Like many college students, Lexie Swisher confronted a difficult choice concerning her time: find a job on campus to afford rent or participate in undergraduate research. Thanks to an unwavering commitment made by college leadership and generous donors, Swisher secured financial support from Launching Undergraduate Research Experiences, or LURE, a groundbreaking program that pays students while they gain invaluable research experiences during the academic year.
The remnants of ancient bacteria live inside each of us as mitochondria, structures in cells that are critical for life. Breakthrough work from Simon Johnson, B.S. biochemistry and biophysics ‘09, and his lab has shed new light on how dysfunction of mitochondria causes human disease. For his great strides towards a cure for mitochondrial diseases within a decade since his last degree, Johnson has received the 2023 Young Alumni Award in the College of Science.
Goldwater scholar and graduating senior Alyssa Pratt has always had a love for the sciences. She started with a love for the stars and now spends her day in the cyberspace realm with her double major in computer science; and biochemistry and molecular biology at Oregon State University.
When honors student Sahana Shah ran for the student House of Representatives, she won the election with the most votes of any candidate. One of her main platforms? Helping establish a disability cultural center to better adapt the campus to the needs of neurodiverse students. She is now joining forces with other student groups to bring the idea to life.
Researchers from the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics have discovered a new class of potential drug targets for people suffering from neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
When the global pandemic forced the closure of college science departments across the nation, Dr. Kari van Zee, Dr. Ryan Mehl, Dr. Rick Cooley, and graduate student Phil Zhu—department faculty and research members at Oregon State University—had to think fast to adapt their hands-on senior-level research methods course to support remote and hybrid models of learning.
Andres Cardenas (10', '15) has received funding to spend the next five years studying the impacts of prenatal and early childhood environmental stressors on children’s health and development.
Since graduating from OSU with a degree in biochemistry & biophysics, Bango has been in the Peace Corps, worked in a malaria research laboratory in Botswana and is now working on the front lines of COVID-19 testing and treatment in Los Angeles County, California.
An award-winning scholar and undergraduate researcher in biochemistry assistant professor Afua Nyarko’s lab, Diego Rodriguez exemplifies the power of using perseverance and dedication to achieve one’s goals.
