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An international research team has identified more than 600 new antimalarial drug candidates from a screen of over 500,000 chemical compounds. Researchers at Penn State then used a method they developed called metabolic fingerprint profiling to determine if 13 of the most potent compounds affect the malaria parasite’s metabolism. The method identifies similar patterns in metabolic response, and revealed that ten of the compounds (red branch) target the same metabolic pathway, the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Credit: Llinás lab, Penn State

Unprecedented screen of 500,000 compounds reveals new candidates for malaria prevention drug

A new study, published December 7, 2018, in the journal Science by an international team of researchers including two from Penn State, reveals a new set of chemical starting points for the first drugs to prevent malaria instead of just treating its symptoms.

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Deborah Kelly will continue her revolutionary, cross-disciplinary research at Penn State starting in January 2019.

Biomedical engineering welcomes pioneering cancer, cryo-electron microscopy researcher

Deborah Kelly, a ground-breaking researcher who developed the new field of structural oncology, will join the University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering as full professor and Lloyd and Dottie Foehr Huck Chair in Molecular Biophysics. Kelly will also hold a joint appointment with the Huck Institutes of Life Sciences and will serve as the director of the new Center for Structural Oncology (CSO) at Penn State.

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Andrew Read Named Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

Dr. Read was previously director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, and will step into his new role January 1.

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Differences in geographic origin of a person’s mitochondrial and nuclear genomes due to admixture can affect function of mitochondria, energy-generating organelles located inside cells that have their own separate genome. A new study reveals that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number decreases with increasing “mito-nuclear” dissimilarity in geographic origins of the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes (e.g. as the proportion of nuclear DNA from population 1 decrease). IMAGE: ARSLAN ZAIDI, PENN STATE

Jan 14, 2019

Differences in genes’ geographic origin influence mitochondrial function

Differences in the geographic origin of genes may affect the function of human mitochondria — energy-generating organelles inside of cells — according to a new study. Mitochondria have their own genome, separate from the nuclear genome contained in the nucleus of the cell, and both genomes harbor genes integral to energy production by mitochondria. The study explores whether these “mito-nuclear” interactions, which are fine-tuned by natural selection over deep evolutionary time, could be altered when genes of different geographic origins are brought together within a genome.

This image shows a cell infected with Zika virus (green). The red is heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), which appears to play a role in enabling Zika infection of host cells. IMAGE: RASGON LABORATORY / PENN STATE

Jan 14, 2019

Cellular protein a target for Zika control

A cellular protein that interacts with invading viruses appears to help enable the infection process of the Zika virus, according to an international team of researchers who suggest this protein could be a key target in developing new therapies to prevent or treat Zika virus infection.

Peter Hudson, Willaman Professor of Biology in the Eberly College of Science, will be featured at the annual Mark Luchinsky Memorial Lecture on Jan. 28 at Palmer Lipcon Auditorium.IMAGE: PATRICK MANSELL

Jan 10, 2019

Peter Hudson to deliver 2019 Mark Luchinsky Memorial Lecture

Peter Hudson, Willaman Professor of Biology in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State, will present “One Health, One Planet: Building Global Health Security Against Infectious Diseases” as part of the 24th annual Mark Luchinsky Memorial Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28, in the Palmer Musuem of Art's Palmer Lipcon Auditorium.

Events

Friday Jan

Introduction to the Projects of the mBiome Cohort Students

Microbiome Center

Monday Jan

Minority Graduate Student Lunch - Dr. Tim Miyashiro

Monday Jan

CIDD lunch - Identifying questions of interest to WHO

Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics