What’s New with BB
(July 1st 2025 – September 30th 2025)

Dear BB Community,

I hope you are having a great beginning of Fall enjoying the last days of summer weather and summer produce. Tomatoes and peppers this time of year are amazing and so is making grape juice and getting ready for quince jam. I made a lot of apple sauce while one of my brothers made a ton of grape juice, and another a ton of salsa, channeling our mom who was in charge and the driver for all these things.

We had a cold windy day at the beach at our annual retreat this September, but that did not stop some of us from taking a walk on the sand after lunch (picture below).

There are lots of news and successes in this report, most notably is getting funding for the predoctoral training grant in Molecular Biophysics of Complex Systems. This has been a dream of mine since I was a postdoc that one day, when I am successful enough and able to make time to devote to this that I will get it done. Something of this magnitude requires the help of many people, persistence and insistence and getting up rejection after rejection to continue fixing and fixing. I am hoping that the first crop of students accepted in this cohort will carry the mantle and show that our hard work was worth it.

Other pieces of news are Sarah Clark got awarded her MIRA grant from NIH (close to a $2M) and was chosen to apply to the PEW in a competitive selection process at the university level. Sarah’s star power is getting her invitations at international meetings one in Switzerland and one in Italy.

We are excited to welcome two new professional advisors Autumn VanderLinden and Tanushri Kumar, Kenton Hokanson as a professor of teaching, and Myriam Cotten as associate professor and her two students Evan and Andrea who moved along with her.

Our department seminars are every week now, at 9 am on Wednesday morning followed by reception in the BB library, our Tuesday lunches are every other week as informal meetings for your questions and discussion ideas, our BPS journal club is every Monday at 4 pm for students and faculty interested in biophysics with Hannah Long as coordinator. Join us!

Highlighted in this issue is new funding, and a lot of writing and submitting of proposals and papers, compiled by Kimberly. Enjoy reading.

Funded Grants

Nate Mortimer was approved for Bridge Funding in the amount of $22,396.

Sarah Clark received an NIGMS R35 award in the amount of $1,995,405 for studying “Molecular mechanisms of lipid transfer by bridge-like lipid transfer proteins”

Elisar Barbar as PI along with Juan Vanegas as curriculum director received $1.3M from NIGMS for the T32 proposal titled Training Program in Molecular Biophysics of Complex Systems.

Ryan Mehl was awarded $389K from the NIH – Equipment Supplement for his project entitled “The GCE4All Center: Unleashing the Potential of Genetic Code Expansion for Biomedical Research.

Grant Proposals Submitted

Elisar Barbar as MPI and Dan Zuckerman from OHSU submitted to NIH a renewal R01 proposal titled Multiscale Characterization of a Unique Class of Duplex, Multivalent IDP Systems in the amount of $4,450,000.

Sarah Clark submitted a Pew Biomedical Scholars application in the amount of $300,000 titled “Structure and function of cellular lipid superhighways”.

Myriam Cotten submitted an NSF research proposal titled “Collaborative Research: Structure and Function of Direct Delivery Peptides” for $408,178.

Myriam Cotten submitted an NIGMS R35 (MIRA) proposal titled “An Integrative Framework for Elucidating the Mechanisms of Membrane-Active Peptides in Complex Biological Systems” for $1,952,005.

Juan Vanegas submitted a proposal “Massive Molecular Models of Cell Mechanics” for $50k in response to the OSU ORA’s call for the Huang Complex Supercomputing Seed Fund.

Jenna Beyer (Mehl Lab), submitted to American Heart Association a postdoc fellowship application titled “Decoding Protein Kinase A Signaling in Cardiomyocytes via Genetic Encoding of Non-hydrolyzable Phosphoserine”for $150,172

Jenna Beyer (Mehl Lab) submitted a proposal titled “Non-hydrolyzable phosphoserine encoding for the precise deconvolution of cardiac signaling”

Joline Nguyen (Clark Lab) submitted to American Heart Association a predoctoral fellowship application titled Structural and functional analysis of the native MEC complex for $70,676.00.

