The Molecular Pharmaceutics & Drug Delivery Seminar Series Presents:
Dr. Michael Menze, Associate Dean, Research and Innovation, Biology Department – Molecular Physiology and Bioenergetics, University of Louisville
Lyophilization of Red Blood Cells
Thursday, November 30, 2023
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
PHR 4.114
In-Person/Hybrid
As an undergraduate student of Biology, Dr. Michael A. Menze was intrigued by the molecular mechanisms that allow animals to survive harsh environments. He earned his doctoral degree in Physiology and Biophysics, pursuing a collaborative project between the Institute for Zoophysiology at the University of Duesseldorf and the Institute for Molecular Biophysics at the University of Mainz, Germany.
He taught at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL, before joining the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY. A variety of agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), provided funding for his work. Dr. Menze has published over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.
Dr. Menze’s current projects include the dry preservation of red blood cells for transfusion in austere environments, stabilizing biomedical-relevant model cell lines at room temperature, and the long-term storage of genetic model organisms such as the fruit fly Drosophila. Recent focus areas also include the role of protein intrinsic disorder in liquid-liquid phase separations and the formation of biomolecular condensates as a prerequisite for desiccation tolerance in animals.