We extend a warm welcome to Zahra Shirvani, our new Chemistry graduate student, and John Nwakanma Abili, our new Biology rotation student for the Spring Semester. We look forward to working with you!
Boos and Brews 5K
This year’s lab run was the Boos and Brews 5K in Baldwinsville, NY on October 26th supporting the Baldwinsville Meals on Wheels. It was quite cold and windy, but we all managed to finish. This one might have been one of our favorites to participate in, but we’ll see what we decide on next Fall.
Bioinspired Institute Symposium 2024
The Hougland Lab participated in this year’s Bioinspired Institute Symposium on October 25th with three poster presentations and one lightning talk. Amber Ford came away with a First Place Research Presentation Award for her talk entitled “GOAT-ing for an improved cancer biomarker: Ligand-conjugate development targeting ghrelin O-acyltransferase”. Amber, Andrea Sprague-Getsy and Katherine Brand did an excellent job presenting their research during the poster session as well.
Welcome Naiming!
The Hougland Lab welcomes a Biology rotation graduate student, Naiming Dong, to the lab this semester. He joins SU from Georgetown University and we look forward to working with him!
Welcome, Dr. Krucher!
The Hougland Lab welcomes a visiting scholar this semester, Dr. Nancy Krucher from Pace University, who will be working on a project entitled “Targeting ATP-citrate lyase (ACLY) to overcome therapy resistance in breast cancer and melanoma.” We are excited to have her join us and look forward to working together!
Summer 2024 Highlights
On May 15th, Jacob Moose defended his thesis and moved onto a new Position at Binghamton University. We will miss him but wish him the best of luck in all that’s to come.
In June, we welcomed two undergraduates who will be working in our laboratory for the next year,Danny Liu and Gabriela Padilla. Both have received SU SOURCE funding and were able to present their work at the research symposia at the beginning of August.
On July 10th, Sadie Novak defended her thesis entitled “Investigating the cellular localization, trafficking, and biological function of ghrelin O-acyltransferase”. She is currently an Eagleton Science Politics Fellow at the New Jersey Senate Democrats Office through Rutgers University. Well done and we will miss you greatly!
In July, Dr. Hougland attended the FASEB conference in Phoenix, Arizona and presented a talk entitled “How a peptide hormone GOAT acylated: The chemistry, biology, and endocrinology of ghrelin O-acyltransferase”.
In August, he and Andrea Sprague-Getsy attended the American Chemical Society conference in Denver, Colorado. Andrea presented a poster of her research entitled “Exploring the Environmental Impacts on Membrane Protein Structure and Activity: Solubilization of Ghrelin O-acyltransferase Reveals Unexpected Protein-detergent Compatibility”.
There was a chance meeting with lab alum Maria Campana in Colorado as well! Hi Maria… we miss you!
It was a wonderful Summer and we look forward to all that the 2024-2025 academic year brings for the Hougland Lab!
Summer Farewells
On August 10th, Brianna Gaspar and Caine Taft presented their Summer research. It was a joy to have both students in the lab this Summer and we will miss Bri as she heads back to California this weekend.
Presenting Dr. Mariah Pierce
On August 2nd, Mariah Pierce defended her thesis and is now Dr. Pierce! Congratulations on a job well done and we will miss you so much. She moved onto the team at Sino Biological as an Associate Technical Account Manager.
SOURCE Fellow: Caine Taft
Our awesome undergraduate researcher, Caine Taft, was awarded a SOURCE fellowship for Summer research this year. We have the privilege of working with him through the school year as well and we are proud of all he’s accomplished in the lab. Looking forward to another great year and good luck on the MCAT:)
Mariah Defends on Wednesday!
Mariah Pierce defends on Wednesday, August 2nd at 1pm in LSB 105. Please come and celebrate with us! The title of her talk is “Expression, Purification, and Characterization of Enzymes Involved in Ghrelin Signaling.” Congratulations, Mariah, and good luck in all that comes next!