Hannah Long (Clark Lab) submitted to American Heart Association a predoctoral fellowship application titled Defining the molecular architecture and lipid transport mechanism of a native bridge-like lipid transfer protein for $70,676.00.

Nathan Mortimer submitted to the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon a proposal tilted Pathogen manipulation of host immunometabolism as a determinant of infection outcome for $50K.

Jessica Siegel submitted to the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust a proposal titled Partners in Science at Oregon State University: Innovative Research Collaboration for Science Teachers and Scientists for $450K.

Dan Liefwalker submitted to the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon a proposal tilted KDM5B is a barrier to MYC-dependent cancer progression for $50K.

Alysia Mortimer submitted to NSF a proposal titled Taking Flight: Expanding and Adapting Fly-CURE for Broader Implementation and Student Impact for 1,999,376.

Professional Service

Elisar Barbar co-chaired the Chemistry, Biochemistry & Biophysics NIH Fellowship

Review, July 10th –11th

Myriam Cotten served on an NSF panel.

Juan Vanegas co-organized the Biophysical Thematic Meeting “Beyond Simple Models: The Consequences of Membrane Complexity in Living Systems” in Copenhagen, Denmark, July 7- 10. There were 120 participants gathered for a four-day, in-depth set of presentations and discussions.

Publications

From the Barbar Group

Loening NM, Jara KA, Barbar EJ. (2025) NMR Approaches to Identify Transient Structure and Interactions of Intrinsically Disordered Dynein Intermediate Chain. J Mol Biol. 2025 Aug 7:169380. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2025.169380

From the Cotten Group

Rice A, Zourou AC, Cotten ML, and Pastor RW. A unified model of transient poration induced by antimicrobial peptides. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2025, 122(35):e2510294122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2510294122.

Read the IMPACT Magazine article about Myriam’s antimicrobial peptides here!

Yin J, Chen HL, Grigsby-Brown A, He Y, Cotten ML, Short J, Dermady A, Lei J, Gibbs M, Cheng ES, Zhang D, Long C, Tabet J, Xu L, Zhong T, Abzalimov R, Haider M, Sun R, He Y, Zhou Q, Tjandra N, and Yuan Q. Glia-derived noncanonical fatty acid binding protein modulates brain lipid storage and clearance. Sci Adv, 2025, 11(31):eadv2902. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adv2902.

From the Liefwalker Group

Chatterjee T, Beffert E, Liefwalker D. Fueling the Fire – A Pan-Cancer Analysis of MYC- regulated Lipid Metabolism. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. Sec. Cancer Cell Biology. Volume 13 – 2025 doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1669544

From the Mehl-Cooley Groups

Eddins AJ, Gangarde YM, Singh A, Jana S, Zheng Y, Alexander ND, Reitsma JM, Cooley RB, Karplus PA, Mehl RA. Quantitative Protein Labeling in Live Cells by Controlling the Redox State of Encoded Tetrazines. J Am Chem Soc. 2025 Jul 9;147(27):23625-23634. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5c04605. Epub 2025 Jun 25. PMID: 40560690.

Jana S, Eddins AJ, Gangarde YM, Karplus PA, Mehl RA. Tuning Encodable Tetrazine Chemistry for Site-Specific Protein Bioorthogonal Ligations. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2025 Aug 25;64(35):e202508922. doi: 10.1002/anie.202508922. Epub 2025 Jul 11. PMID: 40610371.

Alexander, ND, Gangarde, YM, Bednar, RM, Cooley, RB, Mehl, RA. Selecting Aminoacyl- tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairs for efficient genetic encoding of non-canonical amino acids into proteins. Nat Protoc. 2025 Sept 22. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-025-01241-w

From the Mortimer Group

Kpirikai, A. Y., Bretz, N. M., & Mortimer, N. T. (2025). Rethinking parasitoid venoms: beyond immune suppression. Trends in parasitology, 41(8), 607–609.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2025.07.005

Mortimer N & Schlenke T. Multifaceted Defenses Against Parasitoid Wasps in Diptera, Annual Review of Genetics, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genet-032425-100252

From the Johnson Group

Kwok E, Khuu P, Huang E, Saadat F, Urbaitel E, Indrawan JS, Reardon P, Vanegas J, Johnson CP. Disordered Ferlin C2A–C2B Linkers Bind Membranes and Encode Small Linear Motifs. J Mol Biol. 2025 Nov 1;437(21):169419. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2025.169419. Epub 2025 Sep 4.

