NEWS
The Fusion Conference on DNA Replication/Repair Structures and Cancer
Bret and Abbey grabbed their passports and ventured all the way to Cancun, Mexico to attend the 2026 DNA Replication/Repair and Cancer Fusion Conference! Always great to catch up with friends and collaborators at conferences!
Bret gave a wonderful talk about ribonucleotides in telomeres, highlighting ongoing work in the Freudenthal lab.
Abbey presented an amazing poster about DNA repair in chromatin and won the Best Poster Award! She also did a great job participating at the conference, as she won the Most Engaged Trainee Award! Congrats Abbey!
Eli Newcomb Awarded IRACDA Postdoctoral Fellowship
Congratulations to Eli for receiving the KU Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA). The program prepares postdoctoral fellows for careers in academia through research and teaching experiences. We look forward to watching Eli continue to flourish as a postdoc!
Here is Eli celebrating with his favorite snack from the KUMC bookstore!
The Freudenthal Lab Hosted the NIH Director and Kansas Senator
In November, the Freudenthal lab was honored to host U.S. Senator Jerry Moran and Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During the visit, members of the Freudenthal lab were able to highlight research focused on understanding how DNA damage and repair influence genome stability and cancer development.
Importantly, the visit emphasized how sustained federal funding supports cancer driven research, as well as the training of the next generation of biomedical researches at KUMC.
Although a professional visit, we had to have some lab fun before hand!
We wanted to make sure that we had a good photo spot for the visit. Here is a silly photo of the lab checking out the photo location and lighting!
BRTP Awardees, Congratulations!
Congrats are in order for Abbey Vito for being awarded the Biomedical Research Training Plan Award!
In making this post, we realized we forgot to congratulate our last two BRTP awardees. So we will take this opportunity to congratulate Peyton Oden (2024) and Spencer Thompson (2023)!
The Freudenthal Lab Attends the 2024 Annual Meeting of EMGS
The lab went on an adventure to Rochester, New York, for the 2025 Annual Environment Mutagenesis and Genomics Society (EMGS) Meeting! We had a great time catching up with old friends and connecting with new researchers in the DNA damage and repair field. Continuing our long-standing participation in the conference, several lab members presented both poster and oral research presentations. All attendees received an EMGS Travel Award and multiple were recognized for their outstanding presentations! Spencer Thompson was awarded second place for the Best Student Poster Award, Abbey Vito was awarded first place for the Best Student Oral Presentation, and Dr. Eli Newcomb was awarded first place for the Best Early Career Investigator Oral Presentation. Congratulations to all our lab mates on their exceptional achievements!
New Face to the Lab - Luke Johnson
The Freudenthal Lab is pleased to welcome our newest member, Luke Johnson! Luke is a new graduate student joining the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to pursue his PhD. He joins us from Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska where he earned his BS in Biology. We will not be wasting any of our left-handed equipment as Luke is allegedly a leftie (ambidextrous). He enjoys cheering on the Chiefs, as well as spending time with his wife and dog. Welcome Luke!
Congratulations, Dr. Kaitlin DeHart!
Congratulations to Dr. Kaitlin DeHart! Dr. DeHart received her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology after successfully defending her dissertation "Mechanisms of AP-site Recognition, Repair, and Retention by APE1." We wish Kaitlin the best of luck as she begins her new journey as a Research & Development Scientist at MilliporeSigma!
The Lab Attends the 2025 Midwest DNA Repair Conference
The lab headed off to Ann Arbor, Michigan for this year's annual Midwest DNA Repair Conference. We were also happy to connect with new and old faces at the conference where students and post-docs were invited to share their research contributions with our regional scientific community. The lab was honored to congratulate Peyton Oden on her award for best oral presentation at the conference! We look forward to the next Midwest DNA Repair meeting!
Ava Hammons MASTERS Science
Congratulations to Ava Hammons on earning her Masters of Science in Bioinformatics with an emphasis in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Ava earned her MS from the University of Missouri in Kansas City while working full-time in the Freudenthal lab. We commend Ava on her hard work and acheivement! Congrats, Ava!
Abbey Vito Passes her Comprehensive Exam
Congratulations to Freudenthal Lab Member Abbey Vito on passing her comprehensive oral exam! The comprehensive exam is a rigourous test of a student's ability to formulate, critically assess, and defend a scientific research proposal. By passing her comprehensive exam, Abbey joins more senior graduate students in the lab in becoming a PhD Candidate. Great job on all your hard work, Abbey!
Spencer Thompson Awarded the Phillip and Marjorie Newmark Award
Spencer was awarded the prestigious 2025 Philip and Marjorie Newmark Award granted by the Department of Molecular Biosciences at KU Lawrence. Spencer was nominated for the award along with 3 other award nominees chosen for their outstanding research presentations, and was ultimately named the final award recipient following his successful presentation at the competition between nominees. Congratulations, Spencer!
Congratulations, Dr. Luis Cortez!
