Michelle Meyer has been awarded the Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship award for 2024-25.

Michelle’s research mostly focuses on developing novel agents and treatments for asthma, atopic dermatitis, and inflammatory bowel disease. She also works on several other research projects; for example, she uses cell-based assays to measure receptor activities and to determine the toxicity of drug compounds provided by Dr. Arnold’s group and other researchers and works on better countermeasures against chemical threat agents such as chlorine gas.

She is a co-author of 6 journal articles, has several more under review, and is a co-inventor on one patent.

Kayode Medubi has been awarded a Distinguished Graduate Student Fellowship award for 2024-25.

Kayode is starting his third year as a graduate student in the Arnold research group. His research focuses on developing new drug candidates for asthma and inflammatory bowel disease. He is also involved in collaborations with the group of Dr. Karyn Frick and the UWM startup company Estrigenix. He is an excellent presenter and has won two poster presentation awards, one at the Milwaukee Analytical Chemistry Conference in 2022 and one at the departmental Chemistry Awards Day in 2023.

Kayode has published one journal article during his M.S. work, and one journal article from his work at UWM.

Cytokines are very important inflammatory signaling molecules that have been intensively studied since their identification in 1957.  Crystal structures and recently electron microscopy structures of cytokines in complex with their receptors have been reported but their quaternary structures involving several cytokines and cytokines receptors are not well understood. Professor Saha will use the UWM Discovery and Innovation grant to support his computational approach that applies molecular dynamics simulations to improve our molecular understanding of these complexes.

This computational approach will also allow the Saha Group to find important binding regions of these complexes that when disrupted can result in dissociation. Thus, in another aim of the grant, Prof. Saha will work with the MIDD to identify new small molecules that can disrupt the interactions between IL-13 and IL-4 that bind the heterodimer of IL-4Rα & IL-13 Rα1. Compounds identified by virtual screening will be purchased or synthesized and analyzed by ELISA and isothermal titration calorimetry. The goal of this research is to discover new treatment approaches for atopic dermatitis based on small molecule inhibitors of cytokine signaling.

Students in the UWM Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry voted to award Prof Arnold and Prof Rodriguez  “Outstanding Faculty Mentor” awards in recognition of their contributions,

The awards were presented at the Department’s 2024 Research Symposium.

Nominating students describe them as follows:

“His influence extends beyond academics, profoundly impacting my life. He consistently prioritizes our well-being, regularly checking in on our mental health. Approachable and empathetic, his doors remain open despite his demanding schedule, making it easy to engage in discussions about any challenges we may face.”

“Whenever a researcher has a question, he is attentive and gives them his undivided attention to help them solve whatever problem they are facing. He’s an incredible member of the faculty and an immense help to the chemistry department.”

Dr. James Cook has earned a patent which is part of a portfolio of drug compounds targeting the GABAA receptors of the brain and is focused on aiding cognition and depression. Major depressive disorder affects 350 million people globally, ranking as a top cause of disability. Despite this burden, pharmaceutical companies have reduced antidepressant development. Novel antidepressants addressing cognitive dysfunction containing compounds like these are crucial for future treatment. See patent, US11753412B2

Dr. Mark Dietz and team have developed a new research tool for the method for preparation of surface-porous supports. This innovation allows the extraction of metal ions from a mixture. Metal ion separations play a vital role in industrial processes and analytical methods. An example of this is radiochemical separations, which can be used to isolate radioisotopes for medical applications such as imaging and cancer treatment. See patent, US11691140B2

To learn more about this position and how to apply, please click on the following link: https://uwm.edu/jobs/postings/38949

Sixteen undergraduate Chemistry and Biochemistry students presented their work at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The symposium celebrates the collaborations of our undergraduate students with our research-active faculty and staff across all of our schools and colleges.

Preston Burdett was awarded Outstanding Presentation Award for the poster presentation A Qualitative and Quantitative Study: Exploring Anxiety in Undergraduate Level Chemistry Courses. Below are the following students who presented:

Mira Beranek – mentor Prof. Murphy

Grace Wheeler – mentor Prof. Arnold

Alexis Peterson – mentor Prof. Peng

Michael Owens – mentor Prof. Arnold

Anna Evans – mentor Ethan Kub

John Brzezinski – mentor Prof. Peng

Grace Feucht – mentor Prof. Mirza

Kyle Price and Samuel Tarman – mentor Prof. Silvaggi

Julia Jakusz – mentor Prof. Peng

William Neuberger – mentor Prof. Pacheco

Joseph Parlier – mentor Prof. Pacheco

Nicholas Cavaliero – mentor Prof. Mirza

Zoe Wardle – mentor Prof. Frick

Emma Stutler – mentor Prof. Arnold

Researching the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome has been of interest to undergraduate biochemistry major Molly Drosen. Molly, an undergraduate researcher with Dr. Avik Roy of Simmaron, has been investigating a gene (ATG13) as a likely cause. She has been testing lab mice who have been bred without the ATG13 gene to see if they would show fatigue after exercise. Molly will be a contributor on a paper that will detail findings on the ATG13 gene. In Focus Article.

Amy Reyes, a senior undergraduate chemistry minor, has been conducting novel breast cancer research under the guidance of Dr. Avik Roy of Simmaron Research Institute after being connected via Prof. Leggy Arnold. Amy has been working with Dr. Roy on the development of therapies to treat triple-negative breast cancer which adds a personal nature to the research as her mother is a breast cancer survivor. In Focus Article.

During the second International Advocate Award Ceremony at UWM, Prof Arnold received a Certificate of Recognition from the Center of International Education. The certificate is in recognition of efforts as an outstanding advocate for international students at UWM. Dr. Arnold played a pivotal role in guiding international students through crucial decisions in their academic path. His expertise in course selection and the enrollment process as well as degree planning help international students to navigate the UWM chemistry graduate program. Congratulations Dr. Arnold!