Loesgen Lab News

Studying the Effects of the Microbiome on the Life-Cycle of the Floridian Local, Upside-Down Jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana

The project was led by former Loesgen Lab Postdoc Dr. Federica Montesanto and supported by Dr. Mark McCauley, in collaboration with the Martindale Lab (Cody Miner, Bailey Steinworth, Dr. Mark Martindale).

Loesgen Lab welcomes Andrew Vasey

Grayce Dyer Named 2026 Maurice Moore Summer Fellow

Loesgen and Strother Labs Paper Identifies New Therapeutic Leads to Treat Pain

Loesgen Lab Awarded Grant from the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen for her recent grant award from the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund!

Dr. Sandra Loesgen and Dr. James Strother Awarded Inaugural UF Chemistry Gator Angel Wing Award

Congratulations to Whitney Laboratory Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Sandra Loesgen and Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. James Strother for being awarded the inaugural UF Chemistry Gator Angel Wing Award!

Loesgen Lab Publishes Paper in the Flagship Journal for the International Society for Microbial Ecology

Their findings shine light on the microbiome of healthy Cnidarians and will aid in preservation efforts for these marine animals.

Loesgen, Strother, and Liao Labs Welcome Emily Lekas

She joins the lab as a research technician in the Loesgen, Strother, and Liao Labs.

Joe Mangun - 2025 Matthaei Ecological Scholar

The Carl and Marcella Matthaei Ecological Scholarship Fund at the Whitney Laboratory provides support for University of Florida scientists-in-training to have access to the Matanzas River Basin, where they can engage in its biodiversity, ecology, and conservation.

Loesgen Lab Welcomes Julia Sutton

She joins the Loesgen Lab as a visiting fellow this summer.

Ph.D. Defense Success for Erin Marshall!

As a natural product chemist, she focused on the discovery of medicinal natural products produced by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.

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.

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".

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).

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.

Dr. Sandra Loesgen Appointed Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen who is now appointed as an affiliate associate professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the UF College of Pharmacy.

Loesgen Lab published in Advances in Cancer Biology - Metastasis

Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Kaweesa and Prof Sandra Loesgen at Whitney Laboratory, who recently published with collaborators in Advances in Cancer Biology - Metastasis - "Combination of the natural product mensacarcin with vemurafenib (Zelboraf) combats BRAF mutant and chemo-resistant melanoma in vitro by affecting cell metabolism and cellular migration."

FIG 1 Heat-stressed symbionts have decreased ability to colonize aposymbiotic hosts.

Paper Published in Microbiology Spectrum Explores Heat Stress in Cnidarian-Agal Interaction

Congratulations to the Loesgen Lab for their contributions to a recent paper entitled, "Heat Stress of Algal Partner Hinders Colonization Success and Alters the Algal Cell Surface Glycome in a Cnidarian-Algal Symbiosis" published in Microbiology Spectrum that has implications of ocean warming on corals.

Dr. Loesgen and Colleagues Publish in Journal Cancers

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen and colleagues who recently published a paper in the special issue 'Pediatric Cancers' in the open access Journal Cancers entitled 'Altertoxin II, a Highly Effective and Specific Compound against Ewing Sarcoma'.

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen on New National Science Foundation Award

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Sandra Loesgen who was awarded a new three year National Science Foundation (NSF) Award in collaboration with Dr. Virginia Weis.

Loesgen Lab Publishes Paper in Molecules

Congrats to Loesgen Lab members Mahsa Khoshbakht (co-advised at OSU), Dr. Annika Jagels (Whitney Lab), and former Loesgen Lab members Jason Srey (undergraduate researcher) and Dr. Donovon Adpressa whose paper "Precursor-Directed Biosynthesis of Aminofulvenes: New Chalanilines from Endophytic Fungus Chalara sp." was recently published in Molecules.

Introductory figure of the Chalaniline B total synthesis

Loesgen Lab Publishes Collaborative Papers in MDPI and The Journal of Organic Chemistry

Congratulations to the Loesgen Lab, who collaborative papers "Total Synthesis of Chalaniline B: An Antibiotic Aminoxanthone from Vorinostat-Treated Fungus Chalara sp. 6661" and "Comparative Genomics of Eight Fusarium graminearum Strains with Contrasting Aggressiveness Reveals an Expanded Open Pangenome and Extended Effector Content Signatures" were recently published.

Dr. Sandra Loesgen Receives Grant from National Science Foundation National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Sandra Loesgen who was awarded a new three year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

Streptomyces strain, producer of Benditerpenoic acid

Buried Treasure: How a Bit of Soil Led to a Rare Discovery for Microbial Chemistry

Researchers from the Whitney Laboratory and the University of Florida Department of Chemistry identified a new molecule that could have medicinal purposes.

Loesgen Lab Publishes Paper in Angewandte Chemie

Congratulations to the Loesgen Lab, in collaboration with Dr. Jeffrey Rudolf, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Florida, and his lab for a paper titled "Discovery and biosynthesis of a structurally dynamic antibacterial diterpenoid."

Elizabeth Kaweesa of the Loesgen Lab Defends her PhD!

On March 9th, Elizabeth N. Kaweesa, a graduate student advised by Sandra Loesgen, Associate Professor of Chemistry, gave her Ph.D. defense seminar entitled “Screening and In Vitro Assessment of Cytotoxic Natural Products” and successfully earned her doctorate degree.

Dr. Sandra Loesgen in NPR Article

Dr. Sandra Loesgen was recently interviewed for the NPR article, UF Researchers Say Marine Products Show Promising Future In Medical Advancements

Kaweesa observing media with cancer cell

Brent Foster Publishes Article in the Palm Coast Observer on Dr. Elizabeth Kaweesa's research

Another one bites the dust: Scientist in Flagler investigates how bacteria in the soil can help combat skin cancer

Dr. Sandra Loesgen in GEO kompakt Magazine

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen, who was recently featured in an article in GEO kompakt Magazine, Die Unterwasserapotheke, or Underwater Pharmacy. The article highlights the natural products community efforts to find new medications from marine sources.

News Loesgen Lab Paper in Chemistry and Biodiversity

Congratulations to current and former members of the Loesgen Lab who recently published a collaborative paper titled "Biodiversity, bioactivity, and metabolites of high desert derived Oregonian soil bacteria" in Chemistry and Biodiversity.

New Loesgen Lab Collaborative Paper in mBio

Congratulations to the Loesgen Lab who recently published a collaborative paper titled "Transcriptomic, Protein-DNA Interaction, and Metabolomic Studies of VosA, VelB, and WetA in Aspergillus nidulans Asexual Spores" in mBio.