South Dakota Mines Chemistry, Biology, and Health Sciences Department

Building a bridge from high school to a STEM career starts with a single spark. 🧪✨
CBHS's Dr. Roman Shchepin, and his team at South Dakota Mines have been turning that spark into a flame for students at Rapid City Central High School.

What started as a simple desire to connect local classrooms with university-level research has grown into a powerful collaboration. This year, Dr. Shchepin and graduate students Noah terkildsen and Shelby Solem worked side-by-side with students, moving beyond standard lectures to dive deep into hands-on experiments.

As Nicole Renner (Central High School instructor) noted, this exposure helps students envision themselves in college-level environments without having to leave their support networks in Rapid City.

Learn more here-https://www.sdsmt.edu/news/releases/chemistryoutreach.html

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Innovative cancer research is advancing in South Dakota.

Researchers at South Dakota Mines have received a new biomedical research award focused on improving how cancer treatments are delivered — with the long-term goal of making therapies more effective and less harmful for patients.

The project is led by Rajesh Sani, distinguished professor and director of the MASON Laboratory. The award is administered through the Haarberg 3D Center at South Dakota State University and funded by the South Dakota Board of Regents.

At the heart of the work is the development of “smart” cancer drug carriers — tiny, biodegradable materials designed to deliver medication directly to tumors while limiting damage to healthy tissue. By improving precision, the team aims to reduce side effects while increasing treatment effectiveness.

The project also includes a partnership with Dakota BioWorx and its new industrial bioprocessing facility in Brookings, helping translate research from the lab to scalable, real-world applications.

This award marks a significant milestone as Dr. Sani’s extremophile-based biopolymer platforms — originally developed for applications ranging from clean energy to space exploration — are now being advanced into biomedical and cancer-focused use.

With contributions from research scientist Dipayan Samanta, Ph.D., graduate student Anjali Thapliyal, and undergraduate researchers Nathaniel Strickland, Samantha Harris, Kaleb Borges and Kara Fletche, this work reflects Mines’ growing impact in biomedical innovation and its commitment to improving human health through science and engineering.

Only a few hours left to donate to the Raising for Rockers campaign!
Thanks to all who have donated already!

Chemistry, Biology, & Health Sciences - Raising for Rockers Because Rapid City has no MCAT, GRE, or other professional exam testing center, our students often travel long distances—sometimes across states—incurring significant costs for transportation, lodging, meals, and exam fees. Your gift helps remove these financial barriers so students can pursue c...

Today is the day! Raising for Rockers runs from noon today, 2/18/26, until noon tomorrow.

Please help us reach our goal of $5000 to help our premed students.

For many South Dakota Mines students, pursuing a career in healthcare means more than long hours of studying and preparation—it also means traveling hundreds of miles just to take a required entrance exam. With no local MCAT, GRE, or professional testing center in Rapid City, students often cross state lines and take on unexpected costs for travel, lodging, meals, and exam fees.

Chemistry, Biology, & Health Sciences - Raising for Rockers Because Rapid City has no MCAT, GRE, or other professional exam testing center, our students often travel long distances—sometimes across states—incurring significant costs for transportation, lodging, meals, and exam fees. Your gift helps remove these financial barriers so students can pursue c...

A big thank-you to Dr. Moulder and Dr. Yoon who represented CBHS at the SD STEM Education Conference!
Your commitment to innovative teaching and student success makes a meaningful impact in and beyond the classroom. We’re grateful for the expertise and enthusiasm you bring to advancing STEM education and for sharing your insights with peers across the region.

For many South Dakota Mines students, pursuing a career in healthcare means more than long hours of studying and preparation—it also means traveling hundreds of miles just to take a required entrance exam. With no local MCAT, GRE, or professional testing center in Rapid City, students often cross state lines and take on unexpected costs for travel, lodging, meals, and exam fees.
These added expenses can be overwhelming and, for some students, can delay or even derail their dreams of becoming doctors, dentists, and healthcare professionals. At South Dakota Mines, we believe no student’s future should be limited by geography or financial barriers.
Through Raising for Rockers, we aim to support five pre-health students as they take this critical step toward medical and professional school. Your generosity helps ease the burden, restores focus where it belongs—on their future—and brings their goals within reach.
When you give, you’re not just funding an exam. You’re helping a student take the next step toward a life of service and impact.

https://raisingforrockers.sdsmt.edu/campaigns/chemistry-biology-and-health-sciences

Rajesh Sani, Ph.D., professor at South Dakota Mines, has been named a 2025 Overseas Fellow by the Biotech Research Society of India (BRSI)—one of the society’s highest honors—recognizing his international scientific leadership and long-standing collaboration with researchers in India.

This prestigious designation honors globally based scientists whose work has made influential, sustained contributions to biotechnology. Sani’s research advances extremophilic bioprocessing, sustainable biomanufacturing and carbon-negative technologies, helping transform greenhouse gases and biomass into high-value bioproducts that support a resilient, circular bioeconomy.

With more than $74M in competitive research funding, 155 publications, multiple patents and enduring Indo-U.S. research partnerships, Sani’s work exemplifies the global reach and impact of research at Mines.

Congratulations, Dr. Sani, on this well-deserved international recognition!

With an $800,000 NSF grant, Mines is launching state-of-the-art fungal research laboratories as part of a multi-institutional effort using artificial intelligence and extremophile science to identify molecules that combat harmful microbes and block dangerous crop toxins.

Led at Mines by Dr. Rajesh Sani and Dr. Tanvi Govil, researchers will study more than 1,000 extremophilic microorganisms from Earth’s harshest environments to discover antifungal compounds that inhibit aflatoxins, a major threat to food safety and crop yields.

Beyond discovery, this project provides hands-on training for students in fungal biotechnology, bioprocessing, and bioinformatics, helping fuel South Dakota’s growing bioeconomy.

🌽 Turning Corn Waste into Advanced Biomaterials

South Dakota Mines has launched a first-of-its-kind partnership with Dakota BioWorx to convert corn stover—a common agricultural byproduct—into high-value biomaterials with future medical applications.

Led by Dr. Rajesh Sani and the MASON research team, this collaboration moves Mines research from the lab to industrial scale using Dakota BioWorx’s bioprocessing facility in Brookings. The work positions South Dakota as an emerging hub for sustainable biomanufacturing.

“South Dakota has an incredible opportunity to turn agricultural residues into next-generation materials,” said Sani. “This partnership shows how regional strengths in agriculture and biotechnology can come together to build entirely new industries.”

Congratulations to Dr. Smirnova and her research center!
They have begun a collaboration with Critical Resources, Ltd. This includes support for patent support for liquid lithium-ion battery cells developed here as SDSMT by Dr. Smirnova and her team.

" We see immense potential for these advanced technologies developed by Dr Smirnova and the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology to deliver real-world impact- creating safer, more efficient energy storage solutions that address the needs of electric vehicles, grid storage, data centres, and beyond. This is another step in our journey to deliver sustainable value for our shareholders and continue to help advance the global energy transition."
- Tim Wither (CRR's Managing Director)

CRR Secures Rights to Evaluate Solid-State Battery IP - Critical Resources Limited (ASX:CRR) Read the latest Progress Report news from Critical Resources Limited (ASX:CRR)

Get to know the amazing faculty who inspire, teach, and guide our students! 💡 Learn more about CBHS's Kelsey Gilcrease below!