News and Happenings

Keri-Lyn Kozul joins our group as a postdoctoral fellow! Keri joins us from Julia Pagan’s lab at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where she made important discoveries about the regulation of receptor mediated mitophagy. We are very excited to have her in the lab - welcome, Keri!

Tessa Lochetto wins the 2024 Outstanding Commitment to St. Louis Award through the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS) at WashU. This award recognizes Tessa’s efforts to go above and beyond to support not only her WashU colleagues, but the community as a whole. Congratulations, Tessa, and well deserved!!

Natalie wins an Outstanding Faculty Member Award through the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS) at WashU.

Natalie presents our work at the Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics weekly seminar series at Washington University School of Medicine as a part of her mid-tenure review (!).

Our commentary, “Survival of the fittest: Clonal selection of somatic mutations reveals targets to abate chronic liver injury” is published in Gastroenterology. Check it out here: https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(24)00161-6/

Natalie presents a short talk on our work on the mitochondrial phosphatase PPTC7 at the Keystone Symposium on Mitochondrial Signaling and Disease in Banff, Canada.

Tessa Lochetto wins the 2023/24 Elson Fellowship award in honor of Dr. Elliot Elson, an emeritus faculty member in Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics department at Washington University. As stated in her award letter, Tessa was “nominated and selected for this award based on [her] outstanding contributions in the areas of teaching, scholarship, collegiality and citizenship within the department.” Congratulations, Tessa!!

Our lab welcomes Thiago Menezes, Ph.D., as a postdoctoral research scholar! Thiago joins us after a postdoctoral position at Saint Louis University, bringing with him a great amount of expertise in mitochondrial biochemistry and mammalian physiology. We are lucky to have him - welcome Thiago!!

Natalie presents our work at the DDRCC weekly seminar series at Washington University School of Medicine.

Our lab’s first independent preprint, titled “PPTC7 limits mitophagy through proximal and dynamic interactions with BNIP3 and NIX” is preprinted on bioRxiv! This work begins to explore the molecular mechanisms by which PPTC7 influences receptor mediated mitophagy. Check it out here (and feel free to give feedback!): https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.24.576953v1

Natalie gives a talk on our work at the American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB) national meeting in Boston, MA.

Hannah presents her work at Science Friday for the BMB department.

Our collaborative work on the importance of faculty mentorship titled “The faculty-to-faculty mentorship experience: a survey on challenges and recommendations for improvements” is published at Proceedings of the Royal Society B! This work analyzes survey responses from faculty members about the extent to which they receive mentorship, how it is perceived, and what we can do to improve mentorship for junior and mid-career faculty. Check it out here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.0983

Keri-Lyn Kozul, the lab’s future and first (!) postdoctoral fellow, passes her Viva and Thesis Defense on her work performed in the Pagan Lab at the University of Queensland. Congratulations, Keri! We are excited for you to start in the lab!

BBSB student Emily Harrelson passes her qualifying exam to become a Ph.D. candidate. Congratulations, Emily!

Tessa is invited to give a talk on her work at the Molecular and Cellular Biology retreat in Potosi, IL.

Tessa presents a poster on her work at the 11th annual Cardiovascular Research Day at WUSM.

Our first lab publication, published with the Pagliarini lab, comes out in Nature Communications. This manuscript identifies PPTC7 as a key regulator of BNIP3- and NIX-mediated mitophagy. Without PPTC7, cells and tissues harbor diverse metabolic abnormalities which at least partially stem from dysregulated mitophagy. Check it out here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-42069-w

Our grant, “Targeting Excessive Mitophagy to Mitigate Age-Related Muscle Dysfunction,” is funded via the Longer Life Foundation. This award will allow us to begin investigating the ties between dysregulated mitophagy and skeletal muscle pathology.

Our News & Views, “MOF moves into mitochondria” is published at Nature Metabolism. Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00892-x

Tessa presents her work at Science Friday for the BMB department.

