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Greetings from the HeadMilan BagchiWelcome to the 2013 edition of the MIP newsletter. My first year as head of the department has passed by quickly in a whirlwind of activities. I am learning how to be an effective leader while maintaining an intricate balance between research, teaching, and people management. As I look back, the year presented many challenges, such as the deaths and sicknesses of valued colleagues, and a depressing research funding scenario, but overall it was an enriching experience. Along the way, I received tremendous support from my faculty colleagues, campus leaders, and alumni of the department who impressed me with their spirit of cooperation and willingness to extend a helping hand. In the coming year, our major goal is to rebuild the department by recruiting new faculty, strengthening our commitment to research, and energizing our graduate program. We have launched faculty searches in multiple areas: molecular and cellular neuroscience, metabolic regulation and cancer, and computational and genomic medicine. We are redesigning our graduate courses and revamping our seminar program to make them more attractive and effective for our students. In these days of decimated and ever-shrinking federal government support for basic research, there is a huge need to maintain our research infrastructure by investing in the development of shared departmental instrument facilities. This will help our faculty conduct cutting-edge research and remain at the forefront of their fields. We are reaching out to our alumni, friends, and well-wishers for their help in making this goal a reality. There are many challenges ahead and we are moving forward with strong resolve and high aspiration. •

The Scourge of Obesity in the 21st CenturyJeanne Bullock GoldbergThe obesity epidemic threatens the health and financial welfare of America and many other countries, and research by scientists in MIP is focused on the root of this problem.

Consider the following facts:

(1) More than 2/3rds of American adults are either overweight or obese, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health’s F as in Fat report.

(2) The adult obesity rate in the United States more than doubled from about 15% in 1980 to 36% in 2010. It may reach 42% by 2030. The obesity rate in children has tripled since 1980.

(3) Here in Illinois, more than 50% of our residents could be obese by 2030!

In This Issue

Greetings from the Head by Milan Bagchi 1

The Scourge of Obesity in the 21st Century by Jeanne Goldberg 1

Nuclear Receptors and Bile Acid Signaling by Sayee Anakk 3

Tumor Immunotherapy by Ed Roy 4

Physiology at Illinois in the 1960s by John Willis 5

Dr. Prosser: A Guiding Light in my Career by Michael Koban 6

MIP Family News 6

About the Newsletter

The Molecular and Integrative Physiology Newsletter is an annual publication of the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The newsletter is written by MIP faculty and friends, and designed by William Gillespie and Kurt Bielema.

Our alumni are important to us. We want to hear from you. Send us your latest news, and we’ll include it in the next newsletter’s MIP Family News. We also welcome articles and suggestions for future newsletters. Here’s how to reach us:

Molecular & Integrative Physiology

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

524 Burrill Hall

407 S. Goodwin

Urbana, IL 61801

email: mip-news@illinois.edu

N E W S L E T T E R D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3

2 University of Illinois • School of Molecular and Cellular Biology

There is some disagreement among medical professionals about what truly constitutes obesity1, just as there was controversy this year when the AMA designated it a disease. There is no debate, however, about the increased risks of type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, fatty liver, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, depression, and cancer in obese individuals. The exorbitant costs associated with obesity, estimated to comprise almost 20% of total health care costs in America, could bankrupt the nation.

Obesity, which occurs when abnormal amounts of triglycerides are stored in fatty tissue, is a result of energy intake exceeding energy expenditure. In recent years, a tsunami of readily available sweet, salty, high-fat fast foods, coupled with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, have undoubtedly been critical factors in the development of this epidemic. Surgical procedures to reverse obesity have been utilized, and two new anti-obesity drugs have just recently been approved by the FDA. Public policy approaches taxing and limiting deleterious food and drinks have also been proposed. In the July/August 2013 issue of The Atlantic, there is a fascinating article by David H. Freedman entitled “How Junk Food Can End Obesity.” Freedman proposes measures to exert pressure on the fast food industry to use existing and emerging food processing technology to trim undesirable fat, sugar, and salt from popular items while still preserving desirable flavors.

