Scientists Find Hope in Cone Snail Venom

August 23, 2024

An international research team led by University of Utah scientists has identified a component within the venom of a predatory marine cone snail, the geography cone, that mimics a human hormone called somatostatin, which regulates the levels of blood sugar and various hormones in the body. The hormone-like toxin’s specific, long-lasting effects, which help the snail hunt its prey, could also help scientists design better drugs for people with diabetes or hormone disorders, conditions that can be serious and sometimes fatal.

The results were published Aug. 20 in the journal Nature Communications.

A blueprint for better drugs

Somatostatin acts like a brake pedal for many processes in the human body, preventing the levels of blood sugar, various hormones, and many other important molecules from rising dangerously high. The cone snail toxin, called consomatin, works similarly, the researchers found—but consomatin is more stable and specific than the human hormone, which makes it a promising blueprint for drug design.

By measuring how consomatin interacts with somatostatin’s targets in human cells in a dish, the researchers found that consomatin interacts with one of the same proteins that somatostatin does. But while somatostatin directly interacts with several proteins, consomatin only interacts with one. This fine-tuned targeting means that the cone snail toxin affects hormone levels and blood sugar levels but not the levels of many other molecules.

In fact, the cone snail toxin is more precisely targeted than the most specific synthetic drugs designed to regulate hormone levels, such as drugs that regulate growth hormone. Such drugs are an important therapy for people whose bodies overproduce growth hormones. Consomatin’s effects on blood sugar could make it dangerous to use as a therapeutic, but by studying its structure, researchers could start to design drugs for endocrine disorders that have fewer side effects.

Consomatin is more specific than top-of-the-line synthetic drugs—and it also lasts far longer in the body than the human hormone, thanks to the inclusion of an unusual amino acid that makes it difficult to break down. This is a useful feature for pharmaceutical researchers looking for ways to make drugs that will have long-lasting benefits.

Learning from cone snails

Finding better drugs by studying deadly venoms may seem unintuitive, but Helena Safavi, associate professor of biochemistry in the U’s Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine and the senior author on the study, explained that the toxins’ lethality is often aided by pinpoint targeting of specific molecules in the victim’s body. That same precision can be extraordinarily useful when treating disease.

“Venomous animals have, through evolution, fine-tuned venom components to hit a particular target in the prey and disrupt it,” Safavi said. “If you take one individual component out of the venom mixture and look at how it disrupts normal physiology, that pathway is often really relevant in disease.” For medicinal chemists, “it’s a bit of a shortcut.”

Among Safavi’s coauthors are faculty from the U’s School of Biological Sciences, including Baldomero Olivera and Samuel Espino. The U has been a hotspot for research into the venom’s pharmacological properties since Olivera arrived in Utah in 1970 from his native Philippines, bringing his interest in cone snails with him.

Read the full, original story by Sophia Friesen in UofU Health.
Read about Toto Olivera’s 2022 Golden Goose Award for early research in cone snails here.

Deep Beneath Our Feet: A Seismic Surprise

August 20, 2024

The origin of the precursor signals, which arrive ahead of the main seismic waves that travel through Earth’s core, has remained unclear, but research led by University of Utah geophysicists sheds new light on this mysterious seismic energy.

PKP precursors appear to propagate from places deep below North America and the western Pacific and possibly bear an association with “ultra-low velocity zones,” thin layers in the mantle where seismic waves significantly slow down, according to research published in AGU Advances, the American Geophysical Union’s lead journal. (The AGU highlighted the research in its magazine Eos.)

“These are some of the most extreme features discovered on the planet. We legitimately do not know what they are,” said lead author Michael Thorne, a U associate professor of geology and geophysics. “But one thing we know is they seem to end up accumulating underneath hotspot volcanoes. They seem like they may be the root of whole mantle plumes giving rise to hotspot volcanoes.”

These plumes are responsible for the volcanism observed at Yellowstone, the Hawaiian Islands, Samoa, Iceland and the Galapagos Islands.

Thorne’s team, which included research assistant professor Surya Pachhai, devised a way to model waveforms to detect crucial effects that previously went unnoticed. Using a cutting-edge seismic array method and new theoretical observations from earthquake simulations, the researchers developed, they analyzed data from 58 earthquakes that occurred around New Guinea and were recorded in North America after passing through the planet.

Their new method allowed them to pinpoint where the scattering occurred along the boundary between the liquid metal outer core and the mantle, known as the core-mantle boundary, located 2,900 kilometers below Earth’s surface.

STEM Safety Day 2024

August 19, 2024

Maintaining a safe working and learning environment is of critical importance, particularly to those in scientific fields. That is why STEM-focused colleges from around campus are coming together to host the University of Utah STEM Safety Day on Friday, September 6, from 8:30 am - 4:00 pm at the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House. This free event is open to all researchers, staff, students and faculty in U Health and the broader campus to brush up on best practices in safety and well-being.

