proudly sport their new initials. In April was Heather Dickson whose dissertation Insights into the molecular mechanism of axon outgrowth by myelin associated inhibitors was overseen by mentor Anne Vojtek. Dr. Dickson plans to pursue post-doctoral research at Pennsylvania State University. • On August 13 Donald D. Raymond defended. His thesis Structural Studies of Genome Packaging in Phleboviruses 
was written while in Janet Smith’s lab. Dr. Raymond has headed over to Harvard’s Medical School to pursue postdoctoral studies in influenza vaccine development with Dr. Stephen Harrison. • One day later came Shameka Shelby, who studied with Debra Thompson. 
Her thesis was Spatial coordination of tRNA genes. Dr. Shelby will pursue postdoctoral studies in the mechanism of retinal homeostasis following detachment with David Zacks here at the University of Michigan. • Jennifer Gehret McCarthy,’s dissertation title was Production of Terminal Alkenes in Natural Product Biosynthesis: Structural Studies of Sulfotransferase and Thioesterase Didomains. 
Her mentor was Janet Smith, and she will pursue postdoctoral studies in structural biology of bacterial integral membrane proteins in the lab of Susan Buchanan at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. • In October Justin Hassler, defended with his Dissecting the biological function of the Unfolded Protein Response sensor Ire1α through gene deletion. 
His mentor was Randal Kaufman. Dr. Hassler will pursue postdoctoral research training opportunities while finishing his projects in Dr. Kaufman’s lab at Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute. • Rounding out the year was Swathi Krishnan, who was mentored by Ray Trievel,
her dissertation was titled Structural and Biochemical Insights into Methylation Site and State Specificity of JMJD2 Lysine Demethylases. Dr. Krishnan will pursue postdoctoral studies in histone modifying enzymes at Dr. Danny Reinberg’s Lab at the NYU School of Medicine.New master’s degree program in biochemistry launched
An intensive new program offered by the Medical School’s Department of Biological Chemistry allows students to earn a master’s degree (M.S.) in biochemistry in just one year. The program aims to prepare students for employment in the biotechnology 
and pharmaceutical industry, or for entry to a competitive Ph.D. program such as U-M’s. Applications are now being accepted for the first class of students, who will take a wide range of courses over two semesters while also taking part in research experience that culminates in a written thesis. Students will be mentored by Biological Chemistry faculty members who conduct research at the cutting edge of modern biochemistry and molecular biology. Current areas of research include structural biology, protein biochemistry, enzyme reaction mechanisms, molecular genetics, signal transduction, neurobiology, cell and developmental biology, and bioinformatics. The application deadline is May 1, but application in December or January is highly encouraged.
More information is available at http://www.biochem.med.umich.edu/?q=msprog and applications are submitted through U-M’s Rackham Graduate School’s site, at http://www.rackham.umich.edu/admissions/. This is the latest in a range of master’s degree options offered by the Medical School, in addition to medical degrees, and Ph.D. degrees offered in conjunction with Rackham.
For more information on all degree programs offered by the Medical School, visit http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/edu/.
For a list of master’s degree programs, visit http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/edu/masters.htm.
Most JMJD2 homologs display dual selectivity toward H3K9me3 and H3K36me3, with the exception of JMJD2D, which is specific for H3K9me3. In a recent paper published in Structure the authors report on the crystal structures of the JMJD2D⋅2-oxoglutarate⋅H3K9me3 ternary complex and JMJD2D apoenzyme. 
