Professor Yongku Cho has been awarded a $3M R01 grant from the National Institutes on Aging to study the tau protein in Alzheimer’s disease. The project will be a collaboration with Prof. Jesse Rinehart at Yale University and Prof. Lukasz Joachimiak at the University of Texas Southwest Medical. The overarching goal is to elucidate how phosphorylations and other protein modifications in the tau protein affect its toxicity and structure.

To study tau phosphorylation, they will use a synthetic biology approach to produce tau proteins with exact phosphorylation patterns in E. coli. Using this approach, they recently demonstrated that a single phosphorylation could impact the ability to assemble into potentially toxic forms that cause more aggregation in cells. Through this project, they aim to identify the molecular signature in the tau protein responsible for its toxicity in the brain.

Warmest congratulations to Dr. Cho on this remarkable accomplishment!

We are thrilled to introduce and welcome Professor Xiao-Dong Zhou to our academic family as he takes on a pivotal role in leading our clean energy engineering efforts. As a UConn Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Faculty, Dr. Zhou will also serve as the Director of the UConn Center for Clean Energy Engineering (C2E2), a special advisor on sustainable energies to President Radenka Maric and Vice President for Research Pamir Alpay, the Nicholas E. Madonna Endowed Chair in Sustainability, and the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund Professor in Sustainable Energy. He will also hold joint appointments in the Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering departments.

Dr. Zhou comes to UConn from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette) where he served as the Stuller Endowed Chair in the Chemical Engineering Department and the director of the Institute for Materials Research and Innovations. In 2021, the Electrochemical Society named Zhou a Fellow for his efforts in clean energy innovations. Since 2017, Zhou has secured more than $23 million in grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Department of Energy. Prior to UL Lafayette, Zhou worked as a professor of chemical engineering at the University of South Carolina where he was honored the prestigious J. Bruce Wagner, Jr. Young Investigator Award for demonstrating exceptional promise in the field of high-temperature energy, materials, and processes. 

For an in-depth look at Dr. Zhou’s remarkable journey and his vision for clean energy, check out the full UConn Today article here.

Join us in welcoming Dr. Zhou as he embarks on this exciting chapter of his career. His leadership and dedication will undoubtedly inspire our students and faculty, propelling us to new heights in the pursuit of knowledge and sustainable innovation.