STEM Safety Day will offer a wide range of seminars, trainings, and interactive sessions designed to help the U’s science, engineering and medical community better understand the hazards and mitigate the unique health and safety risks associated with working in STEM disciplines. Topics range from basic first aid and proper use of personal protective equipment, to handling hazardous materials and lab safety protocols. Whether participants work in offices, labs or patient-facing settings, there will be sessions that are applicable to them.

CPR Training at Safety Day: Shelly Beck, Assistant Professor, Health and Kinesiology, The Center for Emergency Programs

“We are dedicated to fostering a culture of safety and wellness in STEM disciplines at the University of Utah,” said David Thomas, Director of Safety at the College of Science and organizer of Safety Day. “By hosting this yearly event with colleges and units throughout campus, along with our consistent daily efforts, we are doing just that.”

With wellness in mind, the event will also provide flu and COVID-19 vaccines and offer various sessions on personal well-being, including a presentation on mental health self-care by the OSHER Center for Integrative Health.

The event will kick off with a panel discussion and Q&A featuring university and college leadership, including Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Mitzi Montoya, Vice President of Research Erin Rothwell, College of Science Dean Peter Trapa, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine Dean Samuel Finlayson and John and Marcia Price College of Engineering Dean Charles Musgrave. The panel will be moderated by Chief University Relations Officer Chris Nelson.

“Safety is an integral part of doing research at the highest level and is one of many areas in which the U needs to continue to lead as an R1 institution,” said Provost Montoya. “Bringing many of our leading STEM units together for this Safety Day provides a unique opportunity for us to collectively improve both the efficacy and safety of our research practices.”

Space is limited for many of the in-demand sessions and early registration is encouraged. To view the finalized agenda and register, visit https://science.utah.edu/events/safety-day.

Synthesis 2024

August 19, 2024

SRI: Just the Beginning

August 18, 2024

April showers bring May flowers (and this year in Utah, snow), but more than just plants bloom each spring at the University of Utah. All over campus, students blossom into graduates after years of growth. Among the graduating class this year are many of the first cohort of students of the Science Research Initiative (SRI), marking the four-year anniversary of the program.

The SRI was created to involve undergraduate students in research from their very first day on campus. Former College of Science dean Henry White had the vision for this program and in 2019 passed the torch to Dean Peter Trapa at a critical time when there was a lot of investment. The main goal of the SRI is to facilitate relationships between faculty researchers and students. “We have a lot of great faculty researchers at the U, and there wasn’t a good mechanism to connect students with them, so the program helps eliminate those barriers,” says SRI Director Josh Steffen. The program puts students and faculty in contact and makes expectations of the partnership clear.

NAVIGATING THE PANDEMIC

During its inaugural year, the SRI was still able to engage with students despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Mathew Crawley

During its inaugural year, the SRI was still able to engage with students despite the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted the majority of campus activities. For some first- and second-year students, the initial SRI cohort was their only connection with the College of Science during an extremely difficult time. “In the SRI, I felt so cared for and supported both during the pandemic and after," says senior Anika D’Souza. "The program really helped me feel like I can do science.”

“I feel lucky that I started with the SRI because we were taught the methods, and then we were given the opportunity to ask novel questions,” says senior Parker Guzman. With the motto “learn by doing” in mind, budding scientists in the SRI jumpstart their first fall semester at the U with an introductory class designed to teach them about how science happens, help them establish a community within the college, and discover where their research interests lie. The following spring semester, students are planted in a research stream that best fits their interests and begin their scientific journeys.

Current research streams span many scientific disciplines from mathematics to organic chemistry and to climate science. A sampling of projects include “Spintronics and Quantum Sensing,” “Pollination Biology” and “The Geochemistry of Noble Gases.” These streams aren’t just limited to the College either. Students can participate in cancer biology research with the Huntsman Cancer Institute, conservation projects with the Hogle Zoo or Red Butte Garden, or ecological inquiries with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District.

At its core, the SRI is a program designed to engage students in research, but its impact stretches much further. Early data indicate that SRI students are more likely to stay engaged in the College, maintain a higher GPA, earn other scholarships, and pursue additional research opportunities. Junior Chelsea Bordon says the SRI was a pivotal part of her first year at the U. “Getting into STEM can be really hard, but the SRI helped me meet so many people with different backgrounds that I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise which made that process easier.”

SRI Post-doctoral researcher Rodolfo Probst with undergraduates in Costa Rica.

IMPACTFUL EMPIRICAL RESULTS

While the student experience is at the heart of the SRI, the program engages with and enhances the scientific community beyond the U. Research projects facilitated by the program produce tangible and impactful empirical results that are shared in publications and presented at conferences. Members of the SRI get the opportunity to interact with the broader scientific community at gatherings on the local and national level. SRI students and postdoctoral researchers have presented at a number of conferences including the Ecological Society of America, American Chemical Society, Joint Math Meeting, Wildlife Society Meeting, Math for All, and Southwestern Social Science Association.

