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Still Life

Rockettes rock Jordan Center

Rockettes rock Jordan Center

November 19, 2009

Penn State laureate, School of Music host high school singers

Penn State laureate, School of Music host high school singers

November 18, 2009

Virsky Ukrainian Dance Company performs at Eisenhower

Virsky Ukrainian Dance Company performs at Eisenhower

November 17, 2009

Students to present major Disney production For The Kids

Students to present major Disney production For The Kids

November 16, 2009

Penn State celebrates Senior Day

Penn State celebrates Senior Day

November 14, 2009

Hershey breaks ground for Children's Hospital

Hershey breaks ground for Children's Hospital

November 13, 2009

Kronos Quartet performs at Eisenhower Auditorium

Kronos Quartet performs at Eisenhower Auditorium

November 10, 2009

Rally in the Valley excites fans

Rally in the Valley excites fans

November 6, 2009

Penn State Greeks strut their Broadway stuff

Penn State Greeks strut their Broadway stuff

November 1, 2009

THON 5K draws thousands

THON 5K draws thousands

November 1, 2009

Jazz masters wow audience

Jazz masters wow audience

October 28, 2009

Featured Video

2009 State of the University Address

2009 State of the University Address

Behind the scenes with stadium police

Behind the scenes with stadium police

Poultry science professor shares turkey news

Poultry science professor shares turkey news

Penn State Solar Decathlon 2009, part two: Natural Fusion goes to Washington

Penn State Solar Decathlon 2009, part two: Natural Fusion goes to Washington

Natural Fusion, Penn State's Solar Decathlon Team 2009

Natural Fusion, Penn State's Solar Decathlon Team 2009

Behind the scenes with the stadium concessions team

Behind the scenes with the stadium concessions team

Penn State's creamery, from the cow to the cone

Penn State's creamery, from the cow to the cone

Beaver Stadium Behind the Scenes and On the Air

Beaver Stadium Behind the Scenes and On the Air

Beaver Stadium Behind the Scenes: Video Board

Beaver Stadium Behind the Scenes: Video Board

Video gives students sneak peek at new campus location

Video gives students sneak peek at new campus location

Historic Old Main Bell removed from tower for restoration and display

Historic Old Main Bell removed from tower for restoration and display

Hardison named T. Ming Chu professor

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Ross C. Hardison, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been named the T. Ming Chu professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. He was appointed by the Office of the President, based on the recommendations of his colleagues and Dean Daniel Larson in the Eberly College of Science, in recognition of his national and international reputation for excellence in research and teaching.

Hardison's research focuses on the molecular basis of gene regulation and evolution, an area important for fundamental issues in developmental biology and for exploring practical applications. Hardison's work is part of the worldwide effort to determine and understand genomic DNA sequences from many species, including humans, which is revolutionizing the biological sciences.

In a collaboration that began around 1990, Hardison and Webb Miller, professor of biology and of computer science and engineering, developed computer tools to align long sequences of genomic DNA in order to find strong candidates for functional sequences in portions of the genome that do not code for proteins. Some regions of this "noncoding" DNA have been found to be involved in regulating the expression of genes. These tools were a key part of Hardison's participation in the landmark studies of the International Mouse Genome Sequencing Consortium.

In 2000, Hardison and Webb Miller shared the Faculty Scholar Medal for Life and Health Sciences for their collaborative work in developing new computational methods for the analysis of gene structure and function. Their work led to Web-based computer servers, such as PipMaker, the Globin Gene Server and GALA that have become an international resource for scientists working on DNA comparisons, hemoglobin mutations, and other areas of research. Hardison's current experimental work uses bioinformatics approaches to identify candidate regulatory elements for erythroid genes throughout the genome, which he then tests in cultured mammalian cells.

Hardison's work also has been recognized with a National Institutes of Health Research Career Development Award in 1987 and, in 1998, he shared an award in the Special Recognition Program for Collaborative Instructional and Curricular Innovation at Penn State for the course titled "Genetic Analysis."

Hardison joined the faculty at Penn State in 1980 as an assistant professor of biochemistry. He was promoted to associate professor in 1986 and to professor in 1991. He has been director of the Center for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics at Penn State since 2003 and was director of the Penn State Center for Gene Regulation from 1992 to 1997. He has served on many committees in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Eberly College of Science and the University.

Before coming to Penn State, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology from 1977 to 1980, a graduate research fellow in biochemistry at the University of Iowa from 1973 to 1977 and a research assistant in chemistry at Vanderbilt University from 1972 to 1973. He has held visiting positions at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and at the Biomedical Research Centre at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry at Vanderbilt University in 1973 and his doctoral degree in biochemistry at the University of Iowa in 1977.

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