Author: Drennan Lab

Congratulations to Gerardo Perez Goncalves for receiving a Poster Award from the Protein Society July 2023

Congratulations to our 2023 Drennan Lab graduates! Daphne Faber (BS) Sheena Vasquez (PhD) Francesca Vaccaro (PhD) Talya Levitz (PhD)

Congratulations to Talya Levitz for successfully defending her PhD!

Congratulations to Daphne on her ABRCMS 2022 poster presentation award!

Congrats to Mary for her selection as an NIH MOSAIC Scholar!

Congratulations to Francesca on her Student Group Presidents’ Award!

Congratulations to Christa on receiving the Department of Chemistry Award for Outstanding Teaching

Congrats to Sheena, Gisele and Mary on being invited to speak at the 8th Semi-Annual New England CryoEM Symposium June 2022

Congrats to Mary on her K99!! June 2022

Congratulations to Francesca on her review, “The role of nucleoside triphosphate hydrolase metallochaperones in making metalloenzymes.” in Metallomics.

Congrats to Talya, Gisele, Rohan, Dawson, and Becky on their PLOS one paper (June 2022) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269572

Congrats to Cathy on being invited to speak at the Nobel Symposium on Bioinorganic Chemistry (May 2022)

Congratulations to Drennan lab graduates Abby (BS), Devin (BS) and Lindsey (PhD) (May 2022)

Congratulations to Abby on winning the Association of MIT Alumnae (AMITA) Senior Academic Award (May 2022)

Congratulations to Sorin and Andy on passing their prelim exams. May 2022

Congrats to Abby Scott on Phi Beta Kappa

Congrats to Sorin for being awarded an NSF fellowship

Congrats to Gerardo for being awarded an NIH predoctoral fellowship.

Congrats to Lindsey Backman for being selected as a Whitehead Fellow.

Congrats to Mary Andorfer for accepting an assistant professor position at Michigan State University

Congrats to Gisele and Lindsey for being invited to give talks at ASBMB 2022

Congratulations to Talya on her recent publication, “Ribonucleotide reductase, a novel drug target for gonorrhea.” DOI: 10.7554/eLife.67447

Congratulations to Alison on her recent publication, “Visualizing the gas channel of a monofunctional carbon monoxide dehydrogenase.” DOI: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2022.111774

Congratulations to Gisele and Alison for passing their 3rd year original research proposal exams.

Big congrats to Dana Westmoreland and Kelsey Miller-Brown on receiving Ruth L. Kirchstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Congratulations to Talya on her publication in the Journal of Structural Biology, “Effects of chameleon dispense-to-plunge speed on particle concentration, complex formation, and final resolution: A case study using the Neisseria gonorrhoeae ribonucleotide reductase inactive complex.”

Congratulations to Mary, Lindsey, Phoebe, and Emily on their recent publication in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, “Rescuing activity of oxygen-damaged pyruvate formate-lyase by a spare part protein.”

Welcome to our new grad students in Chemistry, Andrea Marcano-Delgado, Christa Imrich, and Naike Ye!

Congratulations to Lindsey Backman on winning the Joe Wong Poster Award at this week’s SSRL Users’ Meeting, Metals in Biology workshop.

Congratulations to Alison Biester on receiving a Department of Chemistry Award for Outstanding Teaching.

Congrats to Dante Avalos on becoming a 2021 Gilliam Fellow.

Congratulation to Gerardo Perez Goncalves for successfully completing his PhD candidacy exams.

Congratulations to Lindsey Backman on winning a poster award at the Protein Society’s annual symposium

Cathy was interviewed for Roadtrip Nation’s “Do It Differently.” Roadtrip Nation is shown on many PBS stations. “Do It Differently” follows three young people on a journey to figure out how to redefine success on their own terms. Their stories and those of the inspiring people they meet are proof there’s no one way to… Continue reading Cathy on dyslexia at Roadtrip Nation

Congratulations to Paty Feliciano for her ACS Omega paper, Crystal Structure of the [4Fe–4S] Cluster-Containing Adenosine-5′-phosphosulfate Reductase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Congratulation to Gisele Andrée and Alison Biester for successfully completing their PhD candidacy exams.