In addition to generating empirical evidence, the SRI contributes to the scientific community by creating space for scientists early in their professional academic careers. Postdocs were introduced to the program as stream leaders two years in. Not only do they help the program provide access to more undergraduates, but the postdocs themselves learn as well. Very few positions exist for postdocs to develop their skills after graduate school. As stream leaders for the SRI, they get the opportunity to mentor larger groups of students and run their own research groups. Out of the five post-doc researchers in the first cohort, three have already landed professorships at other research universities.

The SRI is unique from other undergraduate research programs because the experimentation extends beyond the physical laboratory. The program itself is an exploratory space where students can discover their passions — whether that’s in science or elsewhere. As the students are performing experiments, they’re also testing out the experience of being a researcher. The program invites curiosity and innovation with no one criterion of what success looks like.

“Coming into college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. The SRI helped me realize my love for biology and gave me skills as a researcher that will help me succeed in grad school,” says senior Sydney Larsen. Like Larsen, the rest of the first cohort of students graduating this year have their sights set high. Many are continuing their scientific careers in graduate programs, some are headed to medical school, and others have found their path outside of the sciences (one is the author of the article you’re reading right now).

STAYING ROOTED IN SRI’s VALUES

SRI students "learn by doing" beginning their first year at the U.

Just four years ago, the SRI was seeded with 27 students spread over seven research streams. This upcoming academic year, the program is aiming for 400 participants and 65 streams. The goal is that every College student who wants to be involved in research has the opportunity and resources to do so. In addition, SRI leaders want to bring on more postdocs and build the scientific community by engaging with other programs on campus and community partners to create more research projects.

In the next four years, the SRI is projected to continue growing, but leaders of the program hope that they can stay rooted in their values as the numbers of students multiply. “We want to make sure we have the resources we need to still offer quality experiences and support students financially as we grow,” says Associate Director Heather Briggs. The SRI will inevitably continue to yield publications, send students to conferences, and spur new scientific inquiries, but the most valuable aspect of the program by far is the depth of connection it fosters between students and their peers and mentors.

When the SRI was first launched, no one knew exactly how it would help promote the reputation of the U as a Tier-1 research university. It turns out that students shape the SRI just as much as they themselves are shaped by the program. With the inclusion of many student voices and perspectives, novel questions are asked and innovative approaches are taken. Now, with the graduation of the Science Research Initiative’s first cohort, it’s clear what the program’s legacy will be: a robust community of researchers informed by student inquiry; a community that holistically supports and celebrates graduates wherever their ambitions may take them.

By Lauren Wigod

Lauren Wigod HBS’24 enters a PhD program in philosophy of science this fall at the University of California, Irvine. She is a proud member of the first SRI cohort.

This story is featured in Synthesis, the College of Science's annual magazine.
You can read more SRI stories here.

Urban ‘Cool Zones’

August 14, 2024

Daniel Mendoza

A research associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah, Daniel Mendoza is not your typical academic scientist. With an impressive list of publications, averaging a new paper each month, academic scholarship is only one of his accomplishments. Mendoza has become an environmental social justice advocate, leveraging his research to get the attention of politicians and legislatures. The intersection between what’s happening in the atmosphere and what’s happening on the ground in people’s lives is where Mendoza readily enters.

This summer, Salt Lake has fallen victim to heat waves that mirror those throughout the United States. According to the CDC, extreme heat kills around a thousand people in the U.S. each year, more than any other natural-occurring factor. Effects from the heat are easily felt, but more insidious are the effects from increased concentrations of air pollutants, namely ozone.

Mendoza explains in an interview with @theU’s Lisa Potter that “ozone is dangerous because it basically causes a sunburn in your lungs that impacts respiratory and cardiovascular health.”

In a recent study, Mendoza and his team asked the question, “can cool zones protect individuals from heat and poor air quality?” “Cool zones” are public buildings that serve as environmental refuges for vulnerable people during periods of extreme heat. Places like recreation centers or libraries are good examples of cool zones; Mendoza chose the Millcreek Library as the location for his case study.

Obviously cool zones protect individuals from heat with the use of air conditioning, but the study found that the Millcreek Library also reduced exposure to atmospheric ozone by around 80%.

Given their demonstrated efficacy, Mendoza is now critical of the current scope of cool zones. “We should be thinking about how to make these centers more accessible, for example, keeping them open for longer hours to protect people during the hottest parts of the day.” Many heat refuges close around 2-3 p.m. and aren’t open on weekends.

What people believe

Daniel Mendoza in the 2021 documentary "AWAiRE" that explores the impacts of air quality along the Wasatch Front. Credit: AWAIRE.

Mendoza understands that data alone is not convincing enough to enact change outside of the scientific community. “About 50% of people in the U.S. believe in climate change, but 100% believe in lung cancer, which is why I wanted to pivot from more climate drivers and greenhouse gas emissions and products towards more health criteria,” he says. Furthermore, he continues, “...150% of people believe in the dollar. I mean that’s ultimately what drives policy, what drives a lot of decision making.”