Natalie presents our work at the Digestive Disease Research Core Centers (DDRCC) Midwest Alliance meeting at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

Jerry is invited to give a talk on his work at the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology retreat in Grafton, IL.

Hannah wins Best Lightening Talk at the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology retreat in Grafton, IL. Congratulations, Hannah!

Tessa wins Best Poster at at the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology retreat in Grafton, IL. Congratulations, Tessa!

Jerry presents his work at a symposium to honor his recent MilliporeSigma Fellowship award.

Our BMB undergraduate, Jordyn Svoboda, completes their SURGE experience by presenting a poster of their work to the department. Good luck in your senior year, Jordyn!

Our Staff Scientist, Merima Forny, moves on to a new position in the Pagliarini lab at Washington University. We will miss her scientific expertise and excellent experimental prowess. We wish her the best of luck in her new lab home!

The lab receives an R35/MIRA grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, “Delineating phosphorylation-mediated regulation of mitochondrial function.” This five year award will allow us to investigate our how proteins in mitochondrial become phosphorylated, as well as to understand how these modifications may alter mitochondrial function.

Our collaborative grant, “The role of protein phosphorylation in the mitochondrial matrix in determining mitophagic selectivity” is funded through the National Science Foundation. This work, which is a collaborative effort with Hagai Abeliovich at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, will study the molecular mechanisms underlying mitophagic selectivity from yeast to mammals.

Jerry presents an off topic talk at Science Friday for the BMB department.

Natalie gives a short talk on our work at the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) Mitochondrial Medicine symposium in Charlotte, NC.

The Niemi Lab fundraises for and attends the annual walk for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) in St. Louis!

Emily Harrelson presents her rotation work at Science Friday for the BMB Department.

Jordyn Svoboda, an undergraduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, joins our laboratory for a summer internship through the Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Welcome, Jordyn!!!

Tessa represents the lab presenting her work at the BMB department poster session.

Tessa and Hannah are selected to participate in the Markey Pathway for Human Pathobiology at Washington University. Congratulations, Tessa and Hannah!!

Emily Harrelson, a first year graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BBSB) graduate program joins our laboratory for her thesis work. Welcome, Emily!!

Our collaborative work on trainee mentorship is highlighted by preLights - check out their excellent write up and summary (from a trainee perspective!) here: https://prelights.biologists.com/highlights/insights-from-a-survey-of-mentorship-experiences-by-graduate-and-postdoctoral-researchers/

Jerry and Tessa present their work at our Science Friday departmental seminar series.

Natalie is featured in a Q&A (along with co-author Sarvenaz Sarabipour) in Science on academic mentorship. Read what we have to say here: https://www.science.org/content/article/improving-mentoring-academia-requires-collective-effort

Our collaborative preprint on the practices and perceptions of trainee mentorship goes online! We think everyone who is an academic mentor or mentee (so, basically everyone!) should check it out - link here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.05.539640v1

Natalie presents our work as the Keynote Speaker at the inaugural Rising Stars in Metabolism symposium at the Van Andel Institute.

Tessa earns two certificates toward her Teaching Citation for her "commitment to evidence-based teaching through achieving the levels of Community Member" (1st level) "and Associate" (2nd level). Congratulations, Tessa!!

Our pilot & feasibility grant, “Investigating mitochondrial protein phosphoryation in NAFLD and NASH” is selected for funding by the Digestive Diseases Research Cores Center at Washington University School of Medicine.

Jerry and Hannah present their work at the DBBS 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Tessa and Hannah both received Honorable Mentions on their NSF-GRFP applications. Congratulations on a great achievement!

Hannah, Jerry, and Natalie present work from the lab at the American Society for Biochemisty & Molecular Biology (ASBMB) national meeting in Seattle!

Our lab’s first paper is preprinted! This work ties the mitochondrial phosphatase Pptc7 to the regulation of mitophagy through the receptors Bnip3 and Nix. Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.02.28.530351.