While obesity has been stigmatized in our society and equated with a lack of

1 Obesity = BMI > 30; (BMI=(weight in pounds divided by height in inches squared) x 703

self-discipline, the molecular physiology of obesity is not well understood. Why are some people obese while others are not? In the paper “Genetics and Epigenetics of Obesity,” Blanca Herrera and others state that although the current epidemic cannot be attributed solely to genetics, there appears to be an inherited susceptibility to obesity, and epigenetic influences (i.e., heritable changes which modify the actions of genes but not their DNA sequence) may be significant. For example, obese mothers have a higher risk of having obese children.

Dr. Jongsook Kim Kemper, Associate Professor in MIP, and her group study nuclear receptors controlling lipid metabolism in the liver, which is responsible for maintaining proper levels of fat and glucose. Her work involving the protein Sirtuin 1 deacetylase (SIRT1) is especially interesting since SIRT1, a nuclear protein, has been identified as an anti-aging agent in yeast, and has been shown to promote energy balance, counteracting obesity in mice. SIRT1 senses changes in energy levels in cells and adjusts energy outputs by modulating activities of other metabolic regulators. Mice with high levels of SIRT1 were resistant to weight gain and showed no evidence of insulin resistance or glucose intolerance when they were fed a high-fat diet. When mice were bred to lack the gene for SIRT1, they developed fatty liver, a common feature in obesity, diabetes, and elevated blood sugar levels.

Dr. Kemper has also studied hepatic micro-RNA (miR-34a) which is elevated in obese mice and targets SIRT1, decreasing its levels. When miR-34a is inhibited, obese mice experienced decreased liver fat and blood sugar levels and improvement in

insulin sensitivity (figure 1). These studies point to this regulatory axis as a potential for therapeutic interventions.

Resveratrol, a compound found in red-grape skin, activates SIRT1 and has generated excitement in the lay press. The amount of resveratrol in a glass of red wine is too small to elicit beneficial effects, however, but the pharmaceutical industry is attempting to develop more potent and specific synthetic activators of SIRT1.

Bile acids, the major products of the cholesterol breakdown in the livers of mammals, were originally known to aid solely in the digestion of cholesterol, triglycerides and fat-soluble vitamins. In recent years their additional role as signaling molecules to control their own synthesis and to maintain fat and carbohydrate balance has been recognized. The laboratory of Dr. Sayee Anakk, Assistant Professor in MIP, is studying nuclear receptors. Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is an additional master regulator of fat and carbohydrate balance. FXR resides in the nucleus and is the primary sensor for bile acid levels in the body. In addition to thyroid hormone, fibroblast growth factor, and hepatocyte nuclear receptor, FXR and orphan nuclear receptor SHP (small heterodimer partner) act together to regulate bile acid synthesis. Dr. Anakk has generated mice lacking both FXR and SHP genes and has discovered that, compared to normal mice, the knockout mice have less visceral fat, are resistant to high-fat diets, and are highly insulin-sensitive. The fact that increased levels of bile acids in the mice lacking these two genes resulted in increased energy expenditure, lower body weight, and increased insulin sensitivity highlights the importance of the interacting roles of FXR-SIRT1-bile acids in fat and glucose metabolism.

The exciting work of Dr. Martha Gillette, Professor in the Department of Cell and Structural Biology and MIP, focuses on our biological (circadian) clock mechanisms, which regulate daily rhythms of metabolism and behavior through specific genes. She has examined the genes in the region of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), an area in the hypothalamus which lies close to the crossing of the optic nerves and to nuclei that control the sleep-wake cycle, feeding, drinking, sexual activities, and other critical functions. Her recent research with mice has shown that the cellular metabolic state directly influences normal activity of clock genes in these regions. Alterations in these clock genes can lead to dysfunctional sleep patterns which,

Figure 1: Effects of decreased miR-34a on obesity. A) Normal liver in lean mice fed a normal diet; B) Fatty liver (red stain) in obese mice fed a high-fat diet; C) Marked reduction in liver fat in obese mice fed a high-fat diet & treated with anti-miR-34a.

3Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology • mcb.illinois.edu/departments/mip

in turn, can cause weight gain or loss, glucose intolerance, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, tumors, addiction disorders, and decreased longevity.

Work focused on the neurobehavioral aspects of obesity has included that of Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She has demonstrated that obese individuals and drug addicts have fewer dopamine receptors in the “reward regions” of their brains and display reduced responsiveness to leptin, a hormone that provides a sensation of satiety. The result is a loss of control of food or drug intake.

Tackling the threat that obesity poses to the health and quality of life of individuals and to the economic security of nations is a daunting challenge for us in the 21st century. Although research into the causes and prevention of obesity is in its infancy, the work that is being performed at the University of Illinois is truly groundbreaking and innovative and will undoubtedly shed light on this multifaceted dilemma of epic proportions. •

Dr. Jeanne Bullock Goldberg and her late husband,

“Dr. Ed,” have been long-time friends and supporters

of MIP and the University. Dr. Goldberg received

a B.S. in physiology at the U of I (Bronze Tablet)

and an M.D. from Northwestern University. After

a residency at the University of Minnesota, she was

a practicing radiologist in Decatur, IL. Dr. Goldberg

retired to Florida where she has played prominent

roles in the administration and programs of the

Florida Division of the American Cancer Society,

particularly those related to breast cancer.

Nuclear Receptors and Bile Acid Signaling Sayee Anakk

I am delighted to begin my faculty position at the prestigious Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My laboratory will combine cell-based systems and genetically engineered mouse models to explore the roles of nuclear receptors in the regulation of energy homeostasis during normal and diseased conditions, including those of obesity and cancer. Our initial focus is to investigate nuclear receptor-mediated bile acid signaling in the following areas.

Project 1. Nuclear receptor signaling in adipogenesis and biliary metabolism. We have recently identified a coordinate role for nuclear receptors, Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) and Small Heterodimer Partner (SHP) in the negative feedback of bile acid synthesis such that combined deletion of FXR and SHP resulted in chronically high bile acid (BA) levels (Anakk et al, Journal of Clinical Investigation 121:86-95, 2011). Surprisingly, the FXR-SHP double knockout (DKO) mice displayed lower body weight compared to their age-matched wild type (WT) or individual knockout animals. DKO mice also exhibit decreased visceral fat with no apparent difference in food intake and are resistant to high fat diet-induced obesity. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that FXR and SHP mediated BA signaling plays specific roles in fat and liver metabolism (figure 2). We are currently examining the BA-FXR-SHP axis in liver and adipose tissue function and remodeling.

Project 2. Define the role of bile acids in Hippo signaling and liver cancer. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that most cancers exhibit impaired metabolic function and perform aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect) rather than oxidative phosphorylation to make energy. However, the underlying mechanism of this change in energetics is still unclear. We find that the DKO mice developed rigorous and spontaneous liver cancer within one year of age and exhibited activation of YAP—the key target of the organ-size-controlling Hippo pathway. We have recently identified BAs as novel modulators of YAP activation (Anakk et al., Cell Reports, in press, 2013). Despite improved insulin and glucose tolerance in these mice, they show mitochondrial abnormalities. To tease apart the beneficial protection against

diet-induced obesity (Project 1) and the detrimental tumorigenic effect, we plan to identify the mechanistic clockwork of BA-FXR-SHP in these two processes independently. These projects will broaden our understanding of nuclear receptor-mediated pathways required for energy balance and regulation of liver metabolism as well as tumorigenesis.

