Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

From proteins to biosensors

Tuesday, January 22, 2013, By News Staff
Share
AwardsResearch and CreativeStudents

Beckman Scholars gain real-world research experience

mackKorrie Mack’s first experience in a research lab involved unpacking boxes, organizing benches, assembling equipment and labeling countless drawers to help a new faculty member set up his laboratory during the fall of 2011. A year later, the senior biochemistry major in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, is cloning and purifying proteins, identifying their properties using mass spectroscopy and carrying out her own research in the area of protein-based biological sensors.

Mack and Manu Arul, a junior biophysical science major, are SU’s 2012 Beckman Scholars. Funded by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, the highly competitive program supports select students interested in chemistry, biochemistry, and the biological and medical sciences.  Beckman Scholars receive $19,300 in financial support over two summers and a full academic year for laboratory research, scientific meeting travel funds and research supplies.

Mack and Arul are now halfway through their Beckman Scholars program. They spent the summer of 2012 working in research labs and will continue working on their projects through the summer of 2013.  Mack works with Karin Ruhlandt, chair of the Department of Chemistry, on a collaborative project with Ivan Korendovych, assistant professor of chemistry; Arul works with Liviu Movileanu, associate professor of physics and director of the Biophysical Science Program in The College of Arts and Sciences. Both students are studying the potential of proteins for use as biological sensors, but they approach the topic from different perspectives.

Proteins are a vital component of all living cells and come in many forms. Proteins protect and provide structure to multi-celled organisms. Proteins regulate and protect the body chemistry, initiate or accelerate chemical reactions that are critical to cell function, and facilitate the transportation of oxygen and other vital substances within organisms.

With Ruhlandt and Korendovych, Mack studies a class of proteins that bind to metals (metalloproteins), which are involved in many biological processes. Korendovych’s laboratory has synthetically produced a metalloprotein nicknamed OrangeCat. Mack’s contribution to the research involves synthesizing genetic variations of OrangeCat and studying their properties and sensitivity to a class of “rare earth” metals called lanthanides. Mack is co-author of a paper, currently in process, based on the work.

When Mack began her undergraduate career, her goal was to go to medical school. She’s now set her career path on research and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry.  “Conducting my first experiment in a research laboratory was an epiphany moment for me,” she says. “I couldn’t get enough of it.  Working in a research laboratory enabled me to discover my passion.”

Arul is headed to medical school. He was recently accepted into the Early Assurance Program at the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University. Arul hopes to pursue a dual M.D./Ph.D. program at SUNY Upstate. His interest in the combined program was sparked by the research he is doing in Movileanu’s laboratory on nanopore technologies.

Movileanu’s research team engineers protein nanopores that can detect DNA-containing molecules. Nanopores—which are about 20 times larger than an atom (a trillion could fit on the head of a pin)—are devices in cell membranes through which proteins are transported in and out of cells, one molecule at a time.  The process causes a change in tiny electric currents flowing through the nanopores, which are unique to the type of molecule being transported. This characteristic enables scientists to use nanopore technology to identify and study individual molecules.

Arul is working with Movileanu to study the electrical signatures of cancer proteins. The goal of this research is to determine the feasibility of using nanopore technology to create new screening tools for early cancer detection. Arul is also a co-author on a paper, currently in process, based on the work. Arul plans to continue his research in the area of cancer detection technologies when he goes to SUNY Upstate.

“Working in a laboratory in a team setting is very rewarding,” Arul says. “When I came to SU, I toured Professor Movileanu’s laboratory and was hooked. Biophysical science allows me to integrate two areas of science in which I have a strong interest—biology and physics. I am also getting a strong research experience that will help me achieve my goals.”

To see a video of Mack and Arul, go here.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Calling All Alumni Entrepreneurs: Apply for ’CUSE50 Awards
    Tuesday, June 24, 2025, By John Boccacino
  • Swinging Into Summer: Syracuse International Jazz Fest Returns With Star Power, Student Talent and a Soulful Campus Finale
    Tuesday, June 24, 2025, By Kathleen Haley
  • Iran Escalation: Experts Available This Week
    Tuesday, June 24, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Retiring University Professor and Decorated Public Servant Sean O’Keefe G’78 Reflects on a Legacy of Service
    Tuesday, June 24, 2025, By John Boccacino
  • SCOTUS Win for Combat Veterans Backed by Syracuse Law Clinic
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette

More In STEM

WiSE Hosts the 2025 Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Undergraduate Research Prize Award Ceremony

This spring, Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) held its annual Norma Slepecky Memorial Lecture and Award Ceremony. WiSE was honored to host distinguished guest speaker Joan-Emma Shea, who presented “Self-Assembly of the Tau Protein: Computational Insights Into Neurodegeneration.” Shea…

Endowed Professorship Recognizes Impact of a Professor, Mentor and Advisor

Bao-Ding “Bob” Cheng’s journey to Syracuse University in pursuit of graduate education in the 1960s was long and arduous. He didn’t have the means for air travel, so he voyaged more than 5,000 nautical miles by boat from his home…

Forecasting the Future With Fossils

One of the most critical issues facing the scientific world, no less the future of humanity, is climate change. Unlocking information to help understand and mitigate the impact of a warming planet is a complex puzzle that requires interdisciplinary input…

ECS Professor Pankaj K. Jha Receives NSF Grant to Develop Quantum Technology

Detecting single photons—the smallest unit of light—is crucial for advanced quantum technologies such as optical quantum computing, communication and ultra-sensitive imaging. Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are the most efficient means of detecting single photons and these detectors can count…

Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History

Several key moments in Earth’s history help us humans answer the question, “How did we get here?” These moments also shed light on the question, “Where are we going?,” offering scientists deeper insight into how organisms adapt to physical and…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.