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Chemistry News Archive

Dr. Katie Mitchell-Koch, associate professor at the Department of Chemistry and Kara Loudon, undergraduate chemistry student

Faculty of Science

2025 International Day of Women and Girls in Science

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.

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Photo from left to right: Nicole Rutbeek (MSc Microbiology - UM, current position: PhD student, University of Copenhagen Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research) Tasneem Hassan Muna (MSc Microbiology - UM, first author on the study) Gerd Prehna (Associate Professor Dept. of Microbiology, Principal Investigator) Julia Horne (Undergraduate student, Faculty of Science UM - current)

Faculty of Science

UM students discover a new protein while investigating the question: “Why does Streptococcus make you sick?”

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.

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A volunteer creating a big soap and water bubble around a little kid.

Faculty of Science

Volunteer with Science Rendezvous 2025

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

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Research and International

Eight UM researchers featured on global highly cited list

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. 

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UM Prairie iGEM group photo.

Faculty of Science

Thought compostable PLA plastics was the solution to sustainability? Think again!

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!

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Dr. Ned Budisa and Dr. Hamid Karbalaei-Heidari.

Faculty of Science

Expanding the genetic code

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.

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Research and International

UM lab at the forefront of antibiotic drug development using artificial Intelligence (AI)

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.

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Admin Building.

Faculty of Science

Faculty of Science Award of Excellence for Support Staff

October 4, 2024 — 
Faculty of Science Award of Excellence for Support Staff recognizes support staff who have served their units with distinction by helping deliver on the commitment of the Faculty of Science to provide outstanding higher education and research.

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Dr. Sabine Kuss and Shubhneet Thind, student in science talking.

Faculty of Science

Dr. Sabine Kuss on receiving the Combination Merit Award 2023

September 27, 2024 — 
Dr. Sabine Kuss, associate professor and associate head (graduate) at the Department of Chemistry, recently received the Combination Merit Award 2023.

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a male athlete sits on steps, holding injured knee

Provost and Vice-President (Academic)

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Support Fund recipients announced

August 29, 2024 — 
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Support Fund provides opportunities for professors, instructors and librarians to undertake projects that increase knowledge in pedagogy and learning. This year, six awards of $6,000 and one major award of $25,000 were awarded. Learn about Dr. Jason Peeler's research to improve clinical skills training in the area of musculoskeletal medicine.

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