NEWS
Michael Harris earns his PhD
May 6, 2022
Michael was hooded at the Graduate School graduation by Dr. cook. Michael spent 5 years in the lab working on a number of projects that culminated in the defense of his dissertation titled "Expression and characterization of the membrane proteins TCR-α and γ-Sarcoglycan with the quantification of in vitro glycosylated γ-Sarcoglycan". You can see video of his hooding here at the 27:35 mark.
Three undergraduate students from the Cook Lab graduate in the Spring of 2022
May 7, 2022
Daniel Reed, Rachel Dolan and Alyssa Hickerson graduated in the College of Arts & Sciences graduation ceremony. All three students spent significant time in the Cook lab carrying out research.
Rachel Dolan participates in the Honors College Hooding Ceremony
April 24, 2022
Rachel received recognition for earning her Honors Degree after writing and defending her Honors Thesis titled "Using Lipid Nanodiscs for the in vitro Glycosylation of Membrane Proteins"
The Cook Lab Publishes in ACS Omega
April 8, 2021
Our work showing the in vitro glcosylation of two peptides and membrane protein was accepted and published in ACS Omega. With the use of NMR and Mass Spectrometry we were able to show that we could attach a sugar to these macromolecules in a membrane-like environment. The work was done by Leshani Liyanage and Michael Harris. You can read the abstract and access the journal article here.
Leshani Becomes the First PhD from The Cook Lab
December 13, 2019
Leshani Liyanage became the first to graduate with their PhD from Dr. Cook's lab. Leshani joined the Cook Lab in the fall of 2014. She will be joining the group of Dr. Jonathon Ditlev from the Sick Kids Institute in Toronto, Canada as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate. You can see her hooding ceremony here at the 24:15 mark.
Our First Manuscript was Accepted for Publication
October 29, 2019
Our first manuscript was accepted for publication! Undergraduate Michael Jamaleddine, who had worked on the expression of g-sarcoglycan from the first semester the lab was functional, was published in Protein Expression and Purificaiton. The work was made possible with the help of Leshani Liyanage and Michael Harris who are also co-authors. The paper describes the expression and purification of full-length g-sarcoglcyan, a membrane glycoprotein involved in Muscular Dystrophy. You can read the abstract and access the article here.
Three students hooded at Honors College Hooding Ceremony
April 29, 2018
Eston Blair, Libby Caldwell and Michael Jamaleddine were all recognized for completing their honors theses. All three students, as well as Megan Smith will be graduating in May of 2018! All four students have been in the Cook Lab since the beginning. Former lab members, Micah Gillezeau and Jamie Jennings will also be graduating in the Spring. Congratulations to all 6 students!
Michael Jamaleddine 
Micah Gillezeau
Two Undergraduates in the Cook Lab are Awarded Scholarships
Two undergraduates in the Cook Lab have received scholarships to carry out research this year. Both of these students have been active members of laboratory since their freshman year. We congratulate both Michael and Micah.
Michael Jamaleddine, majoring in Microbiology, Anthropology and Philosophy has been awarded the Wentz Scholarship which carries a stipend of $4,500. Michael will be working on developing the methods for glycosylating the membrane protein γ-Sarcoglycan using in vitro methods. This is in an effort to learn more about the structure, dynamics and function of the native protein which is involved in the development of Muscular Dystrophy.
Micah Gillezeau, who is majoring in Biochemistry was awarded the OSU Undergraduate Research Scholarship of $10,000. Micah will be studying the incorporation of membrane glycoproteins into novel environments, like nanodiscs, so that they can be glycosylated in vitro. He will be evaluating the enzymatic activity of N-glycosyltransferase and other modifying enzymes in these samples to provide the scientific community with knowledge about the use of these lipid/peptide assemblies as enzymatic compatible environments.
500 MHz Magnet is Installed!!!!
July 29, 2016
A 500 MHz Bruker magnet, purchased by Dr. Cook, has been installed in Physical Sciences. It was a long process (almost a year and a half) but the wait was well worth it. It currently has the capability to perform solution-state experiments on proteins. We look forward to recording lots of data with this instrument!
Micah Gillezeau makes it to the final of the 3MT competition and earns 2nd!
February 18, 2016
Second year undergraduate Micah Gillezeau placed second in the competition where presenters had 3 minutes and a single presentation slide to describe their research. Micah told the audience about his work with nanodiscs and how they can be used to assist in the glycosylation of membrane proteins in Dr. Cook's lab. He received his award from the Dean of Arts & Sciences Bret Danilowicz. Read a full write up on the competition here.
The Department of Chemistry Holds Its Alumni Bash
November 13-14, 2015
by Frank Blum
The Alumni Bash consisted of: a Welcome from Dean Danilowicz and Craig Jackson of the OSU Foundation; Tour of the Campus; Alumni Retrospectives; Keynote Address by Dr. Frank Wicks on SigmaAldrich History; Dinner at the Blum’s; Undergraduate, Graduate Student, Faculty, Chemical Professional, and Staff presentations; Department tours; OSU Football watch party; and dinner at El Vaquero. The participants included 12 alumni and spouses, 19 Graduate Students, 5 Undergraduate Students, 2 Chemical Professionals and 2 Staff Members. The presentations revolved around the particular interest in chemistry of the presenters, from research to teaching and their experiences at OSU.
2015 Grandparent University - Molecular World Building Was A Huge Success
June 24-26, 2015
by Chris Fennell
The second installment of the Chemistry Department participation in the 2015 OSU Grandparents University was held last week with Dr. Chris Fennell as lead organizer for Molecular World Building. With help from Dr. Gabriel Cook, Graduate Students Hamid Mortazavian and Shanaka Paranahewage and Undergraduates Cassidy Gierhart, Andrew Adams, and Holly Palmer, this event was, like Chemistry FUNdamentals a week earlier, a great success. In this course, grade-school students and their grandparents engaged in hands-on activities to learn about atoms, molecules, and molecular structure. Students and grandparents designed their own molecules which were fabricated on the Modeling Lab 3D printers, explored molecular interactions, and built their own molecular worlds on the OSU high performance computer.
Michael and Libby Make It To the Finals of the A&S Undergraduate 3 Minute Thesis Competition
February 19, 2015
Oklahoma State University microbiology sophomore, Ahmad Jamaleddine, placed first at OSU’s first undergraduate 3MT® competition. The College of Arts & Sciences Student Council (ASSC) hosted the competition as a way to get undergraduate students involved with the 3MT® experience. The final round of the competition took place on Feb. 19, 6 p.m., in 035 Murray Hall. Jamaleddine and 12 other College of Arts & Sciences undergraduates competed to share their research, using only one slide and a three-minute time limit, to an audience with no background in their respective areas of study. Read more about the competition here.