It was during his Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship program at the U when Mendoza learned more about how to tie in the social and basic sciences with the health sciences. He finished the program in 2020 after completing a capstone project looking at the impact of air pollution on school absences.

On “orange” or “red” air quality index (AQI) days, students are often still sent outside for recess, resulting in many children experiencing respiratory symptoms and needing to be sent home. Missing school every so often because the air quality is poor doesn’t sound like a huge issue, but it adds up to impact the student as well as the school, its district and the city where they live, he explains.

“When you have repeat absenteeism, then the potential to graduate is much lower, the potential to go to college is much lower, then your tax base is lower,” says Mendoza. Increased school absences cost the city around half a million dollars a year in terms of reduced workforce, education costs and healthcare costs.

The solution to this pervasive issue of children being sent home because of the deleterious effects of bad air was surprisingly simple: emergency asthma inhalers in every classroom, right next to the Epinephrine Auto-Injectors branded “EpiPens” Says Mendoza, “I worked with Representative Mark Wheatley,” chair for the Utah Asthma Task Force, “and we passed a law…. Utah became the 14 (or 15th) state that has emergency asthma inhalers in every single school.”

Now on bad air days, instead of sending a student home, students can use the rescue inhaler and remain at school, placing less of an economic burden on the city and giving themselves more time to learn. It’s a health-issue solution based on atmospheric data that changes policy and in turn saves taxpayer dollars.

Empowering the Community

Mendoza soon discovered what others had already discovered or at least suspected, that certain populations in the city were more endangered than others. What distinguished those populations was lower-income brackets and racial and ethnic inequities. When he first moved to Salt Lake City, Mendoza was excited about the buzz around air quality. “I thought, this is great. My research is going to be welcomed by the community,” he recalls. Instead, he discovered that these events were forgetting a key part of the problem: the people who are most impacted.

Mendoza started attending community-based informational gatherings about climate change and the environment. “All of these events are held east of State Street. They were all in English. No one looked like me. Then at the end of the talk, the conclusion was ‘buy electric vehicles and solar panels and we’ll save the world together.’ Well that doesn’t work for everyone.”

Not only is there a disparity in the communities affected by poor air quality, there is an inequality in accessible solutions to the problem. “For most of them, air quality is not a top priority… they don’t have the luxury of learning like we do,” says Mendoza of those who are most likely to be impacted by bad air quality.

The first step in empowering the community and addressing this imbalance was to bring science to them. Mendoza began organizing outreach events, this time on the west side of State Street, held in both Spanish and English.

“We provide them with actionable solutions. For example, we partnered with Utah Clean Energy, and we did an LED exchange where people bought in their normal light bulbs,” he says. Another switch he facilitated was to low-flow showerheads.

And yet another initiative included furnace filter exchange with 100 homes in Salt Lake County. When indoor air was tested for 43 different potential problematic elements, researchers found elevated levels of uranium, lanthanides, arsenic and lead, “all the nasties.”

Those “nasties” come from a variety of sources. “If you’re close to a highway, for example, you [breathe in] more of aluminum, associated with brake wear,” says Mendoza of the indoor air quality study, the first study of its kind. “When was the last time you sat outside for eight hours? You spend 90% of your time indoors and 60% of your time in your home, roughly speaking.”

“The people that we really are very concerned about are, for example, the delivery drivers, who are constantly in that traffic, road construction workers as well. Those people are breathing [in] literally every single car’s tailpipe.”

‘Run back inside’

Inequities in who breathes bad air requires that one looks closely at why and how bad air gets ingested. “Those with more and better resources can think about these issues involving bad air and what used to be only seasonal atmospheric inversions along the Wasatch Front, and then “just run back inside and we’re fine. But very few studies have been done on these concentrated pollution sources, again in conjunction with what they may be exposed to ‘naturally.’”

From the 2021 documentary "AWAiRE." Credit: AWAIRE.

Those studies are being done by Mendoza and others and then made actionable on-the- ground initiatives involving switching out devices that are less effective and cost more money in populations who are most threatened by breathing bad air.

These simple switches in affordable fixtures, for example, have tangible and meaningful impacts that inspire other actions, other policy decisions leading to better health outcomes.

“Participants in these gatherings soon became community leaders to help others improve their situation,” says Mendoza, another favorable result to his work. And then there is the financial incentive, that tongue-in-cheek statistic that 150% of people do in fact “believe in the dollar.”

“These community members, they have to earn income to survive,” he reminds us. “They see their electric bills go down, they see their heating bills go down, they see their water bills go down, and they realize ‘Oh,okay, so it works. Let me tell all my friends about it.’”

Costs of inaction

Policy-makers and the public in general often look at the costs of solutions to problems that require action but sometimes they forget about the costs of inaction.

