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TOMORROW: SEE Seminar Kickoff with Dr. Hawa Racine Thiam
Please join the MCP Community Collective in welcoming Dr. Hawa Racine Thiam to start off our 2027 SEE Seminar Series. Thiam visits from the Bioengineering and Microbiology and Immunology Departments at Stanford with her talk, "“On Crossing and Breaking Barriers – Learning from Neutrophils Biophysics”
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Science, Sunsets, and a Chalk Tank: Inside the 2026 MCP Retreat
Stanford's Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology gathered at Chaminade Resort in Santa Cruz on September 8 and 9 for its annual Scientific Conference. Eleven graduate students and postdocs presented work spanning mitochondrial calcium uptake to ultrasound neuromodulation, alongside eleven posters, a "Chalk Tank" pitch session, and a featured talk from Miriam Goodman. Between sessions, the department traded benches for firepits, s'mores, and the pool.
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Dr. Cornelius Gati begins our 2026-27 MCP Seminar Series
Cornelius Gati returns to Stanford on September 22nd for the MCP Seminar Series. A structural biologist who was an indep. group leader at SLAC and Stanford Medicine before joining USC in 2021 as an Assistant Professor, Gati uses single-particle cryo-electron microscopy to resolve the architecture of G protein-coupled receptors central to neurobiology and immunology. His talk "Mapping the conformational landscape of GPCRs: from structure to pharmacology" begins at 10:30am in Munzer Auditorium.
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Maduke Lab's Kidney Chloride Channel Selectivity Paper Now Published in PNAS
Merritt Maduke's lab, with Ron Dror and Wah Chiu, published cryo-EM structures in PNAS showing how BIM1 selectively inhibits the CLC-Ka chloride channel over CLC-Kb — a key step toward hyponatremia drugs. A conserved lysine and a dynamic gating loop drive the selectivity, offering a blueprint for designing more selective inhibitors in the future. The channel had long been a promising drug target, but its close similarity to CLC-Kb made it difficult to hit safely until now.
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Khan Work Spotlighted in Nature Reviews Genetics
Yousuf Khan authored a journal club piece for Nature Reviews Genetics revisiting a landmark 1985 study that first documented programmed ribosomal frameshifting in retroviruses. He connected that historical discovery to his own lab's recent findings, published in Science Advances, showing that a similar frameshifting mechanism in the human PLEKHM2 gene produces a protein variant essential for normal heart muscle contraction.
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All Hands on Science Event a Resounding Success
On June 23, the Beckman Center welcomed 35 fourth- through eighth-grade students and eight chaperones for a day of campus tours, science demonstrations, art activities, and food, organized by the MCP's Community Collective Outreach subcommittee and its dedicated volunteers. The event was made possible by a generous gift from the William Townsend Foundation and additional support from the Beckman Center.
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MCP Faculty Candidate Announcement
MCP is excited to announce that we have narrowed down our extensive faculty candidate search to just 5 individuals. These 5 researchers will be visiting the department over the next two weeks and have been invited to speak to the department about their research.
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Welcome Stephen Hinshaw, PhD to MCP
Please welcome Stephen Hinshaw, PhD as our newest faculty member in the department! Dr. Hinshaw will launch an independent research program focused on structural and functional studies of the eukaryotic kinetochore on the 3rd floor of Beckman. He will also provide critical scientific and strategic direction for the Cryo-electron Microscopy Center (cEMc).
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Happy Holidays from MCP!
The MCP Department celebrated the season with our annual Holiday Party on December 4th!
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Daniel Madison dies at 69
MCP is sad to announce that beloved Professor Madison has passed away at age 69. Dan was a dedicated, compassionate, and incredibly supportive member of our community.
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Yousuf Khan's Lab First Publication in Science Advances
Yousuf Khan's Lab, the "YAK Lab", is eager to announce its inaugural publication in Science Advances: ""Programmed ribosomal frameshifting during PLEKHM2 mRNA decoding..."
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Yousuf Khan wins NIH's Early Independence Award
MCP Instructor Yousuf Khan was granted the coveted NIH DP5 award, which helps young researchers establish themselves and their independent scientific careers.
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Another Successful MCP Scientific Retreat!
The Chaminade Resort and Spa in Santa Cruz, CA hosted our annual MCP Scientific Retreat, this past week. The 3- day event offered a change of scenery for departmental growth.
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Dr. Ruth Huttenhain receives the Stanford Faculty Women's Forum Inspiring Early Academic Career Award
Dr. Ruth Huttenhain receives the FWF Inspiring Early Academic Career Award for her early-career accomplishments and effort to build an inclusive and supportive academic environment
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Dr. Miriam Goodman Receives the Stanford Faculty Women's Forum Outstanding Leader Award
Dr. Miriam Goodman receives the Stanford Faculty Women’s Forum Outstanding Leader Award for her exemplary leadership and advocacy to foster equity in the Stanford Faculty community
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MCP Department celebrates another successful Summer Picnic!
Last week's departmental picnic was a joyful celebration of community, featuring the vibrant flavors of Backyard Caribbean Grill and fun classic lawn games!
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Miriam Goodman featured in Physics Today
Dr. Goodman and lab members contributed to, "Up-conversion nanoparticles measure medium-sized forces in hard-to-reach places"
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AAASE Honors Steven Chu with Prestigious Award
The Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering (AAASE) inaugural prestigious awards, recognizes groundbreaking contributions to science, engineering, and leadership.
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Chris Garcia is named one of three winners of the 2024 Emory Max Cooper Prize in Immunology
Garcia was recognized for his work investigating the three-dimensional structures of immune receptors on cell surfaces, specifically elucidating the basis of MHC restriction...
