Loesgen Lab News

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. Read More

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". Read More

This paves the way for the rapid deployment of eDNA approaches for any species of interest, without requiring laborious development of targeted approaches, thereby increasing the ease and utility of eDNA research for endangered species conservation and management. Read More

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

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). Read More

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." Read More

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. Read More

"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.” Read More

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). Read More

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

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

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. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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." Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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'. Read More

Please welcome Amelia Bunnell to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen's Lab and Dr. James Strother's Lab as a laboratory technician. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

Please welcome Dr. Oh-Seok Kwon to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen's Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

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. Read More

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. Read More

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

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. Read More

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

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." Read More

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

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. Read More

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. Read More

On February 9, Whitney participated in their second International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Global Women's Breakfast with 62 Countries to promote and celebrate Women and Diversity in Science. Thank you Dr. Sandra Loesgen and her lab for hosting again this year! Read More

Please welcome Mark McCauley, Ph.D. to Whitney Laboratory! He recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen’s lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Read More

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. Read More

Please welcome Erin Marshall to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen’s lab as a PhD Student. Read More

If you missed our Sip 'N Science recently with Dr. Sandra Loesgen the webinar is now on our YouTube channel. Read More

Join us for our December Webinar! Dr. Sandra Loesgen will share the interesting origins of some of our current health care pharmaceuticals, and why her lab focuses on microscopic organisms, or microbes for drug discovery. We will then take a global journey with Dr. Loesgen to discover where the microbes they work with are found, along with their chemistry and how they could help human health. Read More

Congratulations to previous Loesgen lab members and Dr. Sandra Loesgen for a new paper titled ""Biolayer interferometry provides a robust method for detecting DNA binding small molecules in microbial extracts." Read More

Elizabeth Kaweesa, Ph.D. Student in the Loesgen Lab, was recently a panelist at The American Society of Pharmacognosy's Diversity and Inclusion Committee Webinar - Fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Scientific Research Groups Read More

On November 5th, Paige E. Mandelare, a graduate student advised by Sandra Loesgen, Associate Professor of Chemistry, gave her Ph.D. defense seminar entitled “Chemical Signaling in Marine Fungal and Coral Systems” and successfully earned her doctorate degree. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Annika Jagels, postdoctoral research associate in the Loesgen Lab, for receiving a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG). Read More

Please join us for in celebrating Whitney Laboratory Postdocs and the contributions they make to the lab, U.S. research and discovery! Today we spotlight a postdoc in the Loesgen Lab. Read More

Congratulations to Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Sandra Loesgen who was awarded a new three year National Science Foundation (NSF) Award: URoL: MTM 1: Chemistry of cnidarian symbiosis: microbiomes role in association, morphogenesis, and protection Read More

Please welcome Annika Jagels to Whitney Laboratory! She recently joined Dr. Sandra Loesgen’s lab as a postdoctoral research associate. Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Whitney Laboratory, who recently published a paper about the chemistry of coral-algae recognition in Microbial Ecology titled "N-Linked Surface Glycan Biosynthesis, Composition, Inhibition, and Function in Cnidarian-Dinoflagellate Symbiosis." Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Loesgen, Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Whitney Laboratory, who recently published a paper in the Journal of Natural Products titled "Polyketides from Marine-Derived Aspergillus porosus: Challenges and Opportunities for Determining Absolute Configuration." Read More

Please welcome Associate Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Sandra Loesgen, and her lab to Whitney! The Loesgen Lab is focused on understanding the diversity and bioactivity of the chemicals produced by microorganisms, with an emphasis on compounds with medical applications. They employ a multi-disciplinary approach to isolate compounds produced by under-explored groups of microorganisms, and identify chemicals with anticancer, antibacterial, or antiviral activity. Read More