Department of Molecular Biosciences, UT Austin

05/04/2026

We were honored to host Dr. Cassandra Extavour for the John Charles Sisson Memorial Lecture!
Her talk, “Shape‑Shifting: Mechanical Mechanisms,” explored fascinating insights at the intersection of biology and mechanics. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this engaging and thought‑provoking lecture.
🔗 Learn more about the event:
https://molecularbiosci.utexas.edu/events/named-lectures/john-charles-sisson-memorial-lecture-shape-shifting-mechanical-mechanisms

04/03/2026

Congratulations to Despoina Mavridou's lab member, Alex Dunmyre on becoming a finalist of the Empower your Pitch Competition with his pitch, “Treating the "Untreatable"! Click below to learn more!

Internships & Experiences UT Fellowships & Internships Competitions & Awards Empower Your Research Pitch Reimagining Professional Development Award Experiential Learning Resources On-Campus Jobs Thank you to the Graduate Coordinator Network for co-sponsoring this event! Developed in collaboration wi...

11/24/2025

With 9 days remaining, the Department of Molecular Biosciences HornRaiser campaign has been given a fundraising challenge grant! A generous donor will provide up to $2,500 in matching funds which will get our fundraising past three fellowships with matching individual donations!

Support Longhorn career readiness! Your HornRaiser contribution at any amount creates summer scholarship opportunities for May Term 2026 students to gain critical biotech career experience. Help us reach our goal by December 3!!
https://give.utexas.edu/biotech-bootcamp-enhancing-longhorn-career-readiness

11/05/2025

Support Longhorn career readiness! Your HornRaiser contribution at any amount creates summer scholarship opportunities for May Term 2026 students to gain critical biotech career experience. Help us reach our goal by December 3!!
https://give.utexas.edu/biotech-bootcamp-enhancing-longhorn-career-readiness

08/19/2025

We are delighted to share that Keiko Torii has been awarded the IPGSA Silver Medal Award, the highest honor in phytohormone and peptide hormone research. 🌟

This award is given only once every three years by the IPGSA Council and previous Silver Medal awardees, recognizing the very top achievements in the field. Short of National Academy of Sciences membership (which Keiko also holds), it is the most prestigious distinction a scientist in this area can receive.

Keiko’s seminal work on peptide hormones has shaped plant biology and inspired researchers worldwide. We are thrilled to celebrate her extraordinary contributions with this honor.

Please join us in congratulating Keiko Torii on this incredible achievement! 👏🌿

06/12/2025

🎉 We are thrilled to announce that Kelly Alvarez, Faculty Administrative Manager in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at UT Austin, has been honored with a CNS Staff Excellence Award! 🏆👏

Kelly’s unwavering dedication, exceptional organizational skills, and genuine care for our faculty and staff make her an invaluable part of our community. Her leadership has elevated our department in countless ways, and this recognition is so well deserved. 😊

Please join us in congratulating Kelly! Drop a comment below to celebrate her outstanding achievement. 🤘💛

05/23/2025

What a day! 💥 The Trailblazers of Tomorrow Postdoc Symposium hosted by the Department of Molecular Biosciences at The University of Texas at Austin was a phenomenal showcase of talent, innovation, and cutting-edge science.

The incredible postdoctoral researchers took the stage to share their pioneering work and truly lived up to the name Trailblazers.

Swipe through to see some of the brilliant minds who are shaping the future of science! 📸🧬

A huge thank you to all our speakers, attendees, and organizers who made this event a success. The future is bright—and it's being built right here at UT Austin. 🤘

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04/04/2025

Congratulations to our very own, Ken Keiler for being named one of the 2024 AAAS Fellows!

Three UT faculty members have been named 2024 AAAS - The American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows! This prestigious lifetime honor recognizes their outstanding contributions to science and its applications, placing them among the world’s leading researchers and innovators.

College of Natural Sciences, UT Austin's Ken Keiler, a molecular biosciences professor, explores protein quality control and develops antibiotics.

College of Liberal Arts - University of Texas at Austin's Chandra Muller, a sociology professor, studies the long-term impact of education on population health.

And College of Liberal Arts - University of Texas at Austin's Arlene Miller Rosen, a professor of anthropology and environmental archaeology, investigates how ancient societies adapted to climate change.

"These exceptional scholars are advancing the frontiers of science at UT Austin," said Interim Provost David Vanden Bout. "Whether investigating molecular mechanisms, educational outcomes, or human-environmental relationships, each Fellow demonstrates remarkable scholarly excellence and a commitment to addressing complex challenges facing society. Their work pushes boundaries while fostering trust in science throughout the communities they serve. I am proud to see them honored for their significant contributions to their fields and to the scientific community."

To learn more about their groundbreaking work, visit https://utex.as/4j73htp.

12/11/2024

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Ilya Finkelstein’s research focuses on improving gene editing, understanding DNA repair and finding disease treatments.

09/20/2024

Welcome the three newest members of our Hall of Honor!

Last night three people from our Texas Science community were inducted into the College of Natural Sciences Hall of Honor.

Jason McLellan — Distinguished Service: Dr. McLellan, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences, invented a method for engineering key proteins in coronaviruses and respiratory viruses for use in vaccines and has been key in the development of technologies found in many leading vaccines against COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). His work has impacted the lives of billions of people.

Mitchel Wong — Distinguished Alumnus: Dr. Wong, B.A. ’60, established Austin Eye in 1969 and has helped people experience life to its fullest by enabling patients to see their best through vision correction surgery. He also helped establish the Department of Ophthalmology and the Mitchel and Shannon Wong Eye Institute at Dell Medical School.

Tyler Hobbs — Emerging Leader: Hobbs is a visual artist from Austin, Texas, who graduated from UT Austin in 2010 with a B.S. from the Department of Computer Science. His artwork, which centers around the use of algorithms and focuses on the unique aesthetic qualities and capabilities of computer hardware and software, is displayed in the LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the SFMOMA San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and other notable public institutions.

Learn more about these three, meet past inductees and nominate someone for the Hall of Honor at txsci.net/HOH2024.