Congratulations to Dr. Luis Cortez on successfully defending his dissertation, "Structural and Biological Effects of Ribonucleotide Insertion into Telomeres!" Luis has earned his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology and is now continuing his journey towards an M.D. We wish Luis the very best as he embarks on the next phase of his medical training!
A Successful Student Research Forum!
Peyton, Spencer, and Kaitlin all presented at the 2025 KUMC Student Research Forum! Peyton was awarded the Joe R. Kimmel award for her oral presentation, and Kaitlin was awarded for first place oral presentation in her platform!
The Lab Attends the 2025 Mammalian DNA Repair GRC
This year, Kaitlin and Justin headed off to not-so-sunny Ventura, California for the 2025 Mammalian DNA Repair Gordon Research Conference (GRC) and associated Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). The GRS is an opportunity for graduate students and post-docs to present their work before investigator presentations at the GRC. At the 2025 GRS, Justin served as a session moderator and Kaitlin presented her work in an oral presentation. During free time, members were able to see the sights around Ventura and catch up with some familiar faces, as well as meet some new promising scientists! We look forward to Justin's participation in the following 2026 GRS, as an organizing co-chair!
New Face to the Lab - Elijah Newcomb
The Freudenthal Lab is pleased to welcome our newest post-doc, Eli Newcomb! Eli joins us from the Bloom Lab at the University of Florida as a seasoned biochemist with previous experience investigating DNA binding proteins including single strand binding proteins, sliding clamps and clamp loaders. Outside of the lab, Eli enjoys spending time with his son, Sam, and wife, Bea. As an avid Seattle Seahawks fan, we'll do our best to welcome Eli to Chiefs territory. Welcome Eli!
The Freudenthal Lab Attends the 2024 Annual Meeting of EMGS
New Face to the Lab - Anzhou (Enzo) He
The Lab attended this year's annual meeting of the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society (EMGS). We continued our long-time participation in the conference with members presenting both poster and oral research presentations. Justin Ling was honored as the second place winner of the 2024 Best Early Career Investigator Oral Presentation Award for his platform presentation! The lab looks forward to future contribution to EMGS and congratulates Dr. Ling on his acheivement.
The Freudenthal Lab is pleased to welcome our most recent new member, Enzo He! Enzo is a new graduate student joining the department of Cancer Biology and plans to begin research on our ongoing telomerase projects. You might recognize him around campus in what Enzo calls his "signature" blue jacket. He joins us from Franklin & Marshall University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and enjoys coding in his free time as well as sharing pictures of his two cats back home. Welcome Enzo!
Community Outreach Goes Global
The Freudenthal Lab was honored to partner with Global Ties KC for their On Demand Youth Leadership Program: Girls in STEM - Nepal. The lab hosted a talk, tour, and demonstrations for 16 promising young high school students from Nepal for this event. Thanks to all the organizers at Global Ties for their incredible hard work to make this opportunity possible.
Summer Conference Season
This May, Justin and Bret headed off to Rome, Italy to participate in the EMBO Workshop: "Telomere function and evolution in health and disease." The workshop was a great introduction to meet new experts in the Telomere field as the lab fully branches into researching telomore biology.
Later in June, the lab also headed off to 2024 Annual Midwest DNA Repair Symposium at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. This was a wonderful change to meet with several of our established collaborators and introduce our newest students to the conference. Several of our students were able to present posters and Justin Ling once again represented the lab winning the Best Postdoctoral Platform Presentation.
Exciting New Funding!
We are pleased to announce two new awards to fund new research in the lab. Dr. Freudenthal was awarded an R01 award from the NCI for his proposal to investigate "Ribonucleotide Processing in Telomere Maintenance and Integrity."
Funding for the Telomere wing of the lab was further expanded by a 2024 Emerging Leader Award granted by the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research.
The lab is honored to accept these awards to continue our research mission.
Welcome New Faces to the Freudenthal Lab
The Lab is pleased to welcome several new members this summer. We welcome IGPBS Student, Abbey Vito, who will be joining the lab to pursue her PhD. Abbey joins us from Omaha, NE, where she earned her BS at Creighton University.
We also welcome, Ava Hammons, joining us as a new laboratory technician. Ava joins us from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, MO. When she isn't working in the lab, Ava is working towards a MS in Bioinformatics at the Univserity of Missouri - Kansas City. Thanks for all of your hard work and help so far, Ava!
More pictures to come soon!
A Sucessful End to the 2023-2024 Academic Year
Join the lab in congratulating Peyton for passing her Comprehensive Exam! Peyton will fire back up experiments soon as an official PhD Candidate. We want to congratulate Peyton's accomplishment and acknowledge all of the hard work she put in studying for her exam.
Spencer Thompson and Kaitlin DeHart were also recognized for their outstanding performances at the 2024 Student Research Forum. Spencer was awarded the 2024 Santiago Grisolia Award. Kaitlin DeHart was awarded the 2024 Joe. R Kimmel Award! Congrats to both students on their great presentations.
