The U.S. Department of Defense released its Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program awards last month, and three faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences are part of the newly funded research efforts. One of the faculty members is Emad Tajkhorshid, professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics, Computational biology, and Pharmacology. Tajkhorshid and his research group are studying the movement of gases across biological membranes, a vital process for powering cells with oxygen and performing photosynthesis, among other things. The group is hoping to closely examine the role of proteins in these processes in order to better understand the impact of gas exchange in living cells and organisms.