From Kate Shay

Shay, K. P. (2025) Building feelings of community in upper-division online Biochemistry courses using small group activities. [White Paper]. Oregon State University Ecampus Research Unit. https://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/research/wp-content/uploads/Shay-2025.W…- paper.Final_.pdf

Faculty Talks

Sarah Clark gave a talk titled “Architecture of a native bridge-like lipid transfer protein” at the 12th International Meeting on VPS13-associated Disorders in Lausanne, Switzerland, September 12-14.

Myriam Cotten gave a talk titled “Biological Membranes: Where the Host Fights and Therapies Move In” as part of the Research Talks Series at OSU – Cascades in June 2025.

Myriam Cotten gave a talk at an OSU Foundation event titled “Believe It. An OSU Evening in Bend” in July 2025.

Elisar Barbar gave a talk at the Gibbs Conference of Biothermodynamics titled: Sequence Determinants of Cooperative Binding of LC8 to Multivalent Partners : A Computational and Experimental Approach, at Carbondale IL, Sep 27-30.

Conferences and Poster Presentations

Zourou AC, Fox J, and ML Cotten. From Ocean to Therapy: Exploring the Bioactive Potential of Peptides from the Red Seaweed, Devaleraea mollis. Diet and Optimized Health Conference, Corvallis, OR in September 2025.

Nate Mortimer, along with Kristen Snitchler, Nguyen Le, Ashley Sparks-Waring, and Emma Hartness presented “How does amyloid β contribute to healthy immune function in Drosophila melanogaster?” at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto CA.

Diet & Optimum Health Conference: Spatial Metabolomics Reveals Tissue-Specific Metabolic Reprogramming During Drosophila-Parasitoid Interactions. Abraham Kpirikai, Audrey Garrison, Luke Marney, Rachel Sterne-Marr, Claudia Maier, and Nate Mortimer

Diet & Optimum Health Conference: How does amyloid β contribute to healthy immune function in Drosophila melanogaster? Kristen Snitchler, Nguyen Le, Ashley Sparks-Waring, Emma Hartness and Nate Mortimer.

Diet & Optimum Health Conference: Characterization of parasitoid wasp neprilysin-like proteins for amyloid-beta degradation. Kassia Wallner and Nate Mortimer.

Department News

The T32 Training Program “Molecular Biophysics of Complex Systems” was funded! HUGE thank you to Elisar Barbar, Chong Fang, Juan Vanegas, for their on-going hard work to bring this to fruition, and special thanks to Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer, Nate Mortimer, and Isabelle Logan, for help in earlier version, Bettye Maddux and her team (especially Jeff and Ginny), Steph Bernell for grad support, Vrushali Bokil and Dean Feingold for college support, the Chemistry and Physics department heads for departmental support, and Sharon Betterton and Tilo Chatterjee for the website creation! Congratulations to the students who applied and were selected to work on this project – Abraham Kpirikai, Nadia Gonzalez, Sarah Perkel, Tepary Cooley, and Ethan Beffert! Not pictured: Nolan Herron.

Myriam Cotten has moved from Cascades campus to Corvallis! Her lab is now located in ALS 2139.

Juan Vanegas was Accepted into the 2025-26 Research Advancement Academy Fellowship Program.

Kenton Hokanson starts his official appointments as a professor of teaching in BB and has already submitted a proposal for establishing an online neuroscience degree.

Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer recent paper was awarded the 2025 Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC) Early Career Paper Award, which is given to the most impactful trainee-led work. This paper also includes Alysia’s former undergraduate student Lauren Clayton as an author.