Why would one be interested in BA signaling? We have come full circle, back to the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Indians who thousands of years ago studied and emphasized the importance of bile in maintaining healthy physiology and whole body metabolism. Just over the last decade, we have rekindled our efforts in identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of bile acid. After all this time, is it the bitter medicine for metabolic syndrome and dysfunction we have been looking for? •

Sayee Anakk (shown second from left, first row) was born in India. She received her Bachelors in Pharmacy and a double Masters in Biological Sciences and Biotechnology from the Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences, Pilani, India. She did her Ph.D. work at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center & MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her postdoctoral work was with Dr. David Moore at Baylor College of Medicine. She was appointed as an Assistant Professor in MIP in January 2013.

Figure 2: Summary of BA mediated processes currently addressed in our laboratory. The on-going mechanistic characterizations are denoted by question marks.

Sayee Anakk lab members.

4 University of Illinois • School of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Tumor Immunotherapy Ed Roy I often find it interesting to learn the twists of fate that have led individuals into a particular career or research area, so here are some of mine. I was inspired by an undergraduate course in the physiology of motivation at Brown University, although the professor was not a great role model for handling the pressures of academic life (he drew a loaded gun on an airplane, ending his hopes for tenure). At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, my first graduate adviser was a flamboyant professor who left to do a residency in neurosurgery. I then chose to work with the quiet guy down the hall who was studying effects of estrogen on food intake and activity. I came to Illinois for my first faculty position, expecting to return to New England in a few years, but the atmosphere of collegial collaboration here turned out to be special. The first 12 years here, I studied mechanisms of hormone action in the brain, but in 1991 my son was diagnosed with a brain tumor; he died in 1993. I decided to try to apply my physiology skills to the development of new treatments for brain tumors, and I chose immunology as the approach with the best hope of long term cure. I obtained NIH funding to retrain in a new discipline, and began working with David Kranz in the Biochemistry Department.

Our approach centers on the ability of T lymphocytes (T-cells) to recognize altered proteins within tumor cells, and to selectively kill cells that express such antigens. T-cells play a central role in cell-mediated immune responses and their role in killing virally infected cells is well known, but there is also evidence that they can kill mutated cancer cells. The prevailing opinion was that T-cells did not enter the brain. However, the neurological disease multiple sclerosis is caused by T-cells, so we thought they should be able to infiltrate a brain tumor. This turned out to be correct: properly activated T-cells with a tumor-specific receptor can cross the blood-brain barrier and infiltrate brain tumors (figure 3). Viral or tumor antigens are recognized by the T-cell receptor that binds to peptide fragments of foreign proteins presented on the surface of other cells. We soon learned that interactions of cells from brain tumors, gliomas, with the immune system are complex. Glioma cells co-opt physiological mechanisms that normally prevent an overzealous immune response and block the

anti-tumor immune response against the glioma. We tried a number of approaches to enhance T-cell function, but our latest approach is to genetically engineer T-cell receptors in an approach called adoptive cell therapy. In this approach, which is in early clinical trials with melanoma, a patient’s T-cells are removed from the body, expanded in culture, and transduced with a gene that will direct expression of a T-cell receptor that recognizes a known tumor antigen. This allows the expansion to occur in the absence of the suppressive environment in vivo, and greatly increases the number of T-cells that can attack the tumor. David Kranz’s lab also engineered the properties of the T-cell receptor, such that it binds more tightly to a tumor antigen. With grad student Carolina Soto (pictured below), we were then able to introduce these “high affinity” receptors into T-cells known as helper T-cells, which are thought to be better able to reverse the immunosuppressive conditions within the tumor. We have found that these redirected helper T-cells can sometimes eradicate aggressive melanomas in mice (Soto et al., 2013), and we are now testing them with gliomas. Some of this work was funded by a generous donation by an anonymous alumnus whose brother died from a brain tumor. •

Ed received a B.A. degree from Brown University, a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, and was a postdoctoral fellow before coming to Illinois in the Department of Psychology in 1979 as an assistant professor. In 2004, he transferred to the Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, and is presently Professor in that department, an affiliate in MIP, and a member of the Neuroscience Program.

