Genetics and Biochemistry News

Dr. Rajandeep Sekhon has been invited to speak at the CANVAS 2026 symposium in Portland, Oregon, and the 2027 International Climate Resilient Crop Genomics Consortium workshop in San Diego, California. Dr. Robert Anholt presented “Dazzle ’Em With Style: The Art of Oral Scientific Presentation (Presentation Skills)” at the USC School of Medicine’s 2026 SC INBRE […]

Post Doctoral Fellow and Ph.D. student Caroline Palmentiero were co-first authors on “Characterization of two early lead anti-amoebic agents with activity against Naegleria fowleri” which is published in the International Journal for Parasitology:  Drugs and Drug Resistance. “Drosophila melanogaster reveals distinct metabolic aging trajectories modifiable by the Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme inhi…

Dr. Rajandeep Sekhon leads the Clemson University team participating in a four-year, $6 million National Science Foundation collaborative grant for the project “Collaborative Research: FEC: Converging AI, Biomechanics, and Genomics to Engineer Lodging Resilient Field Crops.” Dr. James Morris is part of a team that was awarded a NIH grant, “Optimization of N. fowleri inhibitors […]

Dr. Hong Luo received the Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB) 2026 Distinguished Service Award for his contribution in fundraising and service as member of the SIVB Board of Directors. Senior genetics and Honors College student Jennifer Covel was chosen to represent Clemson University at the 20th annual ACC Meeting of the Minds Undergraduate Research […]

Shahid Mukhtar has been awarded both the Phil and Mary Bradley Faculty Award for Mentoring in Creative Inquiry (CI) and the Carr Family Endowed CI for 2026 for his Creative Inquiry “Dissecting Plant Complexity: From Arabidopsis Mutants to Soybean Drought Mechanisms,” which focuses on soybean anatomy and physiology under stress, such as drought.  In this […]

SARAH SPRATLIN BULLOCK Growing up in a devoted University of Georgia family, incoming genetics freshman Sarah Spratlin Bullock — “SS” to her friends — spent countless weekends cheering on the Bulldogs, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather, both former Georgia baseball players. She could see her higher education path pretty clearly, until […]

NIYAH HAYWOOD Having always valued being part of something bigger than herself, incoming genetics freshman Niyah Haywood is ready to embrace life as a Clemson Tiger this fall. Niyah is from Columbia, South Carolina, and graduated from Spring Valley High School, where she ranked eighth in a class of 492 while staying actively involved in […]

Department of Genetics and Biochemistry students Elizabeth Polatty and Addison Vondersaar have been selected to explore global policy issues through the Honors College’s selective Dixon Global Policy Scholars program, which provides students with the tools to change the world through a combination of public policy coursework and a transformative study abroad trip to Europe, all while ap…

The Microbiology Society, together with the British Mycological Society recently announced that Dr. Stephen Dolan and graduate student Shafi Mondal as the joint winners of the 2026 Tony Trinci Award.  The award is given annually to a researcher deemed to be presenting the best mycological science at one of each S…

Over the last year and a half, a group of seven students have been part of a Creative Inquiry led by Dr. Heidi Anderson to develop interactive tools to aid in learning biochemistry content. From this group, a web-based application called ‘Aminole’ (based off of the New York Times game ‘Wordle’) was developed to aid […]

The Clemson University College of Science recognized some of its most outstanding undergraduate and graduate students during an awards ceremony on April 9. The following G&B students were recognized. Ryan Mehlem: Outstanding Undergraduate in Discovery Award Ryan Mehlem, an Honors College student with a biochemistry major with minors in cluster engineering and business administration, has [&#8…

Senior Katie Barfield and alum Søren Spina were recognized by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), a highly competitive award that supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Katie, a genetics and sociology double major and Breakthrough Scholar studies the questions at the intersection …

Dr. Shahid Mukhtar was invited for three events: Dr. Robert Anholt is planning the 2026 SC INBRE Career Development Workshop titled “Dazzle ’Em With Style: The Art of Oral Scientific Presentation (Presentation Skills)” for the USC School of Medicine, Columbia, SC. In addition Dr. Anholt is the organizer for three events:

Dr. Stephen Dolan has joined forces with molecular biologist Gustavo Goldman at the University of São Paulo in Brazil to understand how dangerous fungi survive their own poisons and how that could be turned into a new antifungal drug. Dr. Robert Anholt is part of a new initiative at Clemson aimed at bringing researchers together […]

Dr. Amy Lawton-Rauh, senior associate provost and professor in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry has been named a 2025 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is one of the highest honors in the scientific community. Students Alayna Khoja, genetics major, and Kristen Evans, biochemistry major, have been inducted into […]

Heidi Anderson, Merdith Morris and Rhonda Powell from CLIF published  “Ultrastructural expansion microscopy reveals unexpected levels of glycosome heterogeneity in African trypanosomes” in the Journal of Microscopy. Drs. Trudy Mackay and Robert Anholt published three articles this semester: Dr. Shahid Mukhtar’s lab published “Systems-level understanding of plant immun…

Amy Lawton-Rauh, senior associate provost and professor in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry has been named a 2025 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which is one of the highest honors in the scientific community. Selected for her exceptional research and leadership in her field, with this election, Lawton-Rauh is being recognized by the AAAS for h…

Wanting to escape the cold of her hometown of Huntley, Illinois, junior biochemistry student Adrianna Crespo knew once she graduated from high school, she had her sights set on the south – and set on Clemson, committing to the university the day she was accepted. “I often get asked why I chose Clemson, and I never have a really good answer, as a part of me just always knew that this is where I be…

Assistant professor in Genetics and Biochemistry Dr. Stephen Dolan, who is also a part of the Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC), has joined forces with molecular biologist Gustavo Goldman at the University of São Paulo in Brazil to understand how dangerous fungi survive their own poisons and how that could be turned into a new antifungal drug. The two researchers work on the fungi Asp…

“Science isn’t done in isolation. Labs must collaborate with others to move science forward. That’s just the nature of science…” says Dr. Kerry Smith, a professor in the Clemson Department of Genetics and Biochemistry and director of Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC). This ideology is part of what prompted EPIC, which is one of Clemson’s largest research centers, to join with partners…