Lane, A.R., Scher, N.E., Bhattacharjee, S., Zlatic, S.A., Roberts, A.M., Gokhale, A., Singleton, K.S., Duong, D.M., McKenna, M., Liu, W.L., Rivera Moctezuma, F.G., Tran, T., Patel, A., Clayton, L.B.U, Petris, M.J., Wood, L.B., Patgiri, A., Vrailas-Mortimer, A. D., Cox, D.N., Roberts, B.R., Werner, E., and Faundez, V. Adaptive protein synthesis in genetic models of copper deficiency and childhood neurodegeneration. 2025. Mol Cell Bio 2025 Mar 1;36(3):ar33. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E24-11-0512. Epub 2025 Jan 29.

Fritz Gombart was featured in the IMPACT article” Internal funding boosts research in AI- powered ecology and immune system regulation”. Read the article here: https://biochem.oregonstate.edu/impact/2025/09/internal-funding-boosts-…- ecology-and-immune-system-regulation

Welcome Autumn Vanderlinden and Tanushri Kumar, two full-time academic advisors!

Hi BB - I’m Autumn! I have been advising at OSU off and on since 2011—first with the Horticulture Department and then with the College of Forestry. Most recently, I worked for a federally funded program, called GEAR UP, as their coordinator of statewide services. I provided programming and outreach to schools and educators around all things going to college. I am very excited to be a part of the department and to help guide students on their chosen paths. My academic background is varied. I studied business at the University of Oregon and received a minor in economics. I have an MS in counseling that I earned here at Oregon State. Much of my professional work has been with rural and underserved student populations.

Hi BB – I’m Tanushri! I am ecstatic to return to the BB department as an academic advisor after graduating from here as a BMB major in 2020. I’ve met some of you through my coursework/research here, but please don’t hesitate to stop me in the hallway to say hi! I love reconnecting and seeing new faces. After graduating from OSU in 2020 I went on to graduate school at UW in Seattle and later worked for the Science Education Programs at Fred Hutch (specifically assisting in
coordinating their summer internship program). My interests really lie in student success and connecting them to resources/opportunities. In my free time, I love to read or take long walks. I also love some good food, so if you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them! I’m very grateful to be joining the amazing advising team here and I look forward to getting to know you all better!

The BB Fall Retreat was held at Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport on Sep 19th. A day full of grad student/postodc talks, lunch at Yaquina Bay State Park followed by a walk on the beach, faculty collaboration talks and cake and champagne to celebrate the T32! Huge thank you to Carrie Marean-Reardon for staying up all night making delicious clam chowder for lunch!

GCE News

GCE Workshop: Installing Post Translational Modifications Site-Specifically using GCE (July 28 – Aug 1)

The 2025 GCE4All Center Workshop focused on the theory and practice of installing site- specifically non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) that represent post-translational modifications (PTMs) in proteins. Academic and industrial attendees received hands-on training from Center scientists on how to express, purify, and characterize recombinant proteins containing site- specifically installed PTMs, including phospho-serine, non-hydrolyzable phospho-serine, phospho-threonine, acetyl-lysine, 3-nitro-tyrosine, and halogenated tyrosines. Academic attendees were invited to bring a gene of their choice for ncAA installation. A series of lectures discussed the practice, theory, history, strengths and challenges of Genetic Code Expansion as it relates to installing PTMs and characterizing PTM-proteins.

A special thanks to our 2025 sponsor, Vector Laboratories!

The International GCE Webinar series will begin again soon! See our upcoming schedule and register for future webinars here.

Grad Specific News
BB grad student Michael Youkhateh (Mortimer Lab) received his MS degree on July 16.

Abraham Kpirikai (Mortimer Lab) served as one of three panelists for the “International Graduate Teaching Panel: Student Voices” on September 17, 2025. This was organized by OSU’s Center for Teaching and Learning and the panel explored the experiences of international GTAs, challenges and rewards related to cultural differences, diverse learning styles, and effective classroom engagement, while sharing strategies for professional growth and supporting student success

Alex Eddins (Mehl Lab) successfully defended his PhD thesis, “Realizing Complete and Clean Protein Labeling by Engineering the Chemistry and Genetic Encoding of Tetrazines” on August 19th. Congrats Dr. Eddins! Alex will be staying with the Mehl lab as a Postdoc this Fall.

