News
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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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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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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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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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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"