Special MIP Events in 2013

Thanks to the generosity of numerous donors, the C. Ladd Prosser Lecture Endowment was recently established to fund an annual Prosser lecture. The first endowed C. Ladd Prosser Lecture was held on Thursday, September 26, in the Charles Miller Auditorium. The lecture, entitled “Receptors, Synapses and Memory,” was delivered by Professor Richard Huganir of Johns Hopkins University. Professor Huganir has done pioneering work in neuroscience, greatly furthering our understanding of neurotransmitter physiology and synaptic plasticity from the single molecule to the behavioral level. He is an HHMI investigator, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and Director of the Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins.

A wonderful evening reception was held on the same day at the Champaign Country Club to remember and celebrate the contributions of Professor C. Ladd Prosser at the University of Illinois. Professors John Willis (University of Georgia, Athens), Michael Koban (Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland), Benita Katzenellenbogen, Byron Kemper, and Rhanor Gillette were invited to speak in remembrance of Professor Prosser’s life and time at the University of Illinois. Professors Willis and Koban describe their experience at Illinois and with Dr. Prosser in subsequent articles.

Figure 3: Helper T-cells transduced with a gene for a tumor-specific T-cell receptor, infiltrating a mouse tumor.

5Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology • mcb.illinois.edu/departments/mip

The annual MIP Retreat was synchronized for the first time with the Prosser events. It was held on Friday, September 27, at the Levis Faculty Center. The MIP graduate students invited MIP alumnus Professor Mary Hunzicker-Dunn, Edward R Meyer Distinguished Professor of the School of Molecular Biosciences at Washington State University, to deliver the keynote lecture at the retreat. Professor Hunzicker-Dunn completed her Ph.D. thesis in 1973 under the tutelage of Professor Andrew Nalbandov. She spoke about her work on the molecular signaling pathways that control follicular development in the ovary.

Physiology at Illinois in the 1960s John S. Willis

From the time of my arrival as a newly recruited assistant professor in 1962, I watched the Department of Physiology and Biophysics grow under the leadership of Ladd Prosser to become a major player in its combined disciplines. By the time I returned from my first sabbatical leave in 1969, the Ph.D. program in physiology was the largest, broadest, and one of the best conceived in the U.S.; the Ph.D. program in Biophysics represented an already productive new beginning for that previously orphaned discipline.

It was a great department in which to start an academic career, one loaded with mentors. There was no self-consciousness about mentoring in those days, as the concept had yet to be formalized (indeed, the word itself was never used). There was Jack Gorski, hired just a year before me, a sort of big brother, with whom I had many friendly arguments and happy times. There was jovial Garth Thomas, the only neurobiologist in the department, who would hold court every day in 501 Burrill at coffee hour and offered many witty insights. B. C. (Bud) Abbott, chair of Biophysics, who with his lovely wife, Doris, was a wonderful host socially and colleague scientifically. Most of all, there was John Anderson, an old timer who had come to Illinois “to be Boswell to Prosser’s Johnson,” and who filled me with many stories of old days, bucked me up, and took me for long walks around campus when I was low. Indeed, most (though not all) of the senior faculty took an

interest in developing the junior members.The year 1963 was about 10 years into

the advent of major funding from NIH and NSF grants and their prevalence and dominance were just beginning to be felt. Before winning my first grant, I was able to cobble together a lab partly from hand-me-downs from the departmental attic above the 5th floor of Burrill. I also won a modest ($7000) grant from a university committee for basic equipment. (Huge, negotiated start-up funds were an invention of the distant future.) Prosser was proud of me for getting underway with experiments after only a week or so in the department.

