Press – The Rizk Lab at IU South Bend

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Rizk lab in the spotlight

March 2022:

Rizk Receives Prestigious Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award

Professor Rizk was selected as one of a hand-full of faculty members to receive the IU Trustees teaching award. The award is given to outstanding teachers at IU who demonstrate consistent excellence in teaching. This year, Rizk’s proposal for the award focused on how he adjusted his efforts to accommodate the move to virtual learning due to the COVID pandemic. This is the second time Rizk receives this teaching award. He received it in 2018. Faculty are eligible to apply once every three years.

March 2022:

Rizk receives funding from the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund for Science Communication Outreach

Professor Rizk was awarded a generous grant from the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund to promote science literacy through the arts. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund supports education and research in biomedical sciences to improve human health. This grant will support Rizk’s efforts in bringing public awareness to climate change and human health through the art and science of protein structures. Rizk, along with IU South Bend graduate Maggie Fink (currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Notre Dame), will plan and hold a series of talks and workshops this summer and fall to increase public awareness and restore trust in science. This work is a continuation of the outreach efforts started by Rizk and Fink through their science communication blog: www.foldingmoonlight.com (Instagram @foldingmoonlight).

October 2020:

Rizk lab publication selected as “Editor’s Choice” Article

The article published in PEDS was selected as the Editor’s Choice Article. A symposium featured a presentation by co-author and former lab member Maggie Fink describing the findings. The symposium was attended by over 150 members of the international community of protein engineering. The symposium also featured a keynote talk by Prof. Birte Hocker from the University of Bayreuth, Germany.

Watch the full symposium here

September 2020

Rizk lab publishes in “Protein Engineering Design and Selection”

Read the full article here

August 2020:

Rizk lab receives Cottrell Scholars Instrumentation grant

The proposal titled: “Surface Plasmon Resonance for Analysis of Biomolecular and Surface Interactions” was awarded $10K by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement to offset the cost of the purchase of a surface plasmon resonance instrument. The SPR will help research in the Rizk lab as well as other labs in the department. It will also be important for expanding the scope of research based lab courses in biochemistry and analytical chemistry.