Regardless of whether the focus of a study is cool zones, compounding wildfire emissions, or, most recently a recent study on the eBus project, a main tool for fine scale carbon emissions measurements in urban environements, Mendoza approaches each new inquiry with the same goal: “I want to make sure that my science gets understood by the general public. I want to write in as plain English as possible, because ultimately, I want to enact change, I want my work to do change.”

Mendoza challenges the stereotypical ideal of a mad scientist locked away in a lab and detached from reality. Instead, he is present on campus, in the community, and at the state capitol building using science to advocate for justice.

Daniel Mendoza holds joint positions as research associate professor in atmospheric sciences; adjunct associate professor in internal medicine; and adjunct associate professor in City & Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah.

by Lauren Wigod

Read more on the 2021 documentary "AWAiRE," featuring Daniel Mendoza in @TheU.

Those with the biggest biases choose first

August 12, 2024

Quick decisions are more likely influenced by initial biases, resulting in faulty conclusions, while decisions that take time are more likely the result in better information, according to new research led by applied mathematicians at the University of Utah.

A team that included Sean Lawley, an associate professor of mathematics, and three former or current Utah graduate students used the power of numbers to test a decision-making model long used in psychology.

They developed a framework to study the decision-making processes in groups of people holding various levels of bias.

“In large populations, what we see is that slow deciders are making more accurate decisions,” said lead author Samantha Linn, a graduate student in mathematics. “One way to explain that is that they’re taking more time to accumulate more evidence, and they’re getting a complete picture of everything they could possibly understand about the decision before they make it.”

The findings were reported this week in the journal Physical Review E.

The researchers explored how initial biases of individuals, or “agents,” in a group affect the order and accuracy of their choices. The goal was to determine whether a decision was driven mainly by an agent’s predisposition as opposed to accumulated evidence.

They found, in short, the faster the decision was made, the less informed it was and more likely to be wrong.

“Their decisions align with their initial bias, regardless of the underlying truth. In contrast, agents who decide last make decisions as if they were initially unbiased, and hence make better choices,” the study states. “Our analysis shows how bias, information quality, and decision order interact in non-trivial ways to determine the reliability of decisions in a group.”

Read the full story by Brian Maffly in @TheU.

Humans of the U: Nathan Patchen

August 12, 2024

In my first year, however, I had some great experiences with the university’s chemistry department and fell in love with chemistry. Since then, I have decided to double major in biochemistry and biology. My goal is to pursue an MD-PhD, so I can do both research and work with patients.

I am passionate about improving the quality of life for patients, allowing them to lead healthier and hopefully more fulfilling lives. I hope to do this by working in the field of genetics/genomics and using gene editing techniques to find new tools to combat diseases that are otherwise untreatable. Additionally, I am interested in understanding why and how we age and improving patient outcomes through this process.

These interests are reflected in the research I have been a part of on campus as an undergraduate. The prestigious research that happens at the U is one of the reasons I was drawn to the school. Though research can be frustrating, time-consuming, and tedious, I have found it to be the most enriching part of my education. The incredible opportunity to participate in the forefront of science has drastically expanded my capabilities not only as a scientist but as a person.

Recently in my lab, the principal investigator (PI) assigned me to learn how to synthesize a compound we use for our experiments in an effort to bring our costs down. It was a difficult process to optimize the protocol for our lab, but through extensive troubleshooting and consulting with other labs, I became an expert on the topic.

After months of running the process over and over again without success, my PI and I discovered the error was occurring in a step I was not in control of. We were so excited to have found the solution After correcting the problem, I was able to successfully produce the desired product. Better yet, the new method dropped the cost of our experiments from $60 per experiment to less than a cent. It is exciting that I could play such a key role in helping my lab achieve a research goal that opens realms of possibility. It feels great to be able to contribute to something larger than myself.

I have recently been recognized as a Goldwater scholar which is exciting because it is a testament to my commitment to pursue science and my desire to make an impact on the world through discovery. To me, receiving this award is a great honor, it tells me that someone believes in me, and is willing to invest in my development. It is my goal to live up to that expectation, whether it be through science, medicine, or some other field, my goal is to serve and improve the lives of others.

—Nathan Patchen, a junior in the Honors College studying biochemistry and biology and a 2024 Goldwater Scholarship recipient

This story originally appeared in @TheU.

Fueling Utah’s Booming BioTech Sector

August 12, 2024

In teaching labs through the Science Research Initiative (SRI) students learn by doing, starting their first year in the College of Science.

There has been a steady stream of articles about billion-dollar valuations for Utah startups and consistently low unemployment. Amid these headlines, there is growing recognition among analysts and policymakers in Utah that the biotechnology and life science sectors are playing a significant role in that growth. A recent report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute found that the industries created $8 billion in GDP in 2022, part of a total statewide economic impact of $21.6 billion. Job growth in the sector has been particularly impressive; Utah’s 5.7% annual job growth rate significantly outpaces the national average of 3.2%. Due to these steady increases, Utah now has the highest share of statewide employment among all states nationally except Massachusetts. These jobs are also high-paying positions. Wages in the sectors average $96,000, which is 48% higher than the $65,000 average in other industries.

