Biological Sciences

Rensselaer Professor Receives $3.7 Million Grant for Alzheimer’s Disease Research

Chunyu Wang, M.D., Ph.D., professor of biological sciences and chemistry and chemical biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been awarded a five-year grant of more than $3.7 million by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging to study Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) isoform interactions with heparan sulfate (HS) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Rensselaer Researcher Sheds New Light on Circadian Rhythms

Circadian clocks, which drive circadian rhythms, are entwined with many essential systems in living things including plants, fungi, insects, and even humans. Because of this, disruptions to our circadian clocks are linked to higher disease rates in humans, including certain cancers and autoimmune diseases. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Jennifer Hurley, Ph.D., Richard Baruch M.D. Career Development Chair and Associate Department Head of Biological Sciences, has dedicated her career to understanding the mechanisms that allow our circadian clocks to keep time.

Rensselaer Researcher Finds that Frog Species Evolved Rapidly in Response To Road Salts

When we think of evolution, we think of a process that happens over hundreds or thousands of years. In research recently published, a team led by Rick Relyea, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences and David M. Darrin ’40 Senior Endowed Chair at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, found a species of frog that has evolved over the course of merely 25 years. The adaptation was spurred on by something many assume is innocuous: salt.

RPI To Host Panel on Sleep and Your Health April 16

We all know how a bad night’s sleep can affect how we feel. In fact, the disruption of our sleep has been implicated at many levels of human disease, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and disorders associated with aging.

Rensselaer Doctoral Student Wins Graduate Student Research Award

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute doctoral student Lucas Bowman Sutton has been selected as one of 60 recipients of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) award. The SCGSR prepares graduate students for science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) careers that are critical to the DOE Office of Science mission. Thanks to the award, Sutton will spend 12 months at Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducting research on the circadian clock.

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