Congratulations to Phoebe Li on receiving the Association of MIT Alumnae’s Senior Academic Award, for “demonstrating the highest level of academic excellence through her coursework and related professional activities at MIT.” And Congratulations to Lindsey Backman on being named an MIT Hugh Hampton Young Fellow.

Congratulations to Cathy for being named a Fellow of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Congratulations to Mary for her Preview article in Joule, “Fixing nature’s carbon inefficiencies.”

Congrats to Cathy for being awarded the 2020-2021 Sigman Lectureship Award from UCLA.

We’re excited that Mira May and Christa Imrich will be coming to MIT for grad school (Bio & Chem, respectively) this fall. They were both MSRP-Bio summer students in our lab.

At the March 29 Research Slam, Lindsey won both first place in the Judge’s award and the Audience Choice award for grad students (“Why does Poop Smell Bad?”), and Kelsey won the Audience Choice award for postdocs (“Avenging Our Immune System”).

Congratulations to first-author Dawson, along with Lindsey, on their paper in Cell Chemical Biology, “Molecular basis of C-S bond cleavage in the glycyl radical enzyme isethionate sulfite-lyase,” available here and highlighted here.

Congratulations to former Drennan lab MSRP students Luis Caldera and Mira May and current Drennan lab graduate student Gisele Andrée on receiving NSF awards and/or honorable mention from the NSF. Way to go!

Rohan Jonnalagadda’s paper, “Biochemical and crystallographic investigations into isonitrile formation by a nonheme iron-dependent oxidase/decarboxylase,” is out in Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Welcome to our new grad students in Chemistry, Andy Dorfeuille and Sorin Srinivasa.

Congratulations to Percy Yang-Ting Chen for his publication in Nature Chemical Biology, “Structural Basis for Non-Radical Catalysis by TsrM, a Radical SAM Methylase.” Available here or here (view-only but open access).  

Congratulations to Cathy on being elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. AAAS announcement here, and MIT’s here.

Steve Cohen et al., “Negative-Stain Electron Microscopy Reveals Dramatic Structural Rearrangements in Ni-Fe-S-Dependent Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase/Acetyl-CoA Synthase,” Structure 28: 1-7.

We’re very happy to welcome Dana Westmoreland as a new postdoc in the Drennan lab. Dana joins us from Northwestern University.

Congratulations to Francesca Vaccaro, Gisele Andrée, and Steve Cohen on receiving the Department of Chemistry’s Award for Outstanding Service, and to Francesca for her Kirschstein Fellowship from the NIH.

The Drennan lab paper “Disruption of an Oligomeric Interface Prevents Allosteric Inhibition of Escherichia coli Class Ia Ribonucleotide Reductase” has been included in the Journal of Biological Chemistry‘s special issue, “Women in Biological Chemistry,” which brings together Editors’ Picks papers to commemorate the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote in the U.S.

Congratulations to current Drennan lab grad student Sheena Vasquez and former Drennan lab MSRP/EXROP student Santi Yori on receiving the prestigious Gilliam Fellowship from HHMI.

We’re very happy to welcome Kelsey Miller as a new postdoc in the Drennan lab. Kelsey joins us from the University of California, Irvine.

Congratulations to Steve Cohen and former Drennan lab member Elizabeth Wittenborn on their papers published this week in JACS and ACS Catalysis, respectively (links on our Publications page).

The Drennan lab closes to take part in (and organize in the MIT Bio & Chem departments) #ShutdownSTEM anti-racism workshops on June 10, 2020.

