survive in hypoxic streams yield clues for targeting tumors.
Gene spurs tooth development
Researchers in Iowa find a clue in a rare genetic disorder's missing chromosome.
Mutation linked to cholesterol
SORT1 gene in Amish families encodes for a protein that might influence LDL levels.
Cows offer clues about infertility
Decoding the bovine reproductive cycle may increase the success of human IVF treatments.
Iron and a parasitic disease
Leishmaniasis causes body-wide changes in iron balance, leading to red blood cell damage.
Understanding the fat science
Researchers at UCLA investigate lipid remodeling in the liver for energy generation.
Briefs
- Lipogenesis in liver steatosis
- Removing protein aggregates
- Plasma lipid profiles
- Using artificial lipoproteins
- A new key to angiogenesis
- Flavonoids counteract oxidative stress
- A “T” makes a difference
- Two screens are better than one
- Biomarkers for cardiovascular risk
- Novel antiviral factor fights flu
- Clamping onto DNA
- Glycosylation and healthy bones
- Analyzing secreted proteins
- Imaging MS for clinical use
- Spectral libraries for MS data analysis
Member updates
- Building named for Benkovic; honors for Okafor and Whitney
- Pew names investigators: Brady, Birsoy and Murakami
- Microbiology academy elects 2024 fellows
- Honors for Lemon, Silva and Brownlee
- Awards for Buchner, Jarvis and Ten Hagen
- Wright, Chiu and Flanegan recognized
- Honor for De La Cruz; award for Mori and Walter
- Awards for Clemons and Wimer; fellowship for Hatzios
- Honors for Jackson, Simon, Tagliabracci
- NAI names fellows: Kramer, Jaklenec, Janetka and Patel
Retrospectives
Daniel E. Atkinson
(1921–2024)
Friends remember a metabolic biochemist and ASBMB member of more than six decades.
Charles O. Rock
(1949–2023)
Colleagues and trainees remember a world expert in membrane lipid homeostasis.
In memoriam
Advocacy in action
Ten delegates are participating in the ASBMB Advocacy Training Program this summer. This externship provides hands-on science policy and advocacy training and experience. The 2024 program includes sessions on the appropriations process and the role the executive branch in shaping science policies. Meet the 2024 Advocacy Training Program delegates.
An interview with the 2025 annual meeting co-chairs
Donita Brady of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and Dave Pagliarini at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis talked to ASBMB Today about the cutting-edge science they’re eager to showcase in Chicago in April, how to make your annual meeting experience worthwhile and why they think it’s important for investigators and trainees alike to attend.
JBC/Tabor Award winners
- Jenny Hostrom used organoids to study drug resistance in cancer.
- Hannah Kondolf developed a system to activate gasdermin proteins in an efficient and equivalent manner and showed differences in two gasdermins.
- Edwin G. Peña Martínez studied how mutations in noncoding sequences contribute to cardiovascular disease.
- Gabriela Dias Noske assessed the structural features of the main protease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus for drug design.
- Jianchao Zhang designed a proteolysis-targeting chimera that inhibited tumor growth.
Meet our MOSAIC scholars
- Swapping stethoscope for pipette: Emma M. Lessieur Contreras is inspired by the work of her ophthalmologist father.
- Bakers and mentors: Joanna-Lynn Borgogna studies the vaginal microbiome, the metabolome and the development of gynecological disorders in reproductive-aged women.
- Exploring enzymes: Organic chemist Edwin Alfonzo's scientific journey took an unexpected turn when he discovered the world of enzymes.
- The power of perseverance: Wagner Silva Dantas aims to develop new approaches to reducing fat mass while preserving muscle mass by studying a crucial regulator for maintaining redox balance.
- Sharing science back home: Melissa Ramirez uses computations and experiments to design new reactions and mentorship to grow the research community.
- A nontraditional path: After two Army deployments to Iraq, Renato Navarro aspired to be a physician before a chance encounter on a university campus led him to study biomaterials.
Outreach grant winners
Each project gets up to $1,000 to promote the understanding of life at a molecular level. Learn about the five projects ASBMB is funding this year.
Online exclusives
Getting to know scientists half a world away
In a program at Wellesley College, students interview and write about researchers at a university in Ghana.
Learning to listen
In her talk at Discover BMB, ASBMB Sustained Leadership Award recipient Adele Wolfson reflected on the increased inclusiveness of science in recent decades.
A cellular jigsaw puzzle
Fatahiya Kashif created a 3D model to show immune–tumor interactions in the microenvironment.
Editor's note
This issue of ASBMB Today is dedicated to René Fuanta, whose enthusiasm and inspired ideas made it a reality.
