Thanks to two members of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, undergraduates pursuing majors in biochemistry and molecular biology or neuroscience will have the opportunity to receive a new research-based fellowship. Professor Emeritus James Bamburg and his wife, Senior Research Associate Laurie Minamide aim to support highly motivated students who are interested in a career in research.
Bamburg joined the department in the College of Natural Sciences in 1971 as an assistant professor. He was promoted to full professor in 1981 and served for five years as interim chair of the department – as well as 16 years as director of Colorado State University’s neuroscience programs. During his time with the department, he helped to initiate numerous major programs on campus that are still serving students today. Those include the B.S. major in biochemistry (created in 1983), Ph.D. student admissions to the neuroscience program (starting in 1992), the first combined B.S./M.S. degree at CSU (biochemistry, launched in 2002), the B.S. major in neuroscience (first offered in 2014) and the Integrated Degree Program in Neuroscience B.S. and Biochemistry M.S. (created in 2016).
Minamide came to CSU in 1984 and joined the Bamburg lab in 1988, becoming a senior research associate and lab manager. With other long-time research staff and colleagues, their lab provided a family-like training environment for more than 20 postdoctoral fellows, 40 graduate students and more than 160 undergraduates. Their research on biochemistry, cell biology and neurobiology of actin-regulated processes is widely cited and was supported for more than 45 years by grants from the National Institutes of Health. In addition, their research endeavors received generous support from private foundations and from family and friends.
The new fellowship has been named the James R. Bamburg and Laurie S. Minamide Endowed Research Fellowship for B.S. or B.S./M.S. Students. Third- and fourth-year students can be nominated each January to receive a minimum award of $1,000 for their support while doing research.
