Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY

The CUNY ASRC has reached an extraordinary milestone: Six of our faculty members — Profs. Xi Chen, Chris DelRe, Gabriele Grosso, Qiushi Guo, Daniel Keedy, and Andy Reinmann — currently hold National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program awards, one of the nation’s highest honors for early-career scientists. Together, the awards represent more than $4.2 million in research funding. Learn more! https://bit.ly/4frkWxs

The Graduate Center, CUNY

Anna Flury, Neuroscience Initiative, graduated from The Graduate Center, CUNY with a Ph.D. in Biology. As a member of Professor Pinar Ayata’s lab, Flury studied how microglia contribute to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease.

“I would advise an incoming researcher to take full advantage of the ASRC’s core facilities and interdisciplinary culture and, perhaps, to take a chance on a lab that’s out of their comfort zone," says Flury. "That is often where the most learning and growth happens."

Maithreyi Ramakrishnan, Nanoscience Initiative, graduated from The Graduate Center, CUNY with a Ph.D. in Chemistry. As a member of Professor Rein Ulijn’s lab (founding director of the Nanoscience Initiative and Einstein Professor of Chemistry at Hunter College), Maithreyi combined experimental and computational techniques to study sequence-dependent molecular recognition and to understand peptide assembly behavior.

“One goal that felt very far away when I first joined the ASRC was becoming truly comfortable working across multiple scientific disciplines and integrating them into a single research workflow,” said Maithreyi. “[Housing] different initiatives under one roof constantly exposed me to a broad range of science, which made interdisciplinary interactions feel natural and helped me become more confident when working across fields. I hope to use what I have learned [at the ASRC] to expand this scope over the rest of my career as a researcher.”

James Siclari, Structural Biology Initiative, graduated from The Graduate Center, CUNY with a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. As a member of Professor Kevin Gardner’s lab (founding director of the Structural Biology Initiative and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The City College of New York), Siclari worked to understand how bacterial cells respond to the changing world around them by reacting to stimuli such as light, redox stress, nutrient availability, and temperature.

“The most useful thing I learned at the ASRC was the power of collaboration and communication between scientists in all fields and at all levels,” said Siclari. “I was amazed at how many problems were addressed or how many ideas were generated just by having informal conversations with people in my department. I would probably still be troubleshooting right now if it weren't for those around me.”

Happy Pride Month!

Congratulations! Professor Daniel Keedy, CUNY ASRC Structural Biology Initiative, received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program award for $948,848! His project studies how proteins move and will use AI to design proteins that function more like those found in nature. https://bit.ly/4f90FfT

Don't miss this year's eclectic lineup of scientists at CUNYSciCom's Annual Symposium — from physicists to psychologists. Explore the itinerary to learn more about the presenters and three keynote speakers, including Prof. Kevin Gardner, founding director of the CUNY ASRC Structural Biology Initiative! bit.ly/4n2R6kv

A new study led by Prof. Peter Groffman, CUNY ASRC Environmental Sciences Initiative and Brooklyn College's Department of Earth & Environmental Science, highlights the “wicked problem” of nitrogen-caused harmful algae blooms. https://bit.ly/3RaXM4c

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

A new study from Patrizia Casaccia's lab (founding director of the CUNY ASRC Neuroscience Initiative and Einstein Professor of Biology and Biochemistry), Sami Sauma (lead author and member of the Casaccia lab), and MALDI Imaging directors, Profs. Ye He (Neuroscience Initiative) and Rinat Abzalimova (Structural Biology Initiative) discovered a link between brain sugar levels and myelin development, offering hope for a wide range of pathologies characterized by myelin impairment during development. https://bit.ly/4upNdst