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Opening Alert!
Opening Alert!
We are looking for highly motivated lab members. Please email at motoki.takaku@und.edu to discuss opportunities!
2026
2026
Sreekar Nagaraju received the Best Poster Award at the 11th Annual UND Epigenetics & Epigenomics Symposium, held at the UND Memorial Union in Grand Forks, ND. This well-deserved recognition highlights his excellent research presentation and contributions to advancing epigenetics and epigenomics scholarship.
Sreekar Nagaraju received the Best Poster Award at the 11th Annual UND Epigenetics & Epigenomics Symposium, held at the UND Memorial Union in Grand Forks, ND. This well-deserved recognition highlights his excellent research presentation and contributions to advancing epigenetics and epigenomics scholarship.
Dr. Sakuntha Gunarathna received the Graduate Teaching Award in the Biomedical Sciences Department at UND for his excellent contributions to teaching and mentoring. This well-deserved honor recognizes his dedication to supporting students both inside and outside the lab.
Dr. Sakuntha Gunarathna received the Graduate Teaching Award in the Biomedical Sciences Department at UND for his excellent contributions to teaching and mentoring. This well-deserved honor recognizes his dedication to supporting students both inside and outside the lab.
Dr. Motoki Takaku received the Student Supporter Award in the Biomedical Sciences Department at UND, recognizing his dedication to mentoring, guidance, and student success. We are grateful for his supportive leadership and the positive environment he fosters across our lab and department.
Dr. Motoki Takaku received the Student Supporter Award in the Biomedical Sciences Department at UND, recognizing his dedication to mentoring, guidance, and student success. We are grateful for his supportive leadership and the positive environment he fosters across our lab and department.
Congratulations to Paige Bonnet for receiving the Edith Larson Award from the Department of Biology at the University of North Dakota. This honor recognizes Paige’s academic excellence, dedication to research, and outstanding contributions to the biological sciences.
Congratulations to Paige Bonnet for receiving the Edith Larson Award from the Department of Biology at the University of North Dakota. This honor recognizes Paige’s academic excellence, dedication to research, and outstanding contributions to the biological sciences.
We are proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students: Alex Samardzic. has been accepted into UND’s MD program with a scholarship, Paige Bonnet has been accepted into the Oncology Graduate Program at the University of Pittsburgh, and Quinn Rosten has been accepted into the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Dental Medicine.
We are proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students: Alex Samardzic. has been accepted into UND’s MD program with a scholarship, Paige Bonnet has been accepted into the Oncology Graduate Program at the University of Pittsburgh, and Quinn Rosten has been accepted into the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Dental Medicine.
Congratulations to Aerica Nagornyuk for being awarded the $1,500 School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) “Faculty for Students” Scholarship at the University of North Dakota in the Graduate discipline.
Congratulations to Aerica Nagornyuk for being awarded the $1,500 School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) “Faculty for Students” Scholarship at the University of North Dakota in the Graduate discipline.
We are proud to announce that Mr. Sakuntha Devaka Gunarathna has received the NISBRE 2026 Merit Award in recognition of his outstanding research contribution. The award, selected by the session Co-Chairs, includes a $500 honorarium and highlights excellence in scientific presentation and innovation.
We are proud to announce that Mr. Sakuntha Devaka Gunarathna has received the NISBRE 2026 Merit Award in recognition of his outstanding research contribution. The award, selected by the session Co-Chairs, includes a $500 honorarium and highlights excellence in scientific presentation and innovation.
Our 2nd cfDNA paper has been published in Communications Medicine "Exploring the mechanism of action of abemaciclib in breast cancer through circulating chromatin fragments": link
Our 2nd cfDNA paper has been published in Communications Medicine "Exploring the mechanism of action of abemaciclib in breast cancer through circulating chromatin fragments": link
2026.4.15 Poster award!!
2026.4.15 Poster award!!
Nobuki received poster award at IDeA State Cancer Trainee Research Conference Congratulations, Nobuki!!
Nobuki received poster award at IDeA State Cancer Trainee Research Conference Congratulations, Nobuki!!
March 2026: New Funding!!
March 2026: New Funding!!