Officially graduating this week: Becky Bjork, Master’s in Biotechnology, Harvard Extension Steve Cohen, PhD in Chemistry, MIT C. Dawson, PhD in Biology, MIT Allena Goren, PhD in Chemistry, MIT Rohan Jonnalagadda, PhD in Biochemistry, MIT Kenny Kang, PhD in Chemistry, MIT

Congratulations to Dr. Rohan Jonnalagadda on his successful (virtual) thesis defense, May 12.

Congratulations to Dr. Steve Cohen on his successful (virtual) thesis defense, April 17.

Featured in MIT News and ACS’s C&E News: “Structure of a trapped radical transfer pathway within a ribonucleotide reductase holocomplex,” Science eaba6794.

Cathy has received the Protein Society’s Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Award, granted in recognition of exceptional contributions in protein science which profoundly influence our understanding of biology.

Featured in MIT News: Lindsey & Mary’s “Molecular basis for catabolism of the abundant metabolite trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline by a microbial glycyl radical enzyme,” eLife 9:e51420.

Congratulations to Dr. Dawson on his successful thesis defense, March 16. We were glad to be able to at least join him virtually.

Congratulations to undergrad Abby Scott for her induction into MIT’s Laureates and Leaders program as a member of the cohort of 2022!

Congratulations to Dr. Paty Feliciano for getting the cover of the December 31 issue of Biochemistry. 

The Drennan Lab welcomes first year MIT chemistry graduate students, Alison Biester and Gisele Andree, to the group!

Congratulations to Sheena Vasquez for successfully completing her PhD candidacy exam!

Cathy was recently featured on WBUR as part of the Edify’s Lessons Learned series.  She shared her story of how her experience with dyslexia shaped her career and life. Read the article and listen to the news story here!

Last official Starbucks run of the summer term. Best of luck to our summer interns and to Dr. Allena Goren who defended over the summer. The lab won’t be the same without you! 

Congrats to Steve Cohen for receiving an MIT Spot Award for his work on the Chemistry Graduate Student Council (CGSC), including serving as a President of the CGSC. 

Congrats to freshly minted PhD recipients from the Drennan lab:  Dr. Allena Goren and Dr. Gyunghoon Kenny Kang.        

This July marked 20 years since Cathy started her career at MIT. We celebrated by hosting a family reunion, inviting the lab alumni to come back to MIT and reconnect. There were talks about research performed by various alumni after their time in the Drennan lab and updates about the original projects that are the… Continue reading Drennan Lab Family Reunion Celebrating 20 Years at MIT!

Congratulations to former postdoc Sarah Bowman, current lab members–Lindsey Backman, Rebekah Bjork, and Mary Andorfer, and former MSRP summer students, Santiago Yori and Alessio Caruso, for their paper in Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. Their paper titled, Solution structure and biochemical characterization of a spare part protein that restores activity to an oxygen-damaged glycyl radical… Continue reading Recent paper on spare part proteins featured by MIT Biology!

Congratulations to Elizabeth Wittenborn and Steve Cohen for their paper, Structural insight into metallocofactor maturation in carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, in the Journal of Biological Chemistry! Read it here!

Congratulations to graduate student Steve Cohen for being selected as a 2019-2020 Martin Family Society of Fellows for Sustainability. Learn more here!

Congratulations to graduate student Sheena Vasquez for receiving the Teresa Keng Teaching Award for her work in 7.014!

Congratulations to Talya Levitz for successfully completing her PhD candidacy exam!

Congratulations to Percy Yang-Ting Chen on his first author paper, X-ray crystallography–based structural elucidation of enzyme-bound intermediates along the 1‑deoxy‑d‑xylulose 5-phosphate synthase reaction coordinate, in Journal of Biological Chemistry! Read it here!

Congratulations to former Drennan UROPPER Anne Ye on a success PhD defense at Stanford University! 

Congratulations to Drennan Lab EXROP Kiana Williams on her graduation from Drexel University in Philadelphia with a Bachelor’s in Chemistry! Kiana returns to the Drennan Lab summer for an EXROP Capstone experience. Welcome back to the Drennan Lab!