Sanjay Ramprasad (Nyarko Lab) successfully defended his PhD thesis, “Modular Domains, Intrinsic Disorder, and Context Dependent Specificity: Mechanisms of Multivalent Binding in Hippo Signaling” on August 26th. Congrats Dr. Ramprasad! Sanjay will begin working in the Hendrix Lab as a postdoc this Fall.

Welcome our new graduate students!

My name is Abby Champlin and I received my Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and mathematics from Bryn Mawr College. I chose Oregon State because of the community and proximity to nature. I am interested in protein structure and function, and am especially interested in membrane proteins. Outside of academics and research, I enjoy sewing and watercolors, as well as activities like hiking, rock climbing, and swimming.

Hi, my name is Emelia Sena Egbe, and I completed my B.Sc. in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Ghana in 2024. I chose Oregon State University for my Ph.D. studies because of its collaborative environment and strong emphasis on interdisciplinary research. My research interests center on understanding interactions between cells and elucidating biomolecular structures to advance knowledge in health and disease. Outside of academics, I enjoy the college town atmosphere of Corvallis and its natural beauty, as well as reading novels, exploring history and watching movies.

I'm Ty Waldo, last spring I finished my bachelor's here at OSU majoring in biochemistry and biophysics, and with a minor in computer science. I really like Corvallis and OSU, so I decided to stay here for grad school. I'm most interested in doing research on protein engineering and synthetic biology. In my free time I like to go rock climbing at McAlexander and practice guitar.

My name is Xingyi Guo, and I am from Luoyang, Henan, China. I completed my undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences and a minor in Psychology at Central China Normal University, and I am excited to be joining the BB program this fall (2025). Outside of academics, I enjoy watching movies, traveling, and listening to music.

Hi! I’m Izzy Montini and I received my Bachelor's degree with a major in Biochemistry and minor in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies from Arizona State University. I chose to attend Oregon State because of the welcoming atmosphere of the faculty and students along with the abundance of nature to explore in the area. I am primarily interested in researching protein structures and functions. In my free time, I love to travel and play a wide variety of sports including rock climbing, volleyball, and hot yoga. I also love to take my cat Pico de gato along with me on hikes and adopt new creative hobbies.

Elli is originally from Germany and completed her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Brigham Young University - Utah. During and after her undergraduate studies, she researched the proteomics of aging related diseases. Elli decided to attend OSU because of the accessibility to nature, as well as the interesting research and friendly community that the Biochemistry & Biophysics department has to offer. In her free time, Elli loves to hike, backpack, and play various sports

I'm Dani Gaudette, and this past May I graduated from The University of Tampa with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Sociology. I chose Oregon State for the strong and welcoming community I saw within the department, and the many exciting research opportunities. Currently, my research interests include cancer biology, gene expression, and drug discovery. In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, working out, taking care of plants, and lots of other artistic/creative activities.

My name is Nolan Herron. I am a recent graduate (Class of 2024) from Oregon State University with my B.S. in Biochemistry and Biophysics. I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and chose OSU because of its great science focus and amazing location. My research in Dr. Vanegas' lab focuses on computational approaches to better understand teixobactin, a promising anti- microbial peptide against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Outside of the lab I enjoy cooking, backpacking, spending time with my wife, and recently got into jiu-jitsu.

My name is Nathan Alexander and after earning a BS in Biochemistry and Biophysics degree and working for three years as an FRA, I was fortunate to be able to enroll as a graduate student. I'm interested in protein engineering and my work focuses on building new tools for Genetic Code Expansion. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest most of my life and enjoy snowboarding, finding music, and learning new things.

