Group news
Another long overdue update
First some farewells-but-wishing-them-well.
Autumn has completed her first year at University of Michigan Molecular Biophysics Program.
Samia is off to medical school to be a Doctor of Osteopathy at the University of Arkansas.
James is graduating summer 2024.
Some new faces include Allison Loughary (from Central HS), Hunter Kimberlin-Poore, and Andrew Murry. See People section for biographies!
James participated in a very cool program, called Missouri Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation or MOLSAMP, and presented his work on DNA-RNA hybrids there. Pictures included!
Dr. Meints was awarded the James F. O’Brien Faculty Fellowship in January. Professor O’Brien was Meints’s direct predecessor, so an already huge honor has even greater meaning.
There have been several conference presentations, including at the Midwest DNA Repair Symposium and the Einhellig Graduate Interdisciplinary Forum and the CNAS UGRS, but the biggest presentation was Dr. Meints presenting to the University of Kansas Medical Center by invitation from colleague Dr. Bret Freudenthal.
Finally, there have been lots of opportunities for outreach for the department, some of which we will post here, but anyone interested is directed to the department Instagram (@mostatechem) page.
Koby wins prestigious teaching award
Group alum Koby has earned the prestigious 2023 Derek C. Bok Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching of Undergraduates. Congratulations Koby!
Long belated updates for '22 and early '23
Lots of things have happened since the website has been updated. So prepare for a lot of exclamation points! Megan successful presented her oral thesis defense in the summer of 2022. Autumn followed suit with a successful defense in summer of 2023. Both (one year apart obvi) will be PhD students in the University of Michigan Biophysics Program. Meints is waiting for his finder's fee. They will be missed, but we wish them well on the next step in their scientific journies.
Krusha graduated summa cum laude with her B.S. in May of 2023. Meints only remembered to get a picture of this and completely forgot Megan and Autumn's defense pictures. Oy.
Dr. Meints was promoted to Full Professor, which will take effect August 2023.
We have new faces in the group! Clarissa and Theodora joined in the fall of 2022 and Meints has managed to not scare either of them away with the state of his office.
Dr. Meints and Collin presented at the 2023 Gordon Research Conference on Mammalian DNA Repair. First GRC for both and it was really exciting and interesting! Autumn presented at the National ACS in Indianapolis, and definitely did not have a car breakdown on the way. James and Krusha presented at the CNAS UGRS, and Autumn and Collin presented at the IDF. That's a lot of science in 2023 so far!
Been a big year in the group!
More updates!
Samia and Krusha presented at CNAS Undergraduate Research Day and Krusha won first place poster for chemistry! Autumn presented at the Graduate Interdisciplinary Forum! Dr. Meints won a student-nominated CNAS Award for Excellence in Teaching! Megan commenced! That's a lot of exclamation points!
Videos
Several video links are included through the website highlighting current group members and alumni. They include a full video of Dr. Meints’s zoom research seminar, promotional video highlighting Megan, Koby and Jackie, video presented to Dr. Meints along with his Advising Awards, and other cool stuff.
Big developments in the spring of 2022
Will likely have more to update on soon. But there are a couple of biggie. First, our paper in Biophysical Journal is out! Great work continues to be done in our group, highlighted by Megan and Collin. And speaking of Megan, she has formally committed to getting her Ph.D. in biophysics from... the University of Michigan! Congratulations Megan! She will head there after her thesis defense this summer.
Catching up!
Fall of 2021 was a busy semester and updates have taken a while. But here are a few. Collin graduated with his B.S. in December. Congratulations! Collin, Autumn, and Megan all presented at the Midwest Regional ACS meeting, which was held in-person and hosted by Missouri State, and I think came off as a success! Megan also represented the group as the first student to attend a Gordon Research Conference in Mammalian DNA Repair. See photos.
Dreyfus Lectureship
The Dreyfus Lectureship that happened at the same time as the MWRM also went great, IMHO. Sincere thanks to the Discovery Center of Springfield for hosting and ALL of their help. Prof.’s Stivers, Mills, and Adams all gave great talks to highlight their research and educational programs.
On October 20th, Dr. James Stivers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine will give a popular presentation at the Discovery Center of Springfield on his research in DNA repair. This event is open to the public, and more details can be found here and you can sign up and RSVP here. Dr. Stivers is also presenting at the Midwest Regional Meeting of the ACS. The series of presentations is sponsored by the Dreyfus Foundation.
Dreyfus Lectureship
More volunteerism
Dr. Meints has become a Science Coach through the American Chemical Society, partnering with Ms. Denise Vinton of Central High School. This will provide some funds for Ms. Vinton’s classroom as well as formalize their partnership. Dr. Meints will help provide demonstrations and presentations for the classroom, as well as help mentor her Science Fair and Science Olympiad students. Plus, anything else Ms. Vinton might need!
General updates for spring and fall of 2021
Autumn graduated in May 2021 (congrats Autumn! Summa cum awesome!) and is in her first semester as a graduate student in the group. We have two new faces joining for the fall semester of 2021: Krusha Bhakta and James Wilson. Welcome to the group! Hope to have their biographies and photos uploaded soon. Megan, Collin, and Autumn will be presenting at the Midwest Regional ACS meeting.
Spotlight on Megan
Megan was highlighted in Missouri State news for her research and advocacy. Read and learn about Megan as a fantastic role model and activist.
Teaching rules!
Megan won two awards at the 2021 Einhellig Interdisciplinary Forum. She won Outstanding Teaching Assistant and an Outstanding Presentation Award.
Science rules!
Autumn won top chemistry virtual poster at the 2021 CNAS Undergraduate Research Day. Congratulations Autumn!
Volunteerism rules!
Dr. Meints was a recipient of the Board of Governors Faculty Excellence on Public Affairs Award for 2021.
Megan recognized by Compound Chemistry
Megan appeared on Compound Interest's Women in Chemistry celebration of International Women's Day website. Congrats Megan!