Members of the Drennan Lab were happy to welcome Squire Booker, PhD ’94, Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Eberly Family Distinguished Chair in Science at Penn State University, to MIT as he prepared to offer remarks at the 2019 Investiture of Doctoral Hoods and Degree Conferral Ceremony. Dr.… Continue reading The Drennan Lab welcomes Dr. Squire Booker to campus for the 2019 Doctoral Hooding Ceremony!

Congratulations to postdoc Emily Ulrich for her NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded for her project titled “Structural Characterization of AdoMet Radical Enzyme-Catalyzed Posttranslational Modifications in Bacterial Anaerobic Metabolism.“

The Drennan lab welcomes first year MIT Biology graduate student Gerardo Perez Goncalves and first year Harvard Biophysics graduate student Dante Avalos!  

Congratulations to Francesca Vaccaro for passing her Ph.D. candidacy exam!

On March 28th, Cathy had the opportunity to testify at the MA State House  as part of the “Legislative Briefing about Biomedical Research.” The briefing was organized by the Biophysical Society and hosted by State Representative Mike Connolly.         Cathy explaining the advances in resolution for Cryo-EM          … Continue reading Cathy testifies at the MA State House

Members of the lab had the opportunity to see Photograph 51 at Central Square Theater. The play recounts the competitive race to solve the structure of the DNA molecule using X-ray crystallography. Learn more about the play here and Central Square Theater here!  

Congratulations to Steve Cohen for his paper in Nature Communications! Read it here!

Congratulations to Cathy for being named the 2018-2019 King Lecturer Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, the Kenneth L. Rinehart Lecturer at the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, and  the William W. Wells Lecturer at Michigan State University!

Congratulations to Paty Feliciano on her first author paper in ACS Chemical Biology! Read it here!

Congratulations to Percy Yang-Ting Chen for his first author paper in Joule! Read it here!

On October 5th, MIT.nano’s Cryo-EM facility celebrated its opening with a day-long symposium hosted by the Department of Biology. The presenters had department affiliations ranging from biology  and chemistry to mathematics to electrical engineering and computer science, highlighting the diverse and exciting research that will now be possible on MIT’s campus. As part of the… Continue reading MIT.nano’s Cryo-EM facility celebrates its opening

Cathy was honored as the 2018 Herschbach teacher/scientist by Harvard University. This lecture series  honors emeritus  professor Dudley Herschbach, a Nobel-prize winning chemist and a devoted educator. For the lecture series Cathy was hosted by the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard Unviersity. Her… Continue reading Cathy honored as the 2018 Herschbach teacher/scientist by Harvard University

Congratulations to Tsehai on her first author paper in Journal of Biology Chemistry. Read it here!

Congratulations to Elizabeth for her first author paper in eLife which is highlighted by MIT News here! Read the paper here.  

Congratulations to postdoc Mary Andorfer for her NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship  awarded for her project titled “Taming radical enzymes through directed evolution and structural analysis”

Congratulations to Francesca on her teaching award for her efforts with 5.111 in Spring 2018!                     Francesca with her fellow recipients of teaching awards for the Department of Chemistry.

Congratulations to Tsehai Grell! Her paper was just recommended by the Faculty of 1000 (F1000)! Check out the recommendation on F1000. The paper can be found on JACS.

Congratulations to Percival Yang-Ting Chen and Michael Funk for having their JBC paper selected as a JBC Editor’s Pick with Highlight by Brendon L. Green, Daniel G. Nocera, and JoAnne Stubbe, (2018) Basis of dATP inhibition of RNRs, J. Biol. Chem. 293, 10413-10414. Read the paper at JBC First author profiles for Percy and Michael… Continue reading Congratulations Percy and Michael!

 The Drennan lab welcomes first year MIT Biology graduate students Talya Levitz and Sheena Vasquez.

Congrats to freshly minted PhD recipients from the Drennan lab Dr. Tsehai Grell (PhD in Chemistry from MIT) and Dr. David Born (PhD in Biophysics from Harvard).