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Message from the Chair

Welcome to the Department of Biochemistry in the West Virginia University School of Medicine. This is a very exciting time in the Department as we are in the midst of a period of growth. Within the last year, three new faculty members have joined the Department. We continue to recruit for a number of new faculty positions and are interested in candidates with expertise in biochemistry and research interests in a number of broad areas including cancer biology, cardiovascular biology and neuroscience. These represent areas of interest of the current faculty in the department and areas of strength in the three major research centers supported by the Health Sciences Center at WVU. Two of our junior faculty members were awarded their first NIH grants within the last six months. The success of our faculty at securing extramural funding and the recruitment of new faculty are re-invigorating the research programs within the Department and have provided new opportunities for post-doctoral and graduate student training.

Fellowships

Pre-Doctoral Fellowship

Zachary Hartman was recently awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program in Breast Cancer. Zach studies SHP2, a protein tyrosine phosphastase, that is implicated in signaling downstream of EGF receptor family proteins and in the development of breast cancer. He is combining his interests in computational modeling and biochemistry to develop novel therapeutic strategies to inhibit the activity of SHP2. Zach graduated from West Liberty State College where he majored in Chemistry and minored in Music. In the fall of 2008, Zach entered the Biomedical Sciences graduate program at HSC, and in the spring of 2009 he joined the BMB program and Yehenew Agazie's lab to conduct his dissertation research. In the spring of 2010, Zach passed his Qualifying Exam and will be defending his dissertation proposal late in the fall. Congratulations Zach (and Yehenew)!

Pre-Doctoral Fellowship

Holly Damron, a graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Training Program, was recently awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association. Her project will explore the regulation of expression of FGF21, a novel hepatokine that reverses metabolic syndrome. Her studies will address how dietary intake modulates FGF21 expression in the liver and will provide important insight into molecular mechanisms controlling obesity. Holly received her BS degree from Concord University and joined the graduate program at WVU in the fall of 2007. In the spring of 2008 she joined Brad Hillgartner's lab and the BMB program. Holly was admitted to candidacy in November 2009 and is working very hard on her dissertation project. Outside of the laboratory, Holly is an avid runner and die-hard Mountaineer fan. Congratulations Holly (and Brad)!

 

Achievements
Years of Service

Dr. Knox Van Dyke was recently recognized in the department for 35 years of service.
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Dr. Mike Miller was recognized recently for 30 years of service.
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Dr. Mary Wimmer was recognized recently for 30 years of service.
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Dr. Drew Shiemke was recognized recently for 20 years of service.
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Carol Sholtis was recently recognized in the department for 20 years of service.
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Dr. Mike Gunther was recently recognized for 10 years service.
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Dr. Steve Frisch was recently recognized for 5 years service.
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Graduates

Callee Walsh successfully defended her dissertation in November of 2009.
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Ali Kohan successfully defended her thesis on August 17, 2009.
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Hongman Song, a member of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, successfully defended her dissertation thesis on June 11, 2009.
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Brian Zamora completed his doctoral dissertation work in December 2009 in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program.
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Sanjeev Kumar joined the Frisch lab in September, 2004 and finished his Ph.D. in April, 2010.
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New Faculty

Dr. Peter Stoilov joined the WVU School of Medicine faculty this spring as a new Assistant Professor in Biochemistry.
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Dr. David Smith joined the WVU School of Medicine faculty recently as a new Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry.
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Promotion & Tenure

Yehenew Agazie was promoted to Associate Professor of Biochemistry and awarded tenure, effective July 1, 2009.
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Dr. Max Sokolov, a member of the Departments of Biochemistry and Ophthalmology, and a member of the Center for Neuroscience, was promoted to Associate Professor and awarded tenure effective July 1, 2011.
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Awards

Professor Mary Wimmer was selected as a finalist for the Faculty Merit Foundation’s West Virginia Professor of the Year.
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Bill Wonderlin was presented with a Distinguished Teaching Award for his efforts in graduate education.
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Grants

Maxim Sokolov, Ph.D., was awarded a $1.6 million NIH Grant.
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Dr. Elena Pugacheva, was recently awarded an RO1.
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Fellowships

Holly Damron, a graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Training Program, was recently awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association.
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Zachary Hartman was recently awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program in Breast Cancer.
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Recognition

Congratulations
20 Years of Service...!!

Drew Shiemke was recognized recently for 20 years of service to WVU. Drew joined the Department of Biochemistry in 1990. Drew’s research, funded by the USDA, focused on the enzymatic mechanism used by methanotropic bacteria to convert methane to methanol. Knowledge of this process would facilitate the use of natural gas as a fuel for transportation. Drew has taught Biochemistry graduate, medical, dental and undergraduate students over the years, and, for the past two years, Drew has taken on the huge task of coordinating the Human Function course for 1st-year medical students. His teaching and leadership in this course has contributed significantly to the high performance of our medical students on their national biochemistry exams. Congratulations Drew...!!
Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center | Department of Biochemistry | P.O. Box 9142 | Morgantown, WV 26506-9142
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