Neurotransmitters carry messages between neurons to maintain vital body functions. Learn how they work and what diseases may occur if they're disrupted ..read more

As an undergrad, Colton Pelletier adapted an existing robot to make an automated experimentation system that allowed him to collect data more easily ..read more

Mia Huang, Ph.D., studies sugar-coated proteins, called glycoproteins, to learn how they work and what roles they play in health and disease ..read more

Hormones are chemical messengers in the body that glands form and release, or secrete, into the bloodstream, where they travel to various organs and tissues to change biological functions. Hormone levels fluctuate during a lifespan and even on a daily basis. Growth spurts in toddlers or sudden changes in adolescents are directly related to large hormonal shifts during development and puberty. Smaller changes occur throughout each day to help maintain normal bodily functions, such as our sleep-wake cycle known as our circadian rhythm. Endocrine glands in the body. Credit: NCI. Hormones and the ..read more

Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Glenn Gilyot. Glenn Gilyot, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry at Hampton-Sydney College in Virginia, studies how to use fluorescent sensors to detect certain disease biomarkers in the body. He credits two NIGMS training programs that he participated in as an undergraduate and graduate student with helping him launch a successful career in research. Outside the lab, Dr. Gilyot is passionate about science outreach and encouraging future researchers to follow their curiosities. An Early Introduction to Chemistry Working in chemistry runs in Dr. Gilyot’s family: Hi ..read more

Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Bryan Dickinson. “Being a researcher gives you the opportunity to have an impact on the world. It’s a privilege to be able to answer questions that can make a difference in people’s lives,” says Bryan Dickinson, Ph.D. He first fell in love with science as an undergraduate student, and now, as a professor of chemical biology at the University of Chicago, Dr. Dickinson still finds excitement in even the most challenging research questions. Where Chemistry Meets Biology Dr. Dickinson majored in biochemistry at the University of Maryland (UMD) in College Park, but he didn’t ..read more

Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Caroline B. Appleyard. The job opening at Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU) in Ponce, Puerto Rico—home to great coral reefs—seemed like a perfect fit for Caroline B. Appleyard, Ph.D., given that scuba diving was one of her favorite hobbies. She only intended to stay for a short time, but now, more than 25 years later, Dr. Appleyard is a professor of physiology and pharmacology and program director of the NIGMS-funded Graduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (G-RISE) at PHSU. An Interest in Inflammation Growing up in Scotland, Dr. Appleyard was ..read more

Have you ever noticed plastic utensils or paper plates labeled as “biodegradable” and wondered what that meant? Materials are biodegradable when microorganisms such as bacteria can break them down into their building blocks. Biodegradable Plastics Plastic is everywhere: Milk jugs, grocery bags, and takeout containers are just a few examples. There are many types of plastic, but they’re all made up of long chains of repeating subunits called polymers. These polymers are designed to be durable and resistant to factors like heat, sunlight, and water, which makes them useful in a variety of situat ..read more

As a medical student, Martin Burke, M.D., Ph.D., helped care for a young college student with cystic fibrosis (CF), an inherited disease that affects the body’s ability to make sweat and mucus. Dr. Burke had just studied CF in class, so he relayed what he had learned to her. He had a lot of information to give—doctors and researchers know the exact amino acid changes in an ion channel protein called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) that cause CF. Credit: UIUC News Bureau, Fred Zwicky. “At one point in the conversation, she stopped me and said, ‘It sounds like you know ..read more

Did you know that molecules can be unionized? But it doesn’t mean they form a labor union. In chemistry, unionized (pronounced “un-ionized”) is the opposite of ionized, which means “electrically charged.” Credit: NIGMS. Unionized molecules don’t have electrical charges because they have the same number of electrons and protons. Ionized molecules, also called ions, become charged by gaining or losing electrons. Ions with extra electrons, known as anions, have a negative charge. Ions with fewer electrons than normal, called cations, have a positive charge. Unionization’s Impacts A molecule’s cha ..read more