Chemistry Research. It Takes A Village: Dr. Konkle’s Sabbatical Talk
(Walker, 2025)
News & Notes
On January 23rd, 2025, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Mary Konkle, gave a presentation on her research on a mitochondrial protein called mitoNEET, which plays a role in aging, neurodegeneration, cancer, and metabolic disease. Her interest in this protein stemmed from the unknown mechanisms of certain drugs treating type 2 diabetes. One potential target of these drugs was mitoNEET.
The first mystery about mitoNEET Dr. Konkle addressed was to determine what it interacts with. By mixing cellular contents with mitoNEET proteins and watching it interact with other molecules, she and her lab were able to determine which proteins mitoNEET binds.
After determining what proteins mitoNEET can bind, Dr. Konkle and her lab tackled the question of what mitoNEET does to such proteins. They found that it is involved in processes which are essential for preventing oxidative stress in cells. Oxidative stress is a state where the cell has too many unstable molecules to be processed by antioxidants, which can lead to cellular damage and disease.
The next step in her research is to connect what she and her lab discovered about mitoNEET to the broader context of an entire cell.
A recurring theme in Dr. Konkle’s work is that “interdisciplinary collaborators are essential.” In addition to involving professional researchers from other fields, Dr. Konkle was a mentor in the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP), a program which funds the STEM involvement opportunities for anyone who is both a STEM major and a member of a marginalized population. The students in this program have a 96% graduation rate, and most either enter graduate school or become a worker in a STEM field. Overall, Dr. Konkle’s work as both a researcher and a mentor have been vital in expanding the field of science to be more inclusive and more informed. To check out her lab’s most recent publications, follow the links below!
MitoNEET and Glutamate Dehydrogenase