The University of Utah and the College of Science play an important role in this booming expansion, helping supply a sizable portion of talented employees and researchers. According to National Center for Education Statistics graduation data, the U awards roughly 37% of life science-related bachelor’s degrees and 95% of graduate degrees given by schools in the Utah System of Higher Education. Graduates from the College account for nearly two-thirds of those undergraduate degrees and over one-third of the PhDs. As they build their careers, alumni have the opportunity to take principles they learn by working with award-winning faculty and then applying them in professional settings.

“Innovation in biotechnology is touching on every aspect of our lives, from climate change and agriculture to health and wellness,” says Fred Adler, professor of mathematics and current director of the School of Biological Sciences (SBS), the largest academic unit in the College. “As discovery and innovation accelerate, so do the links between basic science and applications. In the SBS, faculty are making transformative contributions to drought-resistance crops based on fundamental discoveries in genetics, testing of drug safety based on research of animal behavior, and to neuroscience through new ways of imaging cells at the finest resolution.”

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

In the School of Biological Sciences, faculty are making transformative contributions to drought-resistance crops based on fundamental discoveries in genetics. Credit: Mathew Crawley

The pipeline from the classroom, and the lab, to a successful career is most fruitful when exceptional instructors and researchers provide mentorship and guidance for students. College faculty have been recognized with a range of teaching and research awards, spanning honors like the National Medal of Science (given to three faculty members from the College of Science over the years) and MacArthur Genius Grants (four recipients) to the Rosenblatt Prize, the U’s highest honor for teaching and research (11 recipients). The College has also had 15 members elected to the National Academy of Sciences, 10 of whom are still actively teaching and pursuing research. These individual honors underscore the quality of the researchers’ academic units and are reflected in their national rankings: the SBS graduate program is ranked #13 and the Department of Chemistry comes in at #18 among public universities nationwide by U.S. News & World Report.

Chemistry and biological sciences, which educate a significant number of students that join the biotech and life science sectors, are the top-ranked programs in their fields in Utah and hold top-ten rankings among both public and private schools in the West. The two units also received over $28.4 million in external research funding during fiscal year 2023. These resources provide unique opportunities for students to learn relevant science in hands-on settings and engage in transferable research skills. Considering this impressive track record, it makes sense that life science and biotechnology-related faculty continue to garner recognitions in their fields.

Take, for example, Distinguished Professor and Thatcher President Endowed Chair of Chemistry Cynthia Burrows who won the prestigious Linus Pauling Medal Award. The Burrows Lab hosts organic, biological, analytical and inorganic chemists interested in nucleic acid chemistry, DNA sequencing technology and DNA damage. The team focuses on chemical processes that result in the formation of mutations which could lead to diseases such as cancer. Studying site-specifically modified DNA and RNA strands and DNA-protein cross-linking, Burrows and her group are widely known for expanding studies on nanopore technology to detect DNA damage. Burrows’ research in altering nucleic acid composition can provide valuable information in genetic diseases as well as manipulating the function of DNA and RNA in cells.

The Caron Lab studies the mushroom body of the Drosophila (fruit fly) to better understand how brains are developed to learn.

Another U chemist, Aaron Puri, has also drawn national attention as one of five recipients of the Simons Early Career Investigator Award in Aquatic Microbial Ecology and Evolution. The award will provide $810,000 to the Puri Lab over the next three years and, according to Puri, “will enable our research group to work at the interface of biology and chemistry to decipher the molecular details of interactions in methane-oxidizing bacterial communities.” His research looks at the molecular details of interactions in these communities, aiming to solve big problems with microscopic solutions. “These communities provide a biotic sink for the potent greenhouse gas methane,” he continues, “and are a useful system for understanding how bacteria interact with each other and their environment while performing critical ecosystem functions.”

Nearby, in the Skaggs Biology Building, is the lab of Ofer Rog, who recently won an Early Career Medal from the Genetics Society of America. Rog was recognized for work visualizing meiotic exchange between “sisters,” exploring synaptonemal complex proteins and tracking single molecules. Building on this work, the Rog Lab published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in December that outlined a groundbreaking way to study the synaptonemal complex. Rog explains of the complex, “You can think of it like a zipper. The axes of the chromosomes are like the two sides of your shirt. The synaptonemal complex (SC) is kind of like the teeth of the zippers that lock onto each other and can pull and align the two sides of the shirt correctly.” Rog’s team was the first to pinpoint the exact position where the SC interacts with itself to facilitate genetic exchanges. Looking forward, unlocking the SC’s role in meiosis may lead to a stronger understanding of fertility in humans.

