Chemistry News Archive

April 14, 2025 — 
UM researchers have developed a deep learning model to predict compound protein interactions. GraphBAN is an inductive graph-based approach. The model is all about discovering new drug candidates in the pre-clinical stage. This means speeding up the drug discovery process and making it more affordable.

April 10, 2025 — 
Get ready for Manitoba’s largest hands-on science and engineering festival. Join us on Saturday, May 10, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. right here in Winnipeg, at the University of Manitoba, Fort Garry campus. 

February 21, 2025 — 
Kara B. Loudon is an undergraduate student in the department of chemistry and a perennial NSERC URA winner who moved forward with the research published recently in the Royal Society of Chemistry. The study, “Estimating dietary exposure to polycyclic aromatic compounds from food grade plastics” looks at the migration of chemicals from food-storage containers under typical usage conditions and how they might impact human health.

February 11, 2025 — 
February 11 is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Faculty of Science is proud to have many brilliant women contributing to our community as curious students, visionary researchers, empowering leaders, innovative instructors, and insightful support staff. This year, we talked with Dr. Katie Mitchell-Koch, associate professor at the Department of Chemistry and Kara Loudon, undergraduate chemistry student about their experience as a woman in science, their proudest achievements, and the challenges they have faced and how they have overcome those.

February 7, 2025 — 
Strep throat, something we’ve all had at some point in our lives, is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes. Infection by Streptococcus can be fatal in serious cases and is the leading cause of death among flesh-eating diseases resulting in over half a million deaths annually. That scratchy, sore feeling at the back of your throat is a result of Streptococcus pyogenes infected by viruses called bacteriophages. These “phages” carry the genes for toxins that are responsible for strep throat, and when they invade Streptococcus pyogenes, they transfer these genes, enhancing the bacterium’s ability to cause infection.

January 10, 2025 — 
Science Rendezvous 2025 volunteer applications are now open!

December 9, 2024 — 
Eight UM researchers have been selected for their exceptional research performance and impact as demonstrated by multiple highly cited papers in 2024. 

December 9, 2024 — 
Although sustainability seems to be the new trend, plastic pollution still remains a great threat to the environment and human health. Turns out those compostable coffee cups and food containers are rarely degraded even in standard composting conditions. The UM Prairie iGEM team strives to solve this problem and received the gold medal for the best new basic part award in the 2024 Grand Jamboree - the world expo of synthetic biology!

November 29, 2024 — 
The UM's Chemical Synthetic Biology and Xenobiology Laboratory focuses on changing the living cell's chemical composition through the expansion of the genetic code. Dr. Ned Budisa, professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in synthetic biology leads this research lab at the department of chemistry, Faculty of Science.

October 29, 2024 — 
Faced with the university shut down in 2020 due to Covid-19, chemistry professor Rebecca Davis and PhD candidate Hunter Sturm, from UM’s Davis Research Group, had to re-examine their work processes and goals to continue moving forward with their research program.