Loesgen Lab News

Whitney Scientists Develop New Approach for Drug Discovery

The scientists developed, tested, and verified a novel in vivo assay for analgesics (medications that relieve pain) using zebrafish larvae.

Evenings at Whitney YouTube Link - A Journey Around the Globe –How Microbes Can Provide Drugs to Combat Diseases

If you missed our September Evenings at Whitney, "A Journey Around the Globe – How Microbes Can Provide Drugs to Combat Diseases” with Dr. Sandra Loesgen, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory, the YouTube link is below.

Loesgen Lab Welcomes Johanna Bodenburg

Please welcome Johanna Bodenburg to the Whitney Laboratory! Johanna joined the as a student intern, investigating fungal natural products for the next six months.

Woman standing in front of scientific poster

Travel Awards Help Fund Trip to International Congress on Natural Products Research

Congratulations to Erin Marshall for receiving travel awards to fund her recent trip to the International Congress on Natural Products Research in Krakow, Poland. Erin received the 2024 American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP) Kenneth Rinehart Jr. travel award, UF GSC travel award and funding support from the Bailey-Niblett Family Endowment to attend and represent the Whitney Laboratory.

Bailey-Niblett Family Endowment Helps Fund Trip to Applied Hologenomics Conference

"Upon returning from the Applied Hologenomics Conference (AHC) 2024, supported by the Bailey-Niblett Travel Endowment, I have gained valuable knowledge and insights for my research on cnidarian-symbiosis," said Dr. Montesanto.

Loesgen Lab Welcomes Joe Mangun

Joe joined the Loesgen Lab to investigate the bioactivity of compounds isolated from marine bacteria while pursuing a Ph.D. in chemical biology.

Figures and graphics from three articles

Recent Papers from the Loesgen Lab

Congratulations to the Loesgen Lab for their recent papers that include a research article on bacterial compounds called eunicellanes, support for a Florida Seagrass study, and an article on how to navigate the academic curriculum - best approaches for scientific conferences.

Loesgen Lab welcomes Grayce Dyer

Grayce joins the Loesgen Lab to explore the chemistry of marine organisms for their biomedical potential as she pursues her Ph.D. in Chemical Biology.

Loesgen Lab welcomes Saje Green

Please welcome Saje Green to the Whitney Laboratory! Saje has joined the Loesgen Lab to pursue her Ph.D. in chemical biology, looking for new metabolites produced from marine bacteria.

Loesgen Lab welcomes Dr. Ayesha Saeed

At Whitney Lab, Ayesha will complete her benzothiazine synthesis project, characterize these novel compounds, and perform biological assays.

Student presenting their poster at a meeting

Bailey-Niblett Family Endowment Helps Fund Trip to American Society of Pharmacognosy Meeting

The Bailey-Niblett Family Endowment helped fund Erin Marshall's trip to the American Society of Pharmacognosy Annual Meeting in Rockville, Maryland. The meeting shares advances in the field of natural product and botanical chemistry to aid in the discovery of novel and/or bioactive compounds

Dr. Andri (Fred) Frediansyah's Fulbrighter Journey at the Whitney Laboratory

Dr. Andri (Fred) Frediansyah recently completed a Fulbright fellowship at the Whitney Laboratory in the Loesgen Lab. He joined the lab from October 2023 to March 2024 and has written the following about his experience.

Loesgen Lab welcomes Ines Michrafy

Please welcome Ines Michrafy to the Whitney Laboratory! Ines recently joined the Loesgen Lab as a Visiting Research Scholar.

Loesgen Lab Graduate Student Awarded NSF GRFP fellowship

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory, UF College of Chemistry graduate student Saje Green who was recently awarded a prestigious fellowship from The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)!

Antarctica Research Sampling for Drug Discovery

In January 2024, Dr. Federica Montesanto, a post-doc in the Loesgen Lab, participated in a two-week Antarctic expedition. The objective was twofold: to isolate bacteria and fungi potentially useful in drug discovery and to characterize the microbiomes of marine organisms and inorganic substrates found in these remote locations.

Whitney Researchers publish article in Science of the Total Environment

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory researchers who published an article in Science of the Total Environment -"Multicellular species environmental DNA (eDNA) research constrained by overfocus on mitochondrial DNA".

Strother and Loesgen Labs welcome Lucas Cathey

Please welcome Lucas Cathey to the Whitney Lab! Lucas joins the Strother and Loesgen labs as a Research Technician.

Loesgen Lab welcomes Dr. Andri Frediansyah

Please welcome Dr. Andri Frediansyah to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined ’s lab as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar Fellow sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and AMINEF (American Indonesian Exchange Foundation).

Open polyps of the mesophotic soft coral Swiftia exserta held in aquaria at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Gainesville, FL, USA. Photo courtesy of Jayci Grosso, and edited by Mark McCauley, contractors to the USGS. Photo is in the public domain.

Global Coral Reef Ecosystem Health Focus of Newly Created Scientific Resource Available for International Research

Scientists at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience are working to further our understanding of microorganisms and their relationship with cnidarians, like corals and sea anemones. Their findings were recently published in a Nature Communications paper, "Systematic review of cnidarian microbiomes reveals insights into the structure, specificity, and fidelity of marine associations."

Student Accepting award with faculty member

Dr. Barbara Anne Battelle Excellence in Scientific Communication Spring Awards

Congratulations to the spring semester recipients of the Dr. Barbara Anne Battelle Excellence in Scientific Communication Award - Justin Waletich, Schnitzler Lab Ph.D. Student, and Dr. Annika Jagels, Loesgen Lab past Postdoctoral Research Associate.

The tentacle of a one week old sea anemone expressing a coral biomineralizing protein (red) that was injected in its fertilized egg

Whitney Scientists and Collaborators Awarded National Science Foundation Grant to understand fundamental aspects of biomineralization

"We hope to uncover universal rules that cells use to control their microenvironmental 'reaction spaces' and regulate the biomineralization process across animals," says Martindale. “From this knowledge we hope to generate biominerals new to man.”

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.3c00148

Dr. Annika Jagels and Colleagues Publish in Journal of Natural Products

Jagels et al. discovered new fungal lipopeptides with potent in vitro and in vivo toxicity. The complex molecular structures were defined using state of the art techniques, including spectra from UF's Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Facility (AMRIS).

Loesgen Lab Welcomes Dr. Federica Montesanto

Please welcome Dr. Federica Montesanto to the Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined the Loesgen Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate.

Loesgen Lab welcomes Dr. Bastien Petit

Please welcome Dr. Bastien Petit to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen's Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate.

Dr. Sandra Loesgen Receives ASP Matt Suffness Young Investigator Award

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory Associate Professor of Chemistry for recently being selected as a recipient of the American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP) Matt Suffness Young Investigator Award.

Sandra Loesgen Co-Authored Article featured in UF News - Natural product discoveries support drug discovery research

In a series of recent papers, including one published Jan. 2 in the journal Chem, Jeff Rudolf’s group, in collaboration with Sandra Loesgen, discovered how bacteria craft unusual versions of terpenoids, known as eunicellanes. The discoveries by the team could open up new avenues to explore the eunicellanes as drug candidates.

Loesgen Lab Welcomes Anon Boonkerd

Please welcome Anon Boonkerd, a visiting scholar, to the Whitney Laboratory! While at Whitney, Anon will be joining Dr. Sandra Loesgen’s lab and investigating fungal natural products, bioassays, and compound identification.