Another esteemed faculty member in biology is Sophie Caron, a U Presidential Scholar, who uses the Drosophila mushroom body — a computational center in the fruit fly brain — as a model system to understand how brains are developed to learn. With work described as “stunning” and “breathtaking,” Caron has built an interdisciplinary research program by drawing on computational models, species-comparative studies and various anatomical and behavioral techniques to elucidate the structural, functional and evolutionary pressures that shape the mushroom body’s learning function. In addition to her research, Caron — who was also awarded an outstanding teaching and mentorship award last year— designed and teaches an extremely popular neurobiology class (BIOL 3240), a course taken by hundreds of students.

FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE BOARDROOM

Graduates from the College of Science also play crucial roles in Utah’s burgeoning biotechnology community. Equipped with cutting-edge knowledge learned in classrooms and research labs throughout campus, these alumni are at the forefront of research and development, contributing to significant advancements in life science fields. Their expertise not only drives the success of numerous biotech companies but also attracts substantial investment to the state. By bridging academic excellence with industry needs, alumni ensure a steady pipeline of talent that sustains the growth and dynamism of Utah’s biotechnology sector.

Tom Robbins and Amy Davis of bioMérieux.

There are many examples of these types of professional outcomes. Randy Rasmussen (PhD’98 biology) and Kirk Ririe (BS’05 chemistry) were two of three co-founders of BioFire Diagnostics. The company pioneered instruments that shortened DNA analysis techniques from hours to minutes. Using this technology, they created molecular diagnostics that now simultaneously test for multiple infectious agents, allowing healthcare professionals to get quick and accurate results from onsite instruments. In 2013 BioFire was purchased by bioMérieux, a French biotech firm, for over $450 million. The company is now one of Utah’s largest life sciences employers, with over 3,400 employees throughout its six sites. While Rasmussen and Ririe have since moved on to other projects, College of Science graduates like Amy Davis (PhD’03 biology), vice president of molecular biology, and Tom Robbins (PhD’04 mathematics), vice president of software development, continue to play significant roles in the company’s work.

Some College alumni have also found ways to share their experiences with a new generation of students. Ryan Watts (BS’00 biology) discovered a passion for research while an undergraduate. After he finished his degree, he earned a PhD from Stanford University and eventually co-founded the biotech startup Denali Therapeutics, focused on defeating neurodegeneration. The company went public in December 2017, breaking that year’s record for an initial market valuation of a biotech company. Today, Denali has over 400 employees and a market cap of over $3 billion, including a growing presence in Utah. Despite his busy schedule as CEO, Watts taught a winter semester course for five years at the U which tracked the biotechnology industry and introduced biology students to processes around drug discovery, business strategy, programming and portfolio decision-making.

Another alumnus, Berton Earnshaw (PhD’07 mathematics) used his academic experience to join the founding team of Red Brain Labs in 2012. When the machine learning-focused company was acquired by Savvysherpa in 2014, Earnshaw stayed on as a principal and senior scientist. Eventually, Earnshaw became director of data science research at Recursion Pharmaceuticals, a young clinical-stage biotech and drug discovery company based in Salt Lake City. In a succession of senior roles, Earnshaw has helped guide the company’s foundational machine learning and AI development, assisting in the company’s rapid growth to over 500 employees and an international expansion. Earnshaw started teaching courses at the U on machine learning and neural networks beginning in 2018. In 2024, he accepted a role as a senior fellow with the College of Science, in part to provide an industry perspective into the dynamic world of deep learning and AI.

LOOKING FORWARD

Berton Earnshaw, Recursion.

Unwilling to rest on its laurels, the College of Science is devoting significant resources to prepare graduates for what the Utah Department of Workforce Services deems accelerating growth in the rapidly changing fields of biotech and life sciences. The Department of Mathematics, School of Biological Sciences, and Kahlert School of Computing recently announced a new undergraduate degree in bioinformatics. New faculty hires throughout the College have included individuals with expertise in areas like data science, genomics, machine learning, gene editing and next-generation imaging techniques. More undergraduate students are participating in bioscience-related research than ever, either through the celebrated Science Research Initiative or direct placements in labs throughout campus. Together, these investments help ensure that future students will be well-prepared after they enter the workforce.

The notoriety of Utah’s burgeoning biotechnology and life sciences sectors continues to be indelibly linked to the College of Science in a feedback loop that benefits the economy, the community, and the University of Utah.

by Eliot Wilcox
Operating Manager, College of Science, University of Utah

This story is featured in Synthesis, the College of Science's annual magazine.

SRI Stories: Costa Rica Field Trip

July 30, 2024

SRI Stories: Finding the Right Path

July 29, 2024

“I absolutely loved this trip to Costa Rica. I learned things I could’ve only learned by experiencing them firsthand. We all got really close with one another. I think it’s an amazing opportunity. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s probably one of the best highlights of [my experience at] University.”

This sentiment from Chloe Brackenbury is echoed by every student who shared her experience. Over the last two spring breaks, a handful of University of Utah students have had the opportunity to embark on a Science Research Initiative (SRI) trip across Costa Rica, affectionately referred to in Spanish as "Pura Vida" (or Pure Life). The trip was sponsored by the Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy.

