Biomedical Sciences Department Newsletter Florida State University College of Medicine

April, 2014
Biomedical Sciences Department Newsletter
Florida State University College of Medicine
“The present state of science funding
is dismal. Fewer grants are being
awarded today than in 1998 and the
buying power of the NIH and NSF has
been steadily declining, failing to keep
pace with inflation. If America is to
remain globally competitive, we must
re-commit to funding scientific research. To this end, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology (ASBMB), which represents
over 12,000 biomedical researchers,
invites young scientists to travel to
Washington, D.C. and advocate for
science funding. Last week I participated in the 2014 Spring “Hill Day”
and met with the offices of 10 congressional representatives, including a
face-to-face meeting with Sen. Roger
Wicker (R-MS). As graduate students
and postdocs—not lobbyists—we
have a unique perspective on the importance of scientific research. Thus,
in the meetings I was often tasked
with describing the mission of our Department and explaining why our re-
Advocating for Science Funding
at ASBMB Hill Day
search is valuable, even if it doesn’t
produce an immediate economic impact. As scientists, we rely on NIH and
NSF funding to survive, and it is our job
to fight for funding by explaining to
elected officials (and society at large)
why basic research matters. The next
ASBMB Hill Day is slated for late Fall
2014, and I strongly encourage graduate students and postdocs to apply!”
- Liam M. Longo
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that
he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and that they dwell therein.”
- Zora Neale Hurston
Congratulations Scholars!
Deanna Tremblay (Meckes Lab)
 Deanna was recognized as one of the Capital
City’s top 20 under 40 young professionals by
the Tallahassee Network of Young Professionals. She was awarded the Golden ACE award.
Lataisia Jones (Bhide Lab)
 Lataisia was awarded this years WilsonAuzeene Graduate Assistantship for Minorities. This assistantship carries a $5,000 stipend, plus tuition waivers for the academic
year!
Deanna Tremblay
Lataisia Jones
Liam Longo (Blaber Lab)
 Liam was competitively selected to participate in the ASBMB Hill Day in Washington,
DC. Liam served as an advocate for scientific
research and education while meeting with
congressional representatives during his DC
visit.
Liam Longo
Kelly McKnight (Wang Lab)
 Kelly successfully completed her Dissertation
Defense earlier last month. Be sure to congratulate Kelly on completing her doctoral
work!
Natasha Rich (Lee Lab)
 Natasha is an undergrad. who recently received the 2014 Mentored Research and Creative Endeavor Award for her proposed research project with the Lee lab. MRCE
awarded $1,000.
Kelly McKnight
Upcoming Events
Dissertation Defenses:
4/8: Brett Mulvey (Horabin Lab)
Happy Birthday!
Dr. Cynthia Vied—April 1st
Dr. Charlie Ouimet—April 6th
Dr. James Olcese—April 17th
4/10: Janel Rodriguez (Horabin Lab)
Dr. Branko Stefanovic-April 24th
Dr. Graham Patrick—April 30th
Seminars:
4/9: Hao Wang (Stefanovic Lab)
4/14: Dr. Bernhard Luscher (Germany)
Stay Connected with BMS
4/23: Dr. Walter Tschinkel (FSU BIO)
4/30: Dr. Matthew Pipkin (Scripps Fl.)
FSU COM Dept. of
Biomedical Sciences
@FSUBiomed
Visiting Faculty Candidates:
4/7—4/9 Dr. Nikolaos Makris
4/21—4/23 Dr. Yuan Wang
Department of
Biomedical Sciences
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that
he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and that they dwell therein.”
- Zora Neale Hurston
Recent Publications

Tanaka K, Kato A, Angelocci C,
Watanabe M, Kato Y. “A potential
molecular pathogenesis of cardiac/
laterality defects in Oculo-FacioCardio-Dental syndrome” Developmental Biology. 2014. 387:28-36
http://bit.ly/1g1cbSJ

Manojlovic Z, Earwood R, Kato A,
Stefanovic B, Kato Y. “RFX7 is required for the formation of cilia in
the neural tube” Mechanism of Development. 2014. 132:28-37
http://bit.ly/OsGyKn

Nair-Collins M, Northrup J, Olcese J.
“Hypothalamic-Pituitary Function in
Brain Death” Journal of Intensive
Care Medicine. 2014. 10.1177/0885
066614527410
http://bit.ly/1ssPC1X

Stefanovic B, Stefanovic L.
“Screening for Antifibrotic Compounds Using High Throughput System Based on Fluorescence Polarization” Biology. 2014. (accepted for
publication) http://bit.ly/1e9kxww

Qiao H, Foote M, Graham K, Wu Y,
Zhou Y. “14-3-3 Proteins Are Required for Hippocampal Long-Term
Potentiation and Associative Learning and Memory” The Journal of
Neuroscience. 2014. 34(14):48014808
http://bit.ly/1mUuy32
***All articles can be read by right clicking on
the blue hyperlink or by hardcopy on the BMS
Publication bulletin board***
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. It is a seeking that
he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world and that they dwell therein.”
- Zora Neale Hurston