2025 Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Retreat

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology held its annual retreat on September 22, 2025, at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Following opening remarks by Dr. Steven McMahon, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty delivered ten oral presentations describing their latest discoveries. During the afternoon poster session, students and fellows presented on a broad array of research topics. Keynote speaker Dr. Diane E. Merry, Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Engagement in the Department, presented her lecture “The impact of polyglutamine expansion on androgen receptor metabolism – identifying pathogenic mechanisms in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy”. Dr. Merry’s research focuses on the molecular pathogenesis of Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy, a neurodegenerative disease caused by a polyglutamine expansion in the Androgen Receptor (AR). Her work seeks to understand how the mutant AR misfolds and aggregates to cause motor neuron toxicity, and to use this knowledge to develop novel therapeutic strategies. Her work has resulted in numerous high-impact publications, dozens of invited lectures, and has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award (R37), received in 2024 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. With over 100 attendees, the retreat provided an ideal forum for learning about the work of our peers.