Celebrating the 13th Annual Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Retreat
On January 16th, the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology hosted our 13th annual retreat on UMB's SMC Campus Center. This annual event is an excellent opportunity to showcase our students' hard work through diverse poster sessions and exciting oral presentations. It also provides members of the department the opportunity to learn more about their colleagues' research and invite stronger connections within Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This year, our keynote speaker was an alumnus of our program, Dr. Anwesha Dey. She is a Distinguished Scientist and Executive Director, AI - Oncology, Cancer Biology at Genentech, a biotechnology company considered to be one of the founders of the industry. Dr. Dey gave her address on "Targeting the Hippo Pathway in Cancers".
Congratulations to our student winners for their posters and presentations! From left to right: Dr. Katia Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, Gloria Patron Fidelgo (oral presentation), Joseph Kousouros (oral presentation), Ye Jun Kim (poster presentation), and Suhan Cho (oral presentation). Not pictured is Adedola Adebamowo (poster presentation).
Dean Gladwin (right) took time to support our Biochemistry and Molecular Biology students at their poster sessions. Here he is with Ayesha Shahbaz (left), a member of Dr. Saima Riazuddin's lab in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at UMB.
We welcome Dr. Anwesha Dey, Distinguished Scientist and Executive Director, AI - Oncology, Cancer Biology at Genentech. Dr. Dey who earned her PhD in Dr. Michael Summers lab at UMBC, was our keynote speaker. She presented her work on “Targeting the Hippo Pathway in Cancers.”
News & Events
2026
January 2026
Presentations, Events, Lectures & Workshops
Anwesha Dey, PhD, Distinguished Scientist and Executive Director, AI - Oncology, Cancer Biology at Genentech, was the keynote speaker for The 13th Annual Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Retreat, presenting her work on “Targeting the Hippo Pathway in Cancers.”
This retreat is held every year to allow the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to showcase the hard work of its students and researchers.
2025
December 2025
Awards & Honors
Gerald M. Wilson, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was appointed Chair of the School’s Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, effective December 15, 2025. Dr. Wilson, a distinguished scientist and educator, brings more than two decades of leadership and internationally recognized research in RNA biochemistry and cancer mechanisms to this role. As part of the appointment, he will be endowed as the John F.B. Weaver Professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Doctoral Defense
Spiridon E. Sevdalis, PhD, working in the lab of of David Weber, PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, UMSOM, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on "Uncovering the Calcium Dependence of the C. difficile Binary Toxin" on December 19th, 2025. Congratulations to Dr. Sevdalis!
October 2025
Awards & Honors
Sahana Marfatiya, a M.S. student working in the lab of Michal Zalzman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM, won First Prize in the BioDisruptor Grant Competition at the 2025 BioFestival.
Joseph Lakowicz, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM is being honored by the Royal Society of Chemistry for his 2008 review article entitled "Plasmon-controlled fluorescence: a new paradigm in fluorescence spectroscopy", which is being featured in the Analyst’s 150th Anniversary Collection: Highly Cited Articles, having been cited over 500 times already.
July 2025
Grants & Contracts
Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM, was given the American Heart Association-Transformational Award for “Deciphering the sex hormone dependence of cardiomyopathy driven by obscurin-Ig58/59 deletion”.
Publications
Alexander Drohat, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the corresponding author on “Characterizing the excision of 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoadenine by thymine DNA glycosylase”, published in J Biol Chem; 301. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2025.110363.
Jonathan Fay, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was a contributing author on “The polypharmacology of psychedelics reveals multiple targets for potential therapeutics.”, published in Neuron. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.06.012.
June 2025
Publications
Lakshmi Swarna Mukhi Pidugu, PhD, a research associate in the lab of Alexander Drohat, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the first author on “Observing nucleotide flipping in DNA using indirect 2′-F nucleotide probes and 19F NMR ”, published in Nucleic Acids Research; 53(11). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaf492.
David Weber, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the corresponding author on “Pore formation by the CDTb component of the Clostridioides difficile binary toxin is Ca2+-dependent”, published in Commun Biol; 8(901). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-025-08343-x
Kundan Sivashanmugan, PhD, a research associate in the lab of Joseph Lakowicz, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the first author on “Re-direction of surface plasmon-coupled emission using metallic nanoparticles.”, published in Materials Letters; 398. DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2025.138981.
Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the corresponding author on “Sex-dependent and muscle-specific progression of the MYBPC1 E248K Myotrem myopathy in response to aging", published in JCI Insight. DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.182471.
May 2025
Presentations, Events, Lectures & Workshops
Adam Sowalsky, PhD, head of the Prostate Cancer Genetics section of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch in the NCI’s Center for Cancer Research, was the guest lecturer for The 9th Gerard J. Barcak Memorial Lecture, presenting on “Novel therapeutic vulnerabilities in advanced prostate cancer”.
This lecture is held in honor of the late Gerard J. Barcak, PhD, Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at UMSOM, who passed in 2007 after a long battle with prostate cancer. Dr. Barcak was a dedicated advocate of the School of Medicine graduate and medical education missions. He is remembered well for his abilities as an educator and mentor, as well as a committed family man.
Publications
Jennifer Megan Mariano, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow working in the lab of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the first author of “Pulsatile Myofilament Activity in Myotrem Myopathy Associated with Myogenic Tremor”, published in Int. J. Mol. Sci.; 26(11). DOI: 10.3390/ijms26115252.
Joseph Lakowicz, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the corresponding author on “On the Possibility of Fluorescent Capture Immunoassays on a Contact Lens”, published in Biosensors (Basel); 15(5). DOI: 10.3390/bios15050326
April 2025
Doctoral Defense
Mitasha S. Palha, PhD, working in the lab of of Joseph Kao, PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, UMSOM, successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on "Applications of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) in Biomedical Research" on April 30th, 2025. Congratulations to Dr. Palha!
Publications
Aishwarya Iyer, PhD, working in the lab of of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the first author on “The Impact of Heritable Myopathies on Gastrointestinal Skeletal Muscle Function”, published in Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol; 19(8). DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2025.101522.
March 2025
Doctoral Defense
Aishwarya Iyer, PhD, working in the lab of of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM, successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on "From bedside to bench – Unraveling the role of MYBPC1 in Health and Disease" on March 14th, 2025. She now continues her professional training toward her doctorate of medicine. Congratulations to Dr. Iyer!
Publications
Nina Lee, (PhD Candidate), working in the lab of of Gerald Wilson, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the first author on “Unstructured protein domains stabilize RNA binding and mediate RNA folding by AUF1”, published in J Biol Chem; 301(5). DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2025.108442.
February 2025
Publications
Annie Brong, (PhD Candidate), working in the lab of of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the first author on “Sex chromosomes and sex hormones: dissecting the forces that differentiate female and male hearts”, published in Circulation; 151(7). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.069493.
January 2025
Publications
Alyssa Grogan, PhD, working in the lab of of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the first author on “Constitutive deletion of the obscurin-Ig58/59 domains induces atrial remodeling and Ca2+-based arrhythmogenesis”, published in JCI Insight; 10(4). DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.184202
2024
November 2024
Presentations, Events, Lectures & Workshops
Annie Brong, (PhD Candidate), working in the lab of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM, was invited to present at the American Heart Association's 2024 Scientific Sessions.
October 2024
Honors and Awards
S. Saif Hasan, PhD; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UMSOM, was presented with Teacher of the Year award at the 2024 Graduate Program in Life Sciences/Office of Postdoctoral Scholars Awards Ceremony.
Presentations, Events, Lectures & Workshops
Bryan Roth, MD/PhD; Michael Hooker Distinguished Professor Department of Pharmacology, UNC Chapel Hill Medical School presented at the 32nd Steinberg/Wylie Lecture Series on the topic of “Drug Discovery Meets AI”.
September 2024
Presentations, Events, Lectures & Workshops
Emmanuel Asiedu (PhD Candidate; NIH-IMSD Meyerhoff Graduate Fellow) and Hugo Bibollet (PhD Candidate; Graduate research assistant) both presented talks at the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Student Presentations, on the topics of "The role of angiopoietin-like 4 in DNA repair pathways and cisplatin resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma” and "CaV1.1 voltage sensor tracking through functional site-directed fluorometry in muscle fibers", respectively.