BBSB graduate student Andy Lozano starts a rotation in the Niemi lab. Welcome, Andy!

Jerry Wei wins the 2022 MilliporeSigma award! This award was founded in memory of Gerty Cori and is given to outstanding students in their third year (or later) in biochemistry and molecular biophysics. Congratulations, Jerry!!

Tessa Lochetto passes her qualifying exam to become a Ph.D. candidate. Congratulations, Tessa!

Our collaborative work on the mitochondrial phosphatase Ppm1k and its crosstalk between pyruvate and branched chain amino acid metabolism is now published at Molecular Metabolism! Check out the final paper here: 10.1016/j.molmet.2023.101694

Jerry Wei presents his work at the WUSTL Biochemistry and Biophysics Community Kickoff Poster Session.

Jerry Wei wins an ASBMB 2023 Graduate Student or Postdoctoral Researcher Award to attend this year’s ASBMB national meeting in Seattle. Congratulations, Jerry!

Natalie participates in a roundtable discussion, “Science and Family: Parenting while working in academia,” at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) National meeting in Washington D.C.

Jerry Wei presents a poster at the Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics Rising Stars Symposium.

BBSB student Emily Harrelson begins a rotation in our lab. Welcome, Emily!

BBSB student Youmian Yan passes her qualifying exam to become a Ph.D. candidate. Congratulations, Youmian!

BBSB student Hannah Pletcher passes her qualifying exam to become a Ph.D. candidate. Congratulations, Hannah!

Merima Forny joins the lab as a Staff Scientist. Welcome, Merima!!

Jerry Wei presents his work at the Annual Cardiovascular Research Day at Washington University.

Jerry Wei presents his work at the annual Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BBSB) retreat.

Our preprint, “The faculty-to-faculty mentorship experience: a survey on challenges and recommendations for improvements” is out on bioRxiv. Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.17.512624

Staff Scientist Emily Hunter ends her tenure in the Niemi Lab. Emily was instrumental in setting up the Niemi lab, tackling everything from biosafety protocols, equipment set up and maintenance, and establishing scientific protocols. Her expertise will be missed, but we wish her the best of luck in her new position as a Scientific Editor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences!

Hannah Pletcher wins the inaugural 2022 BMB Science Communication Award! This award recognizes clarity in both scientific reasoning and science communication as a developing PhD student. Congratulations, Hannah!!

Michaela Morhaus, the first hire of the Niemi lab, departs to pursue her MD/PhD in the MSTP program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Best of luck, Michaela!

Kaelin Dean, the first undergraduate student to work in the Niemi lab, presents her research and completes her time in the BMB Summer Undergraduate Research Program. She returns to the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign to complete her Bachelor’s degree. Good luck, Kaelin!

The Niemi Lab participates in the St. Louis walk for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.

Natalie presents our research to the Mitochondrial Data Club at Vanderbilt.

Kaelin Dean, a member of the inaugural class of BMB undergraduate researchers, joins our lab for a summer research experience. Welcome, Kaelin!

Natalie is a roundtable speaker at the WiSTEM event “Parenting in Academia” at WashU.

Our contributions to a collaborative study with Dr. Brian Finck’s lab aimed at understanding how the mitochondrial phosphatase Ppm1k is regulated and cross talks with the BCAA catabolic pathway is on bioRxiv! Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.11.491550

Natalie presents the lab’s work at the Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics Departmental Retreat at the Charles F. Knight Executive & Conference Center on the Danforth Campus.

Tessa Lochetto, a graduate student in the Molecular Cell Biology program (MCB) at WashU officially joins the lab! Welcome, Tessa!

Youmian Yan, a graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BBSB) program at WashU officially joins the lab! Welcome, Youmian!

Michaela Morhaus decides to pursue her MD/PhD degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Congratulations, Michaela!!

Natalie virtually visits the Biochemistry department at Saint Louis University to present our work.

Natalie wins an Early Faculty Career Travel Award to attend and present the lab’s work at the ASBMB National Meeting in Philadelphila.

