Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology

Slow Muscles Rock!  Dr Mary Ellen Harper’s work on how the mitochondria impacts our weight is beginning to unravel the mysteries of weight and why your weight is just not a reflection of what you eat.  To learn more about Mary Ellen’s research program and the power of slow muscles, read  4^th year Translational and Molecular Medicine student Kelsey Pitre’s article:  Obesity isn’t Rocket Science.  It’s more complex than that!

Congratulations to Dr Laura Trinkle-Mulcahy who was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from her PhD alma mater Jefferson University for her ground-breaking research and leadership in promoting women in STEM.  Dr Trinkle-Mulcahy exploits both fluorescence micorscopy and quanitative proteomics to identify novel rolls for phosphatases during the cell cycle. 

Condensin is essential for compacting chromosomes and it does it so well it basically traps it self within chromatin. In their recent Molecular Cell paper, the D'Amours lab uncovers the molecular pathways that free condensin from its self-imposed trap.