Ryan Gumpper, PhD; Research Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, SOM University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill presented a talk at the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology’s Fall Seminar Series titled "Molecular insights of psychedelic mediated 5HT2A signaling".
August 2024
Publications
Karndeep Singh, (PhD Candidate), working in the lab of Michael Summers, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UMSOM, contributed to “Role of RNA structural plasticity in modulating HIV-1 genome packaging and translation” (S. Yasin et al), published August 13th in Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 121(33). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2407400121
July 2024
Grants & Contracts
Amara Ejikemeuwa, (PhD Candidate; NIH-IMSD Meyerhoff Graduate Fellow) was awarded a T32 Training Grant in Cancer Biology.
Annie Brong, (PhD Candidate), working in the lab of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM, was awarded a Keystone Symposia (J1) Future of Science Fund scholarship.
Presentations, Events, Lectures & Workshops
Annie Brong, (PhD Candidate), working in the lab of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM, gave an oral presentation at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences 2024 Scientific Sessions. Her talk was on the topic of “Constitutive Deletion of the Obscurin Ig58/59 Domains Induces Structural and Electrophysiological Remodeling in Atria.”
June 2024
Honors and Awards
Matthew Eason, (MD/PhD Candidate), working in lab of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was awarded 2nd Prize for his submission in the 16th Annual Graduate Translational Research competition. Eason’s project focuses on how to utilize the protein obscurin to construct a new and effective therapy that inhibits metastatic spread of breast cancer tumors.
Publications
Aishwarya Iyer, (MD/PhD Candidate), working in the lab of of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was the corresponding author on “Compound heterozygous variants in MYBPC1 lead to severe distal arthrogryposis type-1 manifestations”, published June 5th in Cell (191). DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2024.148339
May 2024
Honors and Awards
David J. Weber, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM was recognized with the designation of Distinguished University Professor, the highest appointment bestowed on a faculty member at UMB. He, and the five other members of this year’s cohort, will be celebrated and receive their Distinguished University Professor medals during UMB’s third annual Faculty Convocation on Sept. 12.
Presentations, Events, Lectures & Workshops
Aishwarya Iyer, (MD/PhD Candidate), working in the lab of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM, was an Invited/Selected ECI Moderator at the Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison 2024 Myofilament Meeting. At the same meeting, she was awarded Best Early Career Investigator (ECI) Trainee Oral Presentation.
April 2024
Grants and Contracts
Richard Thompson, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM and Huihui Zeng, PhD, Research Associate, UMSOM are the lead inventor and co- inventor, respectively, of “Methods for Detecting and/or Predicting Age- Related Macular Degeneration and/or Alzheimer’s Disease,” which was issued European patents in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom on April 3.
Michal Zalzman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM and Rodney Taylor, MD, MPH, Professor, UMMS are the lead inventor and co-inventor, respectively, of “Methods for Generating Multipotent Stem Cells from Tonsillar Biopsies,” which was issued a U.S. patent on April 16.
Honors and Awards
Spiro Sevdalis (PhD Candidate), while working in David J. Weber, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM, was awarded a travel stipend by END and funded by Norell to attend the 65th Experimental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Conference.
Noha Ghonim, (PhD Candidate), was awarded Outstanding Oral Presentation in the in the 46th Annual Graduate Research Conference of University of Maryland.
March 2024
Honors and Awards
Aishwarya Iyer, (MD/PhD Candidate), working in the lab of of Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM, was the 9th Recipient of the Attillo R. and Myrtle L. Jackson Award. This annual award recognizes a PhD or MD/PhD candidate whose outstanding meritorious service to humanity is continually demonstrated by ongoing acts of generosity and kindness.
Publications
Michal Zalzman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM published “Reprogramming Chromosome Ends by Functional Histone Acetylation”, in Int J Mol Sci, 25(7). DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073898.
January 2024
Publications
Michal Zalzman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM published “DeepFreeze 3D‐biofabrication for Bioengineering and Storage of Stem Cells in Thick and Large‐Scale Human Tissue Analogs”, in Advanced Science, 11(11). DOI: 10.1002/advs.202306683.
Honors and Awards
Noha Ghonim, (PhD Candidate), took 2nd Prize in the Poster Presentation Awards for the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program Annual Retreat.