Natalie presents our work in the Mitochondrial Interest Group at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) National Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.

Hannah Pletcher, a graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BBSB) program at WashU officially joins the lab! Welcome, Hannah!

Our contributions to a study by Dr. Hagai Abeliovich have been posted on bioRxiv! Check out our work on mitochondrial phosphorylation and mitophagic selectivity here: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.16.484611

Natalie attends the 17th Annual Postdoc Symposium at Washington University as a Roundtable speaker to discuss the job path in academia and achieving work/life balance.

Tessa Lochetto, a first year DBBS student in the Molecular Cell Biology program, starts a rotation in our lab. Welcome, Tessa!

Our recent article published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, “The extensive and functionally uncharacterized mitochondrial phosphoproteome,” was selected as a ‘JBC Best of 2021.’ For more information (or to see the paper!): https://www.jbc.org/best-of-2021.

Natalie presents our work in the poster session at Diabetes Day, an annual symposium hosted by the Diabetes Research Center at WashU that commemorates World Diabetes Day.

Emily Hunter is elected to Editor in Chief at InPrint - WashU’s trainee-run editing and communication network. Congratulations, Emily!!

Jerry Wei passes his qualifying exam to become an official PhD candidate! Congratulations, Jerry!!!!

Two new DBBS students start rotations in the lab - Shambhavi Bhagwat (in the Molecular Cell Biology program) and Youmian Yan (in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology program). Welcome, Youmian and Shambhavi!

Natalie presents our work as a Keynote speaker at the Biochemistry, Biophysics, & Structural Biology (BBSB) retreat held at the St. Louis Zoo.

Michaela Morhaus receives her first (of what will surely be many) acceptance to an MSTP program! Congratulations, Michaela!!

Natalie presents our work to the Washington University community at the Center for Cardiovascular Research seminar series.

Klaudio Fatmiri, a DBBS graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology program, starts his “official” rotation in the lab after a few weeks of "volunteering”. Welcome, Klaudio!

The Niemi Lab celebrates its first birthday on July 1st!

Emily Hunter is elected to Associate Editor in Chief at InPrint - WashU’s trainee-run editing and communication network. Congratulations, Emily!!

Hannah Pletcher, an incoming DBBS graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology program, starts her rotation in the lab. Welcome, Hannah!!

Jerry Wei is selected for the Markey Pathway, a two year course of study that emphasizes human disease states not generally covered in graduate courses. Congratulations, Jerry!!

The Niemi lab forms a team and runs a 5K (in 95+ degree heat!) to fundraise for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF).

Our review on mitochondrial phosphorylation, “The Extensive and Functionally Uncharacterized Mitochondrial Phosphoproteome” is accepted and goes online at the Journal of Biological Chemistry!

Natalie and Jerry attend the virtual ASBMB conference.

Jerry Wei, DBBS graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology program, officially joins the lab!

Emily Hunter is elected Secretary of InPrint, a trainee-run scientific editing network at Washington University. For information, see https://inprintscience.wustl.edu/. Congratulations, Emily!

Jerry Wei, a DBBS graduate student in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology program, begins his rotation in the lab. Welcome, Jerry!

The Niemi Lab receives notification of funding on our proposal, titled “The role of the mitochondrial phosphatase Pptc7 in enabling metabolic flexibility,” through the Diabetes Research Center at WashU.

Our co-author publication, “Quantitative shotgun proteome analysis by direct infusion“ is published at Nature Methods. Read more to find out about LC-free mass spec and how it can be applied to large scale genetic and pharmacological screens in mitochondria and beyond.

Natalie joins the Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences (DBBS) as a faculty mentor. Interested DBBS students should contact the lab for potential rotation opportunities. For more information: dbbs.wustl.edu

Emily Hunter, Ph.D. joins the lab as a Staff Scientist.

Michaela Morhaus joins the lab as a Research Technician II.

Welcome, Emily and Michaela!