Teaching in Physiology 103 under the guidance of A. B. “Jack” Taylor was a major operation, with 650 students in the Fall Semester and 400 in the Spring, and about 17 half-time TAs for lab/discussion sections (I had one as well). Lectures were given with chalk on blackboards to

audiences of about 200. And since there were no prerequisites of chemistry, physics, or biology, there was often much anguish about the difficult nature of the subject. (One student asked what the difference was between the nucleus of an atom and the nucleus of a cell.)

Faculty meetings were held every Monday at noon, and consisted of intense discussions, mainly about features of the still-developing graduate program in physiology. Everyone contributed equally, though over-participation by obstreperous junior faculty may have been why R. E. “Bob” Johnson referred to us as “the generation of vipers.” The newest member was kept in check by serving as the faculty secretary for the meetings. (I inherited the post from Gorski and happily passed it on to Ed Kirk.)

Beginning in 1969 with William Sleator as the new head and continuing for many years thereafter, the focus of the Physiology Division shifted to accommodating the new medical program on campus and building strength in neurophysiology. But those first 6 or 7 years when I was beginning my research program, teaching in 103 and contributing to advanced courses were, for me, the golden years of hard but rewarding work, not only for myself but in helping build the department. •

Dr. John Willis is Professor Emeritus, MIP-Illinois, and in the Department of Cellular Biology at the University of Georgia. He was a member of the MIP faculty from 1962 to 1991. His research focused on the role of the Na+/K+ pump and passive leakage of these ions in regulation of cell volume and the maintenance or failure at low and high temperatures of this system using cold-resistant mammalian hibernators as a model.

Dr. Prosser celebrating his induction into the National Academy of Sciences, courtesy of Dr. John Willis.

6 University of Illinois • School of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Dr. Prosser: A Guiding Light in my Career Michael KobanReflecting back as a graduate student in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics (1978-1984), three experiences helped me throughout my professional career and personal life. One was the lively spirit of cooperation, which allowed me to make ample use of facilities and equipment of Art DeVries, Lloyd Barr, Dennis Buetow, Judy Willis, and many others. With this experience, the term “pay it forward” became a guiding principle, and I maintained an open-laboratory policy for training of undergraduate and graduate students, and for fostering fellow faculty research at Morgan State University (Baltimore) since 1997. Earlier, I marshaled learning about cooperation with technology transfer, manufacturing, regulatory affairs, and QC/QA to advance my R&D career at Becton Dickinson Advanced Diagnostics, Molecular Tool, and EnSys Environmental Products. My second and third positive experiences are directly attributable to my beloved late doctoral advisor, Dr. C. Ladd Prosser (I never did, nor can I now, refer to him as Ladd). He loved all things science, he was persistently inquisitive, and he explored his most important questions with rigor while being forward-thinking. Emulating his attributes is difficult, but my success depended on being unafraid to reinvent myself in subsequent years. I suppose all of us evolve sooner or later, but I believe his style was an important lesson. After post-doctoral research at Johns Hopkins University, I was determined to secure an academic position to continue Dr. Prosser’s legacy in comparative animal physiology; however, the paucity of such positions in the mid-1980s led me to industry. I certainly was not trained to do R&D and product development while at UIUC, and yet, constantly reminding myself about the resourcefulness and innovative thinking of Dr. Prosser in establishing three very different and successful laboratories in Burrill Hall, led me to have a most satisfactory and fascinating early career in industry. Coming to Morgan State University in 1997, it was clear that NSF and other funding agencies were barely supporting the kind of comparative physiology that Dr. Prosser helped advance. After years of product development, what was I to do? One

answer was to find something fundable and relevant, like a rat model of sleep restriction (something we can all identify with). So, I reinvented myself again while thinking about the Prosser laboratories. The third lesson learned was patience. Dr. Prosser was a demanding mentor, but recognized potential, especially when I lost my focus during my first two years. Morgan State University, being an HBCU (Historically Black College or University), is a very different environment than Illinois, and has a formidable set of challenges. Most students arrive with a substandard urban education, often from difficult family settings with few resources to rely upon, but have dreams and big hopes for themselves that are too often unrealistic. Patience and more patience: it is now my mantra. I want to pay forward what Dr. Prosser and the rest of the Department did for me. I do this gladly, having basked in the warm glow of this extraordinary man and scientist. •

Dr. Koban is Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Morgan State University. He received his Ph.D. in MIP with Dr. Prosser in 1984. His research is focused on understanding how prolonged sleep deprivation of rats results in the development of many metabolic pathologies using interdisciplinary approaches.

