current events

Latest News

Latest News and Events

  • June 2020
    • Project #ChemicalBlooms re-launches for 2020. Thanks to all that are participating!
    • ➚ Luke has been cited 200 times. Woohoo!
    • May 2020
      • Luke receives a Plant Journal-PSNA Early Career Award!
      • ➚ Luke's paper on cork biosynthesis is published in Scientific Reports.
    • April 2020
      • Luke accepts a tenure-track faculty position at the University of Minnesota Duluth!
    • March 2020
      • @PlantsRChemists gets its 1750th follower - 2000 here we come! #PhytochemicalFriday
    • February 2020
      • ➚ Luke is interviewed about phytochemicals and food on the new podcast "Evolution Eats".
      • Luke travels to the University of Minnesota Duluth and Northern Michigan University to give talks about phytochemical research.
    • January 2020
      • Luke travels to the 2020 Plant and Animal Genome conference in San Diego, giving a presentation on using citizen science to catalyze research and a poster on sorghum surface chemistry.
    • December 2019
      • #PhytochemicalFriday celebrates two years of phytochemical communication!
    • November 2019
      • ➚ Luke's paper on teaching interdisciplinary thinking with Medicinal Plant Chemistry is on ChemRxiv!
      • @PlantsRChemists gets its 1500th follower!
    • October 2019
      • ➚ Collaborator Gianfranco's paper (Luke co-author) is published in Plant Biotechnology Journal!
      • Luke co-teaches UNL BIOS368 Plants In Human Medicine, managing a two-week module on analyzing plant chemicals with learning objectives relating to chemistry, biochemistry, biology, and the integration of those fields.
      • Luke gives a poster presentation at the UNL Center for Plant Science Innovation Symposium on his work with sorghum waxes.
    • September 2019
      • Luke travels to Duluth, MN to give an invited seminar on plant chemistry to a joint meeting of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Department of Biology.
      • Evan Updike leaves the polyacetylene project to start working on a Master's degree in biotechnology in Ed Cahoon's lab.
    • August 2019
      • Luke spends one week in Columbus, Ohio at Chemical Abstract Services' (now "CAS") Headquaters with the other CAS SciFinder Future Leader awardees.
      • Luke attends the American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Diego, CA.
      • ➚ Collaborator Tao Feng's paper (Luke co-author) on FAD2 duplications in Apiales and Asterales genomes is published in Plant Physiology!
    • July 2019
      • Luke travels to the 2019 meeting of the Phytochemical Society of North America, delivers one oral and two poster presentations, wins a travel award and the best postoctoral poster award!
    • June 2019
      • ➚ Project #ChemicalBlooms is launched - a citizen science venture to characterize plant chemical blooms across the globe.
    • May 2019
      • ➚ Luke is awarded a SciFinder Future Leader Award from the American Chemical Society's CAS division!
      • Luke is awarded a travel award from the Phytochemical Society of North America to help attend their 2019 meeting
      • Luke is named to the Young Members Committee of the Phytochemical Society of North America
      • Undergraduate student researcher Evan Updike graduates from the UNL Biochemistry program! Will pursue a Master's degree in biotechnology starting in the Fall.
    • April 2019
      • Luke delivers two guest lectures in UNL's Plant Biochemistry course: "Plant Specialized Metabolism", and "The Evolution of Specialized Metabolic Enzymes".
      • Luke gives an invited presentation at the UNL Life Sciences and Supercomputing Symposium. "Opening new research avenues by creating links between disparate data repositories".
    • March 2019
      • Luke volunteers at the UNL Women in Science event.
      • Undergraduate researcher Elizabeth Schmitz joins the Cahoon lab to work with Luke on sorghum waxes.
      • @PlantsRChemists gets its 1000th follower!
    • February 2019
      • Luke gives an invited talk on fatty acid-derived natural products at the UNL Department of Biochemistry Seminar Series.
    • January 2019
      • Luke travels to San Diego, California to attend the 27th Plant and Animal Genome conference.
    • December 2018
      • @PlantsRChemists gets its 800th follower!
    • November 2018
      • Luke gives a video guest lecture on plant secondary metabolism at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater.
    • October 2018
      • ➚ Luke's paper on polyacetylene biosynthesis is accepted to Plant Physiology!
      • Luke travels to Omaha, Nebraska, to give an invited talk at the Biology Graduate Seminar
    • September 2018
      • Luke develops and administers a hands-on active learning module in UNL's "Plant in Human Medicine" undergraduate course. In this two-week module, students analyze a medicinal plant using thin-layer chromatography, a bioactivity assay, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry then communicate their finding via a mini-symposium.
    • August 2018
      • ➚ Luke is awarded an NSF Plant Genome Research Program Postdoctoral Fellowship!
      • ➚ Cahoon Lab paper on new hydroxy fatty acids is accepted at Nature Plants! (Luke co-author)
    • July 2018
      • Luke travels to Rochester, MN to give a talk on carrot polyacetylenes at Botany2018
    • June 2018
      • Luke is awarded a Center for Plant Science Innovation Travel Award
    • May 2018
      • ➚ Collaborator Yanjun Guo's paper on fern cuticular waxes is published, Luke coauthor, in Annals of Botany
      • Luke travels to the annual Interdisciplinary Plant Group meeting and delivers a research talk.
      • Evan Updike joins Luke in Ed Cahoon's lab to work on carrot polyacetylenes.
    • April 2018
      • ➚ 'phylochemistry' package updated with several new functions.
      • Undergraduate researcher Evan Updike joins the Cahoon lab to work with Luke on carrot polyacetylenes.
    • March 2018
      • ➚ Plants Are Chemists blog switches to shorter, weekly posts
      • ➚ Collaborator OkTae Kim's paper on cytochromes P450 in medicinal compound biosynthesis is published, Luke coauthor, in Plant and Cell Physiology
      • ➚ 'phylochemistry' package updated with several new functions.
    • February 2018
      • Luke visits the University of Nevada in Reno to give a research talk and deliver a guest lecture.
      • ➚ February blog post on the ferns that hyperaccumulate arsenic
    • January 2018
      • ➚ Weekly Twitter blog #PhytochemicalFriday started!
    • December 2017
      • ➚ First version of Luke's R Package "phylochemistry" is released.
      • ➚ December blog post on the wild relatives of poinsettia
    • November 2017
      • ➚ November blog post on the chemistry of plant volatiles out: an interview with Indian scientist and recent PNAS author V.S. Pragaheesh
      • ➚ Review of plant specialty wax compounds published in Phytochemistry Reviews
    • October 2017
      • ASPB Plantae Fellowship awarded to Luke
    • September 2017
      • Luke led a presentation at UNL Natural History Museum's Sunday with a Scientist on the chemistry of plant roots
      • ➚ September blog post: an infographic on plant root chemistry
      • ➚ Article about systemic acquired resistance (Luke a co-author) published in New Phytologist.
    • August 2017
      • ➚ August blog article posted. Chemistry of sugar cane plants
      • Luke gave an oral presentation about specialty wax compound biosynthesis and was awarded best Postdoc poster award for work on polyacetylenes at the 2017 meeting of the Phytochemical Society of North America
    • June 2017
      • ➚ June blog article posted. Plant and fungus chemistry and the Salem Witch Trials!
      • ➚ Article on branched wax compounds is out in Plant And Cell Physiology
    • May 2017
      • ➚ May blog post is out on chemistry of plant pigments
    • April 2017
      • ➚ April blog post is on plant - bacterial interactions