Designed by SRI Postdoctoral Fellow Rodolfo Probst and with support from the Monteverde Institute (MVI), SRI students immersed themselves in a thriving environment for learning. There they interacted with local experts and community members and fostered new connections while tackling real-world climate issues and getting a first-hand sense of what long-term scientific endeavors look like.

Join us here for a virtual trip through the celebrated tropical clime of Costa Rica . . .

from the SRI student perspective!

On a research outing such as this, students could study the local wildlife up close while also assisting in rebuilding and enriching bird habitats. By catching and tracking different bird species (from tucanets to woodcreepers), students could confirm that birds were recolonizing areas recovered after deforestation. Ainsley Parkins, currently working under Rodolfo Probst’s SRI stream on identifying bird species using DNA tools, was overjoyed by the rich biodiversity surrounding her. In the accompanying video she delightedly shares just some of the fascinating lessons that would quite literally walk across the student’s path. No longer bound to the textbook to her, beautiful tropical birds could be freely observed in their natural habitats.

The many destinations of Costa Rica were also a wonderful source of learning. The MVI has been active in the country for decades, with a constant mission to integrate into the local culture. As such, students could see, via example, how scientific endeavors should actively strive to work with and assist local communities. That there are both benefits to and drawbacks of the growth of tourism, the importance of preserving the local culture as well as the local environment. An experience that made clear that conservation efforts are most effective when everyone is working together. I was lucky to speak with Jack Longino who views the institution as “One of the great success stories” of this kind. He sees a future where a constant cycle of undergraduate students could naturally slot into and assist these ongoing projects as part of their educational journey. To give them valuable firsthand experience in the field and show the importance of continually supporting scientific endeavors.

As exciting as these lessons can be, it's often the hard lessons that are the most valuable. Gabby Karakcheyeva (Photographer of the nature photos in the accompanying video!) describes how her experience helped tackle college burnout, clarify her future plans and discover that fieldwork was worth pursuing. Caden Collins realized the opposite: that while he enjoys fieldwork he'd “rather be the one the data is brought to.” A segment of the trip was led by bio-artist Rosemary Hall, whose focus on the soundscapes and exploration of natural spaces showcased the sheer variety of forms conservation efforts can take. And others still were caught off guard by the severe humidity and heat, or nocturnal creatures with no concept of personal space. One student in particular had a rude reality check as a scorpion dropped on their head. As amusingly put by Ainsley, “The outside doesn't like to stay outside!”

Regardless of the lesson learned, these experiences provide crucial context for students deciding their future careers. They’ve been devoting years of their lives to their studies, so to have avenues like this trip where they can clarify that the academic path they are walking is right for them is truly invaluable. And in this case, they got to do so while experiencing the beauty and culture of a new region and building strong friendships with their peers. The idea of going out into the world to make it a better place was an idea no longer. It was real, right in front of them, a beacon of hope that long-term conservation projects are thriving everywhere you look. With learning experiences like these and community partners eager to help, they know there’s a future where we join hands and walk down the path towards a better tomorrow.

Video and commentary by Michael Jacobsen

The students in this video story would like to thank post-doctoral researcher Rodolfo Probst, facilitator and director of the SRI field trip to Costa Rica. His expertise and generosity ensured students experienced an enjoyable, educational and safe experience in Central America.

You can read more about Rodolfo’s research here.

Scientists Find Hope in Cone Snail Venom

Based on work by Toto Olivera, the father of research on cone snail venom, scientists are now finding clues for how to treat diabetes and hormone disorders in a toxin from one of the most venomous animals on the planet.

A blueprint for better drugs

Learning from cone snails

Deep Beneath Our Feet: A Seismic Surprise

For the decades since their discovery, seismic signals known as PKP precursors have challenged scientists. Regions of Earth’s lower mantle scatter incoming seismic waves, which return to the surface as PKP waves at differing speeds.

Stem Safety Day

Fostering a Culture of Safety

SYNTHESIS 2024

SRI: Just the Beginning

The Science Research Initiative celebrates the graduation of its first cohort.

NAVIGATING THE PANDEMIC

IMPACTFUL EMPIRICAL RESULTS

STAYING ROOTED IN SRI’s VALUES

Urban 'Cool Zones'

Daniel Mendoza brings science (and change) to the people.

What people believe

Empowering the Community

‘Run back inside’

Costs of inaction

How our biases are reflected in how fast we make decisions

Quick decisions more likely flow from biases, while people who take longer make better decisions, according to study led by Utah mathematicians.

Humans of The U: Nathan Patchen

“Initially, I chose to attend the University of Utah because I heard they had an excellent biology program and many opportunities for pre-medical students. I understood that the U was a top research school, and I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the biological sciences.

Fueling Utah's Booming Biotech Sector

Over the last few years, opening a newspaper and seeing Utah at the top of the national economic rankings has become commonplace.

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE BOARDROOM

LOOKING FORWARD

SRI Stories: Finding the Right Path