The MRF Discovery Award recognized P. Andrew Karplus, Ph.D., whose contributions to biomedical research include landmark discoveries about the structure-function relationship of a diverse array of proteins, many of which are important to the understanding of problems in human health and agriculture.

Guided by the view that we can better understand what we can see, Dr. Karplus has focused his career on determining the three-dimensional structures of proteins, which he then weaves together with chemical and evolutionary considerations to determine how proteins carry out their functions.

He has made a number of seminal contributions to his field.  A landmark discovery was the 2003 “floodgate signaling” hypothesis he developed with Leslie Poole, Ph.D., that certain peroxide-degrading enzymes known as peroxiredoxins serve as switches that control cell signaling.  This hypothesis has strongly influenced research on aging, cancer and obesity-related diseases.

Dr. Karplus was Assistant and then Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology at Cornell University.  He was a visiting professor at Oregon State University in the mid 1990s before joining the faculty full-time as an Associate Professor and then Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics.  He served as department chair from 2007-2010.

Dr. Kevin Ahern holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Oregon State University and is currently the Director for Undergraduate Research and a Senior Instructor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Kevin’s immensely popular Biochemistry courses are well known at OSU and his students clearly benefit from his passion for and dedication to – the subject.  It’s not only OSU students, though, who are benefitting from his passion and dedication.

Kevin recorded his lectures along with his more than 100 biochemistry-related songs set to popular music and made them openly available to the World through his own YouTube channel.

In addition, he co-authored, with Indira Rajagopal, the textbook, “Biochemistry Free and Easy,” which he also made Open Access.  The open textbook now has more than fifty thousand downloads and the videos are closing in on the two million views mark.

We’re thrilled Dr. Ahern agreed to also make this work Open Access via the OSU Libraries and Press digital repository, Scholars Archive@OSU. View Library Page.

Ana, a senior in Biochemistry and Biophysics, is a member of the University Honors College.  An outstanding student, Ana has carried out undergraduate research in the laboratory of Dr. John Hays since early in her freshman year.  She won the top presenter award at OSU’s Celebrating Undergraduate Excellence event in 2012.  At the national level, Ana has won the prestigious McKnight Prize, for outstanding undergraduate researchers in biological chemistry.

In addition to her academic accomplishments, Ana has an exceptional record of service to OSU.  She has been active in the Honors Activities and Advisory Council of the UHC and in the UHC Council.  Ana serves as Vice President for Service in the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society at OSU, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the OSU Alumni Association.  She is also an Ambassador for the College of Science.

Deepthika is a junior majoring in Biochemistry and Biophysics, with minors in Chemistry and Psychology.  An Honors student with an excellent academic record, Deepthika’s achievements are not limited to the classroom. Early in her college career, Deepthika carried out a bioinformatics project on the reannotation of Phytophthora genomes.  She subsequently moved on to do research on the neuroprotective effects of vitamin E and its role in recovery from spinal cord injuries. She serves as an ambassador for both the College of Science and for the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and the Arts program.  She is an INTO Conversant Program Volunteer and an International Classroom Teaching Assistant. Deepthika has also, for the past two years, served as the lead editor for the undergraduate research journal, The Catalyst. This year, she is President of the OSU chapter of the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society.  She also serves as vice president of Phi Kappa Phi, and of the Biochemistry undergraduate club.