MIP Family News

AwardsLAS Gallery of Excellence — Dr. C. Ladd Prosser

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is creating a virtual Gallery of Excellence in honor of its 100-year anniversary and to honor extraordinary people and events throughout LAS history. Dr. Prosser was selected in the initial group as a “Professor with an ‘Encyclopedic Mind’ Who Helped Found the Field of Comparative Physiology.” To read the full description, go to http://www.las.illinois.edu/100/excellence/

College of Medicine Honors Byron Kemper

The College of Medicine at Illinois recognized Dr. Byron Kemper, Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology, Molecular and Integrative Physiology, and Cellular and Developmental Biology, for outstanding contributions in teaching, research and administration.

Student NewsNew Ph.D.s 2012–2013

Jennifer M. Arnold (Ph.D., 2012) “Actins Role in Signaling Light-induced Phase Shifts in the Mammalian Circadian Clock” with Martha Gillette. Jennifer is presently completing her studies for the M.D. degree in the College of Medicine.

Hatice Seda Kaya (Ph.D., 2013) “Identification of Molecular Signaling Pathways Underlying Human Endometrial Stromal Cell Differentiation” with Milan Bagchi. Hatice is a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Andrew Belmont at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Graduate Student Awards

Bernard (BJ) Slater, a graduate student of Daniel Llano, received a predoctoral Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Kevin Stebbings, a graduate student of Daniel Llano, received a travel award from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology to travel and present his research at the annual meeting in 2013.

Alexandria Lesicko, a graduate student of Daniel Llano, received a fellowship from the Neuroengineering Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program (IGERT) sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Daniel Ryerson, a graduate student of Kim Kemper, received a two-year predoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association.

VisitsRichard Eckert (MIP Ph.D. 1981) and Ellen Rorke (MIP postdoctoral researcher, 1981) were invited to the campus recently to present research seminars in Biochemistry and MIP, respectively. Richard did postdoctoral work at MIT and Harvard Medical School. His first faculty appointment was at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. He moved in 2007 to University of Maryland School of Medicine to become Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where he holds the John F.B. Weaver Professorship. After

7Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology • mcb.illinois.edu/departments/mip

Ji Miao (Ph.D. (CDB) 2009, postdoctoral researcher 2010) has received a National Institutes of Health K99 Pathway to Independence Award. She is currently an instructor at the Boston Children’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School.

MilestonesWe congratulate Claudio Grosman on his promotion to full Professor. Dr. Grosman is an internationally recognized scholar. His research focuses on ion channel structure and dynamics and examines the mechanism by which these proteins function. An outstanding teacher, he teaches the core physiology course “Cell and Membrane Physiology.” He also provides valuable service and senior administrative leadership to the department and the university.

Shared Equipment FacilitiesFunds donated by alumni and friends of MIP to our LAS Development Fund (see below) are critical for maintaining the excellence of our research and teaching programs. The cost of research, and particularly equipment, has dramatically increased over the years beyond the reach of increasingly pressured individual faculty grants. To remain at the cutting edge of research, therefore, it has become essential that the department develop shared equipment facilities. Our immediate need is to establish a state-of-the-art imaging facility. We have acquired a $400,000 2-photon laser microscope for this facility as well as some basic research microscopes and a cryostat microtome. We would like to raise $50,000 for the purchase of additional microscopes and for infrastructure modification needed to house the facility. We hope to raise $25,000 from our alumni and friends, which will be matched by institutional funds to reach the goal of $50,000. We hope that each of you will consider helping us maintain our research excellence.

