On August 25th and 26th, the Biochemistry Department held its first Retreat outside of Toronto at the Geneva Park Conference Centre near Orillia.
The turnout was terrific with 140 trainees, staff and Faculty gathering for two days to celebrate the science that we do and to enjoy each other’s company in a beautiful lakeside setting. The Retreat featured cutting-edge talks by trainees and Faculty members as well as an evening poster session […]
August 9th dawned hot and steamy but that didn’t deter our hardy biochemists from heading out to Flemingdon Park 9-hole Golf Course in Midtown Toronto for our annual Golf Day. Each team had its share of beginners and ringers playing a “best ball” format that allowed everyone to contribute to their team. Despite the 32 degree heat and sticky humidity the competition was fierce with the Dead Ringers pulling out […]
As part of our George Connell Seminar Series, Dr. Gia Voeltz, Associate Professor, MCD Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder described how ER contacts with mitochondria and endosomes regulate organelle fission events.
The Department heard a remarkable account of Eric Minikel and Sonia Vallabh’s response to the news that she carries the same mutation in the prion protein gene that led to her mother’s premature death from fatal familial insomnia. Prior to this, Eric had graduated from MIT and worked in transportation planning and Sonia had completed Harvard Law School. They soon put these promising careers behind them and began to re-invent themselves in […]
Dr. Cole Haynes, Associate Member, Cell Biology program at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute gave a fascinating account of the mitochondrial response to stress (the mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response signaling pathway) as part of our George Connell Seminar Series.
Prion disease occurs when the normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) is misfolded by a pathogenic form of the protein termed PrP scrapie (PrPSc). One approach to treat prion diseases is to reduce or eliminate PrPC since mice lacking this protein show few ill effects. The human-approved immunosuppressive drug FK506 has been shown to extend survival in prion infected mice but the mechanism has been controversial. In a paper published in the […]
The 2015 Biochemistry Holiday party was, as in previous years, quite a memorable and fun night. Held on a rainy November 27th evening at the Hotel Ocho, the atmosphere was warm, elegant and very welcoming. Students and faculty were dressed to impress, and it was certainly a nice change to see everyone without lab coats and outside of class. The early birds got to enjoy some cheese, crackers and mingling […]
Dr. Anindy Dutta, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, gave an intriguing presentation in our George Connell Seminar Series that focused on a variety of most unusual nucleic acids.
From 1934-1939 Dr. Benjamin (Benny) Schachter worked in the Department of Biochemistry conducting research on female sex hormones, isolating and identifying conjugated oestrone sulphate (Premarin). To honour Benny Schachter’s memory, a donation was made to the Department by his family. The funds are being used to support an annual lectureship in his memory. The BGSU and graduate students select and host the speaker who is a graduate from our Department.
This […]
Ramanujan Hegde from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK gave a tour-de-force presentation in our George Connell Seminar Series that focused on the quality control surveillance of tail-anchored membrane proteins and their insertion into ER and mitochondrial membranes.
As reported in our last correspondence, the Biochemistry Department fielded a softball team aptly named The Mutants this year. Despite our winning name, we had an awful season. We lost our first 6 games, tied the next, and then lost the last game which gave us a record of 0-7-1. Despite the losses, […]
July 14th saw the Biochemistry Department gathering once again for an exciting day of golf. Held at the Flemingdon 9-hole Golf Course in Midtown Toronto the threat of rain didn’t deter our intrepid golfers. Eight teams composed of beginners and experienced players enjoyed a “best ball” format that ensured that all golfers were able to contribute to their team’s effort. And it was a squeaker with the Pathological Lab Mates […]
