Congratulations to the Dominguez lab on their seminal study recently published in Science on the structures actin filaments that explains the bases for filament polarity that underlies many cell biological functions.

This milestone reflects the University’s recognition of Paul’s exceptional research achievements and contributions to the academic enterprise. While there was never any doubt that he would be promoted to Associate Professor, it’s nevertheless outstanding to have it under his belt. We’ll be planning a celebration, date TBD. In the meantime, please reach out to Paul to join me in congratulating him on this fabulous achievement.

Natasha Jaiswal (Titchenell lab) officially accepted an offer as a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the College of Health Sciences at Purdue University. She will be starting her new position Jan 2, 2024! Congratulations Natasha!

Congratulations to our own Teji Khurana for being selected for the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching!! This prestigious award is given annually in recognition of commitment to teaching at Penn. The selection committee chose Teji from a highly competitive nomination pool based on his peers' and students' letters written on his behalf. Well-deserved to say the least!! Please join me in applauding Teji on this distinguished award!!

Congratulations Ben Prosser! Ben and a team that he put together to find a cure for his daughter and those who also suffer from disorders due to mutations in STXBP1 and SYNGAP1 genes have received a $25 million gift from an anonymous donor to support their research efforts through their Center for Epilepsy and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ENDD). Please have a look at the attached press release that will be posted today. We share Ben’s hope that this gift will help lead to breakthroughs on the path to a cure. Please join me in congratulating Ben on this fantastic news!