I would like to make the following contribution to MIP$__________________________________ LAS Annual Fund for MIP (5NBBS/334866)

Name: _______________________________________________________________________

This gift is also from: _______________ Relationship: ______________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________________

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My check is enclosed, payable to the University of Illinois Foundation

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You will receive a gift receipt issued by the University of illinois Foundation

U of I Foundation, P.O. Box 3429, Champaign, IL 61826-3429

Contributions may also be made online at mcb.illinois.edu/giving.html

or contact Sean Williams at development@mcb.illinois.edu

MOLECULAR AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY AT ILLINOIS

leaving Illinois, Ellen was a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University and was on the faculty at Case Western Reserve before moving to the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

MIP was very happy to have Dr. Jeanne Bullock Goldberg, a dedicated friend and contributor to MIP visit us in early October. Dr. Goldberg, accompanied by Dr. Bill Pettinger, met with many faculty in MIP and toured the department, campus, and Hartley Gardens and Japan House areas, and learned about new programs and developments in MIP. We appreciate Jeanne’s continuing involvement and writing of articles for our MIP newsletter. See Dr. Goldberg’s brief biography at the end of her article in this newsletter.

For the University of Illinois Foundation and Homecoming weekends, we were pleased to have Mary Jane and Norm Beasley visit with several faculty in MIP and with Steve Sligar, Head of the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Mary Jane also visited with office staff, some of whom she knew when working as a Research Specialist in Dr. Benita Katzenellenbogen’s laboratory. She and Norm, now living in Tucson, Arizona, have been strong supporters and friends of the University of Illinois, and of the MIP and Biochemistry Departments within MCB.

Alumni UpdatesDavid (Trey) James (M.S. Biology, 2003) received an M.D. degree at the University of Missouri, Columbia, was an intern and resident at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and is presently is a practicing internal medicine physician at Boone Hospital in Columbia, MO.

Liang-Chuan Lai (Ph.D. 2005) has been promoted to Associate Professor with indefinite tenure at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan.

Jaeyeon Kim (Ph.D. 2009) received a National Institutes of Health K99 Pathway to Independence Award. He is currently a research investigator at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Wei Wang (Ph.D. 2009) joined Covance as a Study Director of reproductive and developmental toxicology.

8 University of Illinois • School of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Esmail (Essie) Meisami(1942–2013)

We are sorry to report that a treasured member of the MIP family, Professor Esmail Meisami, Essie to all, passed away on January 22, 2013. Essie obtained his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1967, and his Ph.D. from the same university in 1970, after which he returned to his native Iran with a faculty appointment in the Biology Department of the University of Tehran. There, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB). He was a highly productive researcher and made major contributions in improving the research infrastructure and organizing international symposia in Iran. In response to political changes in Iran, Essie returned to the University of California, Berkeley in 1980. He joined MIP and the Neuroscience Program as an Associate Professor in 1986. Essie was a fabulous teacher and was responsible for our introductory physiology course (103) for many years. He also

taught a highly popular more advanced physiology course (242), impacting the lives of literally tens of thousands of students who took these courses. “Awesome,” “great lecturer,” “nicest and most understanding,” “love,” and “the best” are some of the terms undergraduates used in describing his teaching. He also ran an excellent research lab and trained many graduate students, focused on the role of thyroid hormone and other factors on brain development, recovery from neural retardation due to thyroid deficiency, and the neurobiology of the olfactory system. Essie co-authored the popular book The Physiology Coloring Book, and was largely responsible, as a co-author with Brian Curtis, for completing A History of Nerve, Muscle and Synapse Physiology, that was started by Dr. C. Ladd Prosser. Essie is survived by his wife Nooshin, his first wife Julie, and his daughters Mona Reilly and Ayda Meisami. We will miss his happy, smiling face dearly. •

Molecular & Integrative PhysiologyUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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