Our collaborative project on ovarian cancer was selected for the ND EPSCoR FY26 STEM research seed award link
Our collaborative project on ovarian cancer was selected for the ND EPSCoR FY26 STEM research seed award link
2025
2025
Sakuntha D. Gunarathna’s first-author paper has been published in Communications Biology "Open chromatin-guided interpretable machine learning reveals cancer-specific chromatin features in cell-free DNA" : link
Sakuntha D. Gunarathna’s first-author paper has been published in Communications Biology "Open chromatin-guided interpretable machine learning reveals cancer-specific chromatin features in cell-free DNA" : link
Jenna Grindeland’s first-author paper has been published in Biochemistry and Cell Biology "Divergent ERα Co-factor Landscapes in Gynecological Cancers: Implications for Disease Progression and Therapy" : link
Jenna Grindeland’s first-author paper has been published in Biochemistry and Cell Biology "Divergent ERα Co-factor Landscapes in Gynecological Cancers: Implications for Disease Progression and Therapy" : link
Our collaborative study with Dr. Suzuki's lab has been published in in eLife "Inhibition of p38-MK2 pathway enhances the efficacy of microtubule inhibitors in breast cancer cells" : link
Our collaborative study with Dr. Suzuki's lab has been published in in eLife "Inhibition of p38-MK2 pathway enhances the efficacy of microtubule inhibitors in breast cancer cells" : link
Collaboration project has been published in Nature Cell Biology "Phase-separated NDF−FACT condensates facilitate transcription elongation on chromatin" : link
Collaboration project has been published in Nature Cell Biology "Phase-separated NDF−FACT condensates facilitate transcription elongation on chromatin" : link
Saotome Mika's first author paper has been published in Methods in Molecular Biology "Capturing Chromatin Organization by ATAC-seq and MNase-seq" : link
Saotome Mika's first author paper has been published in Methods in Molecular Biology "Capturing Chromatin Organization by ATAC-seq and MNase-seq" : link
Aerica and Behnaz wins best poster presentation awards in the Basic Sciences category at UND's SMHS 45th Annual Frank Low Research Day! Congratulations Aerica and Behnaz!!
Link
Aerica and Behnaz wins best poster presentation awards in the Basic Sciences category at UND's SMHS 45th Annual Frank Low Research Day! Congratulations Aerica and Behnaz!!
Link
Sakuntha wins 2025 JXTX+CSHL Biology of Genomes Travel Scholarship ! Congratulations Sakuntha !!
Link
Sakuntha wins 2025 JXTX+CSHL Biology of Genomes Travel Scholarship ! Congratulations Sakuntha !!
Link
2024
2024
Mikhala graduated ! First PhD from the Takaku Lab! Congratulations Dr. Mikhala Cooper-Robinson !!
Youtube link
Mikhala graduated ! First PhD from the Takaku Lab! Congratulations Dr. Mikhala Cooper-Robinson !!
Youtube link
Sreekar and Bappa talked about their work at Asilomer conference :
X/twitter link, Bioquicknews link
Sreekar and Bappa talked about their work at Asilomer conference :
X/twitter link, Bioquicknews link
Recent collaborative article came at Journal of Cell Biology "One step 4× and 12× 3D-ExM enables robust super-resolution microscopy of nanoscale cellular structures" : link
Recent collaborative article came at Journal of Cell Biology "One step 4× and 12× 3D-ExM enables robust super-resolution microscopy of nanoscale cellular structures" : link
Sakuntha and Bappa presented at the NSF-sponsored workshop : "Rapidly Addressing Gaps and Solutions in AI Education for Bioprocessing and Smart Manufacturing in Biotech (RAGSAB)" : link
Sakuntha and Bappa presented at the NSF-sponsored workshop : "Rapidly Addressing Gaps and Solutions in AI Education for Bioprocessing and Smart Manufacturing in Biotech (RAGSAB)" : link
Recent article came at Nucleic Acid Research on "Genomic transcription factor binding site selection is edited by the chromatin remodeling factor CHD4" : link
Recent article came at Nucleic Acid Research on "Genomic transcription factor binding site selection is edited by the chromatin remodeling factor CHD4" : link
2023
2023
2022
2022
2021
2021
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