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Biochemistry

BMI Weekly News- April 3, 2023

BMI Weekly Newsletter  

April 3, 2023 

News: 

IN MEMORIUM: PHILIP DOUGLAS MARTIN 

Today, we share the sad news that Dr. Philip Martin, a member of our department for more than 30 years, died on March 23rd from Covid and other health complications. He earned his Ph.D. in our department in 1978, while working with Drs. Doscher, Petsko, and Tsernoglou. He then did a post-doctoral fellowship in protein crystallography at Michigan State University with Prof. Tulinsky. He returned to our Biochemistry Department in 1982 as a Senior Research Associate with Dr. Edwards. He also collaborated with multiple other faculty members in our Department and in the Medical School. He transferred to the Chemistry Department in 2008 to manage the facility for small molecule crystallography and powder diffraction. He retired in 2018. ResearchGate credits him with 80 publications. There will be a celebration of his life in the summer in Marquette. 

His engaging character and wide-ranging interests are celebrated best in a note from his daughter, an electrical engineer. “My Dad was truly a remarkable man. He was a research scientist/biochemist/X-ray crystallographer in Michigan and traveled to Europe for research projects, working with other renowned scientists. He had an opportunity to do some experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator in France/Switzerland. He spent some time doing research in Heidelberg, Germany and traveled to China as well. He was an amateur astronomer and took many astronomy photographs with his telescopes. He was an actor in a local theater, a BMW motorcycle enthusiast, and dabbled in quantum computing. As a Dad, he gave me and my siblings a Love of learning and laughter and Amazon. He taught us to cook, shop, spell, make up our own words and games, and ignore all norms. He will be missed so much. If you’re interested, his obituary can be found here:  

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/keego-harbor-mi/philip-martin-11218629 

Throughout his career, Phil truly enjoyed computer projects and coding programs in Fortran, then C++, then Python. Throughout his career, he felt empowered by the exponential growth of computer technology. For Phil’s amusement, I asked ChatGPT “Write a paragraph about the scientific career of Philip Douglas Martin, who worked at Wayne State University” It replied: 

“Philip Douglas Martin was a renowned scientist and a professor at Wayne State University. His research focused on the area of biochemistry, particularly on understanding the complex interactions between proteins in the human body. He was a pioneer in the development of techniques for studying the structure of proteins and their functions, which have allowed for a better understanding of diseases and their treatments. Throughout his career, Philip Douglas Martin published over 100 research papers and collaborated with numerous scientists worldwide. He received many accolades for his contributions to the scientific community and was considered one of the leading experts in his field. His legacy continues to inspire new generations of scientists to pursue breakthrough discoveries in biochemistry.” 

May we all be remembered so generously. 

Dr. Brian Edwards 


Events This Week:  

Immunology Focus Group (IFG) Seminar is scheduled for April 4, 2023, via Zoom 

Following the seminar, there will be a student/speaker discussion. 

Journal Club: Two presentations on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, 11:30am, 3125 Scott Hall  

  • 1st Presentation: IM MS student, Nouha Odeh 
    • Title: “Oxidized thioredoxin-1 restrains the NLRP1 inflammasome” 
    • Advisor: Dr. Yuan He 
  • 2nd Presentation: BMB MS student, Duncan Smith 
    • Title: TBA 
    • Advisor: Dr. Bharati Mitra 

From the Office of the Vice President of Research - Research Development Seminar Series: The RDS series is being offered for WSU faculty, chairs & directors, postdoctoral trainees & graduate students, and administrators.  The seminars are free but require registration Event registration.  

Upcoming Seminar:  Wednesday, April 5, 2023, 10:00am-11:30am, via Zoom. 

  • Title: Leveraging Resources & Relationships to Support Research 
  • Presenters:  
    • Jennifer Har, PhD, (moderator), Associate Professor of African History 
    • Maik Hüttemann, PhD, Professor, Center for Molecular Medicine & Genetics 
    • Noa Ofen, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology and the Institute of Gerontology 
    • Rachel Wallace, PhD, Assistant Vice President for Research Development 

RSVP at: https://events.wayne.edu/research-events/2023/04/05/research-development-seminar-95384/  
Information will be emailed to all registrants prior to April 5.  
For Seminar Series Event Details: Research Development Seminar Series.  


Upcoming Events: 

Next BMI Seminar is scheduled for April 11, 2023, 2268 Scott Hall 

Next Journal Club: Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 11:30am, 3125 Scott Hall  

  • Presented by: BMB PhD student, Thamarahansi Mugunamalwaththa
  • Title: TBA 

The Michigan Physiological Society (MPS) will be hosting their 10th annual research symposium at Alma College on June 26th & 27th, 2023. 


Return to Campus:     

Recent Updates for Campus Conditions and Requirements as of April 3, 2023:  
https://wayne.edu/coronavirus   

Campus Daily Screener link: https://forms.wayne.edu/covid-19-screening/  

From Office of President Wilson: Resources with contact numbers to support, guide and assist you while on campus.  https://i.wayne.edu/view/61d756b21bf13?utm_source=lnk&utm_medium-email61d75621bf13&utm_campaign=Welcome+to+a+new+semester&utm_content=Read+this+email+on+the+Web and additional resources https://wayne.edu/safety 

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