Two new faculty join the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine is excited to announce two new faculty members, Dr. Kevin Courtney and Dr. Rong Liu! Both assistant professors joined the department in August.
Courtney received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. He worked as a research assistant in labs throughout his undergraduate studies. After graduation, he continued to work as a laboratory technician in a lab that researched biophysics of membrane proteins.
“This experience set the foundation for my future career in academia,” Courtney stated.
About a year later, Courtney started his journey with a graduate school admissions scholarship to complete a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa. He then moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a postdoctoral fellow to work with HHMI investigator Edwin Chapman, Ph.D. His postdoctoral experience involved a combination of in vitro biochemistry and neuronal cell biology to characterize molecular mechanisms that regulate synaptic transmission.
In his career, Courtney has been awarded several undergraduate research awards, graduate school poster presentation awards and dean’s scholarship award for graduate school thesis work. He has also received a travel award from the Biophysical Society to attend a conference to give an oral presentation on his research.
In his spare time, you might find him outdoors competing in 50-km trail races. Some unique facts, Courtney has been vegan for 20 years and enjoys obscure independent music.
Interview with Kevin Courtney:
How did you get into your field of science? Was there a specific “a-ha” kind of moment?
I became interested in my field of science after a family member was diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder. In order to better understand this disease, I focused my interests on studying biochemistry and cell biology. I worked in a research lab throughout my undergraduate studies, which solidified my future trajectory.
Why did you choose to come work for West Virginia University?
I chose to join West Virginia University due to a combination of the stimulating research environment and the beautiful hilly landscape that surrounds Morgantown. I particularly appreciate that WVU performs high caliber research, within a relatively small community.
What are you hoping to accomplish at WVU?
At WVU, I am hoping to develop a productive and enjoyable research environment where lab members can explore their curiosities. My goal is to have fun doing research and training students, while working towards making meaningful discoveries that have real-world impacts.
What is special about WVU to you?
The PRT! I also really appreciate the welcoming and supportive culture of the Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine Department and the audience engagement during seminars.
What would you tell a new student going into the BMM program, or what stood out to you from your educational experience and training to give advice to students?
Attempt to master the published literature on your particular research topic over time and remain up to date on current developments in your field. Daily pubmed and bioRxiv email notifications of new research is very helpful for this.
What is the most rewarding part of your position?
While I have only just begun my time at WVU, I expect the most rewarding part will be to work with trainees and to watch them develop into mature scientists.
What is the best thing about being in your career/what you do?
I consider my work a combination of art, literature and science. It’s an opportunity to be creative and be continually doing new things.
What is your research about?
Our cells, and the compartments within our cells, are surrounded by a lipid membrane that serves to keep the inside components separate from the outside. My work examines the mechanisms that regulate how these lipid membranes fuse together to carry out a wide range of cellular functions. For example, the fusion of lipid membranes is a critical process that underlies how neurons communicate, how our immune systems respond to infection or how our cells deal with toxins. Disruptions in these membrane fusion processes can result in severe disease. The goal of my work is to better understand how proteins and lipids work together during membrane fusion and apply any novel insights into developing new strategies for the treatment of disease.
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Liu received her bachelor’s degree in medicine from Shandong University in China.
“With my father being a physician, I have grown to appreciate how medical science can be applied to sustain life,” Liu said. “Pursuing a career in medicine had thus always been my major aspiration since a young age.”
After she graduated from medical school, Dr. Liu obtained research training in cardiology and a clinical residency focused on cardiovascular diseases.
“These experiences ultimately led to my interest in contractile proteins and inspired me to pursue a Ph.D. overseas to explore more in biomedical research.”
In 2012, she accepted the Thomas C. Rumble Graduate Fellowship from Wayne State University and joined Dr. J-P Jin's laboratory to study actin regulatory proteins in cardiovascular diseases. In her career, Liu’s research was recognized by several awards and fellowships across scientific institutions. These include the student research achievement award from Biophysical Society during her Ph.D. career and the postdoctoral fellowships (IRTA and L’Enfant Biomedical Fellowship) from NHLBI, NIH.
In her spare time, Liu enjoys listening to podcasts, particularly the Lex Fridman podcast, as she is inspired by his interviews to diverse guests including scientists, authors, musicians and historians with a wide variety of topics. Liu also likes to be outside and explore nature.
“I’m really excited to join WVU, and I look forward to working with you all.”
Interview with Rong Liu:
How did you get into your field of science? Was there a specific “a-ha” kind of moment?
I was fortunate to be guided by great mentors throughout my career in science. My postdoc training at NIH also allowed me the unique opportunity to work with many amazing scientists from all over the world, who have deeply influenced my research and career. There are many “a-ha” moments that come with this journey. I’m most excited about the advancement of light microscopy in recent years that enables us to see unprecedented molecular details which we could not see before. Because of this, microscopy has become one of the major tools used in my research.
Why did you choose to come work for West Virginia University?
I am really excited about the outstanding research programs here, in particular the protein biochemistry and visual sciences which my research focuses on. Another aspect of WVU that excites me a lot is the ease at which collaborations and interdisciplinary research can occur thanks to initiatives such as CTSI and Visual Sciences CoBRE. This will be extremely valuable for the accomplishment of my long-term goals.
What are you hoping to accomplish at WVU?
To improve our understanding of basic mechanisms underlying the visual and hearing processes, and with this knowledge, to identify new molecular targets for the treatment of the diseases. In addition, helping mentees’ career advancement and training the next generation of scientists are other important career goals for me.
What is special about WVU to you?
I found the department’s attention to junior faculty development is exceptional. In addition, the beautiful campus, the great minds and the potential of interacting with the brilliant students here are truly attractive to me.
What would you tell a new student going into the BMM program, or what stood out to you from your educational experience and training to give advice to students?
Enjoy what you are doing. Find a career that you are passionate about. Get help from your mentors.
What is the most rewarding part of your position?
When I helped students succeed. It could be as small as figuring out an experiment, or as remarkable as watching them graduate. Those moments are particularly rewarding.
What is the best thing about being in your career/what you do?
I love the process of discovery, to understand how things work, and this is exactly what science career offers. Indeed, there is no better time than right now to do research. We have more technology available to us now to make discoveries that were not possible in the past.
What is your research about?
We strive to understand how neurosensory cells function at the molecular level to enable our senses of hearing and vision. Our approach is to “rebuild” a sub-fraction of cellular processes with purified components and study individual molecular behaviors with advanced microscopy. This allows us to dissect molecular processes that may not be accessible in the complex environments of cells. The process of taking something apart and putting them back together is also very helpful in understanding how things work.
Check out their lab websites below:
Group picture from left to right: Karissa Gautier (Liu Lab), Shayna Redford (Liu Lab), Dr. Kevin Courtney, Jennifer McBrayer (Liu Lab), Dr. Rong Liu, Kamil Abbas (Liu Lab), and Juan Casas Doza (Courtney Lab)