Andriana “Andrea” Zourou is a PhD candidate in Dr. Cotten’s lab studying interactions between membrane-active peptides and other agents of immunity as well as the therapeutic potential of food-derived proteins. Her work focuses on elucidating synergistic mechanisms within the immune response that support organisms’ overall health. Originally from Athens, Greece, in her free time Andrea enjoys running, cycling and exploring new places.

Evan Goodell is a PhD candidate in Dr. Cotten’s lab. Evan's research focuses on membrane biophysics and the impacts on and from peptide association, utilizing solid-state NMR and molecular dynamics simulations. From Michigan, he attended the College of William & Mary in Virginia. He enjoys running, baking, and reading in his free time.

Alumni News

Tilottama Chatterjee (Liefwalker Lab post-doc) had first-author paper get published from her PhD thesis work in the Franco lab: “Nitration-driven structural changes in Hsp90 linked to gain of pathological functions”, published in Biochemical Journal:

Chatterjee T, Taboada A, Logan IE, Paul PN, Huerta M, Reardon P, Radi R, Zeida A, Franco MC. Nitration-driven structural changes in Hsp90 linked to gain of pathological functions. 2025 Aug 20;482(16):BCJ20253230. doi: 10.1042/BCJ20253230.

Outreach

Nate Mortimer appeared on the Twitch science program SciAnts to discuss the lab’s research, and answer viewer questions about immunology, parasites, and genetics.

Awards

Congratulations to the inaugural Ken van Holde Excellence in Biochemistry & Biophysics Award winner, Hannah Stuwe!
This is a new award given to a graduate student who played a major role in promoting biochemistry and biophysics to the public, at conferences, in mentoring undergrads in research, and exhibited research and teaching excellence throughout their years in the program.

Congratulations to the Leadership/Citizenship Award winner, Sarah Louie!
This award is given to a graduate student who has had an exceptional year in being involved in creating a community, takes on leadership roles, and works very hard in promoting the program.

Undergrad News

BB AMP student Jordan Indrawn was featured in an IMPACT article about his Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) experience and work in Colin Johnson's lab. Read the article here: https://biochem.oregonstate.edu/impact/2025/09/turning-personal- experience-into-purpose-through-undergraduate-cancer-research

2025 BMB Honors graduate Kaitlyn Kim was featured in an IMPACT article about championing mentorship and human-centered science. Read the article here: https://biochem.oregonstate.edu/impact/2025/08/2025-honors- graduate-kaitlyn-kim-champions-mentorship-and-human-centered- science

Upcoming Events

On Monday, October 20th, OSU will be hosting a Research, Innovation and Impact Summit & Expo. For more information and to register, please click here: https://leadership.oregonstate.edu/strategic-plan/research-innovation-a…- expo

COS-NVIDIA Workshop

• Physics-Based AI: Finally, we'll highlight PhysicsNeMo, a framework for combining physics-based models with AI, enabling scalable and accelerated simulations that integrate real-world data and physical laws.

From the BPS Student Chapter

BPS Journal Club meetings in BB Library on Mondays at 4 pm!

10/06- Moriah (Cooley)
10/13- Abraham (Mortimer)
10/20- Shelby (Barbar)
11/03- Ethan (Liefwalker)
11/17- Hannah L. (Clark)
11/24- Evan (Cotton)
12/01- Joline (Clark)- last meeting of the term

Departmental Seminars, ALS 4001, Wednesdays 9 am

October 8: Dr. Kenton Hokanson seminar October 15: Dr. Ganapathy Sarma seminar October 21: Dr. Rick Cooley seminar October 22: EH&S & Safety seminar October 29: Dr. Zachary Wood seminar November 5: Dr. Arup Indra seminar November 11: Veteran’s Day

November 12: Student talks by Patrick Allen and Hannah Stuwe November 19: Dr. Sergey Ivanov seminar
November 27-28: Thanksgiving
December 3: Student talks by Evan Goodell and Kristen Snitchler December 10: Finals Week

December 17: Fall Term Rotation Talks

Thank you for reading this far, and we will catch up again at the beginning of Winter 2026. Please let Kimberly know if your event/activity was not included so we add it in the next issue. Have a great Fall term!

Elisar