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Graduation CeremonyThe Department of Molecular Biosciences

Daniel J. Leahy, Ph.D.

Chairmen’s Welcome

Robert Butchofsky, M.B.A.

Guest Speaker

Karen Browning, Ph.D.

Recognition of Students and Presentation of Department Medals

Daniel J. Leahy, Ph.D.

Closing Remarks

Student Activity Center 1.402May 19, 20173:00 pm

Program

The Department of Molecular Biosciences was established in Fall 2013 to encompass all faculty doing research to understand how cells function and communicate. MBS is the home of six undergraduate programs - Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Microbiology, Plant Biology and Public Health – with research that spans from understanding the structure and function of single molecules to how single cells develop into organs or wholewhole organisms, as well as the molecular basis of disease.

Research in molecular bioscience has a long and illustrious history at the University of Texas at Austin. Herman Muller did his Nobel Prize research on the mutagenic effects of X-rays on Drosophila in the 1920s, and his X-ray machine can be seen in the east lobby of the Moffet Molecular Biology Building. During the middle part of the 20th century many vitamins were discovered and studied at the University of Texas at Austin including, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, lipoic acid, folic acid and vitamin B12, and sciefolic acid and vitamin B12, and scientists at UT pioneered biochemical approaches to solve problems in plant systematics and evolution. The discovery of the double helix of DNA in 1953 ushered in the age of molecular biology with the discoveries of how DNA stored genetic material, the breaking of the genetic code, and how RNA transmitted this information.

History of the Department

Molecular BiosciencesCollege of Natural Sciences

During the latter part of the 20th century, UT faculty pushed the frontiers to understand the structure and function of biomolecules and cellular functions. In 1995 the Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology was established and provided the infrastructure to rapidly expand into the exciting era of “omes”—sequencing of genomes, proteomes, transcriptomes, translatomes and metabolomics. The “omes” reveal the hidden world of the cell and the processes of life, andand can provide clues as to what goes wrong at the molecular level during disease.

This new era of research needs faculty with skills in many areas, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, computation, microbiology, immunology, developmental biology, virology and many more rapidly evolving areas yet to be dened. Research in the 21st century at UT is embracing the ability to observe a single protein molecule moving along a strand of DNA, sequence the genomes of bacteria in a single day, design new medicines or diagnostics, understandunderstand the complex interactions of genes using computation, understanding the molecular basis of cancer or infectious disease, how plants sense their environment, and many more aspects of how all types of cells, from bacteria to humans, function and carryout the processes of life.

Molecular BiosciencesCollege of Natural Sciences

The new Department of Molecular Biosciences faculty and their students will be doing this cutting edge research and we are excited by the new prospects for collaborative research opportunities the Dell Medical School will bring. Many of our graduates will play a signicant role in taking the knowledge they gained at UT to participate in exciting new discoveries that will be made over the next fty years! Keep in touch with your University, we look forward to hearing about youryour success stories as you go out and change the world!

Majors who seek special departmental honors must have an overall University grade point average of at least 3.00 and a grade point average in their major courses of at least 3.50.  In addition, they must complete two semesters of the Biochemistry or Biology Honors Tutorial Course during the senior year, which includes a presentation and written thesis based on a faculty supervised research project.

Special Departmental Honors

Molecular BiosciencesCollege of Natural Sciences

Robert Butchofsky is the Founder and CEO of Mati Therapeutics. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Mati is developing a non-invasive sustained drug delivery platform to treat a variety of ocular diseases including glaucoma, allergy, inammation, and dry eye. Mr. Butchofsky is the former President and CEO of QLT Inc., a publicly traded Vancouver-based biotech company focusedfocused on ocular diseases and the company responsible for the rst medical treatment for age related macular degeneration, Visudyne®. From June 1990 to August 1998, Mr. Butchofsky was employed at Allergan Inc. where he built an extensive background with ocular pharmaceutical products and Botox(r), including sales, health economics, worldwide medical marketing, and product management. MMr. Butchofsky has over 25 years of commercial and development experience in ophthalmology. He graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in biology in 1985 and also holds an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Robert Butchofsky, M.B.A. Biography

Graduation 2017Guest Speaker

Amy Qin

Brianna Barry*Olivia BrohlinGenevieve CozziniSamantha DalrympleLiem DoHomeHomero DominguezMeredith FennerRaddison FlorescaCorinne FotsoJaeeun Go*Eduardo HernandezYan JinAAditya KondajjiVismaya KondapalliAnastasiya KulikovaSharon Lui

Tan LuuGrace NieNicholas Prescott*Sana QureshiChristine RaeAnjana RamRRegina RodriguezJavier SanchezRobin SeymourHannah SpockSean SteddomNazima SultanaOanh Tran*LLuis Valencia*Emilia WolfErik Zavala

*Special Departmental Honors.Only students who RSVP’d and permitted to have their name printed are included in this program.

Biochemistry, B.A.

Biochemistry, B.S.

Molecular BiosciencesGraduating Seniors by Major

Taylor Abercrombie Alyssandra AbrenicaRoward AgultoYousuf AhmedMaryam AnisTimothy BediakoJoaoJoao Victor BritoJevon ChuBianca DavidGenaro DeLeonPerla DelgadoTsedal DemssieKelly DitterTTaylor DoanYelena Dokic*Chi DuongBrian DuongArjab GhoshVinita GottipatiJessica Grey

Sonia HernandezMaria HernandezMaria HongRyan Huizar*Dania HusseinKimberly HuynhMMinsun JeonEmily KechCynthia KobooMichelle LauClaudia LayAyoung LeeEric Lee*DDestiny LewisAsaad LutLinh MaiOrlando Martinez Alexis Rochelle Kirsten McIntyreFernanda Mendoza CervantesSydney Mock

*Special Departmental Honors.Only students who RSVP’d and permitted to have their name printed are included in this program.

Biochemistry, B.S.A.

Molecular BiosciencesGraduating Seniors by Major

Jose NavarroAshley NeelyJennifer NgoDalena NguyenKimberly NguyenVivian NguyenDaDaren NguyenDarrion NguyenThao Nguyen NguyenSharon NguyenVinhSon NguyenIsabella OrozcoNihanth PalivelaSSteven ParishGrace ParraRiya PatelEmily PenaThoa PhamCindy PhanMayte Rodriguez

Riley SamaniegoReilly SampleLyndsey SandowBronwyn ScottVanessa Serrano Nishtha SharmaMMariah SigalaSarah SongSky SvatekEliana Tesfaye Brittnie TranJulie TranDerek TranJoshua Joshua Derek UrsuaTracey VuongKristen WaheedAndrew WangNicole WeberEthan WigginsAnqi Zeng

*Special Departmental Honors.Only students who RSVP’d and permitted to have their name printed are included in this program.

Biochemistry, B.S.A.

Molecular BiosciencesGraduating Seniors by Major

*Special Departmental Honors.Only students who RSVP’d and permitted to have their name printed are included in this program.

Plant Biology, B.S.Garrett FloresSoa Olivares

Alex Tran

Sally AlpiniAshley BaladhaySarah BaylessCole CodyTu DoanJames GerdesRRaquel JaegerClarissa MartinezBrandilyn MoneneAlex Moon-WalkerFernando PulidoMartha VillalpandoKhoa VuAAvery WolfeBlake Young

Microbiology, B.S.

Peyton Busby*Emily LyMadison SartorStephanea SotcheffJonathan Teetsel

Cell and MolecularBiology, B.S.A.

Cell and MolecularBiology, B.S.

Molecular BiosciencesGraduating Seniors by Major