Summaries of Research Labs Involved

Dr. Bonnie Bratina, Microbial Ecology. Students in Dr. Bratina’s lab investigate microbial community diversity and interactions. Currently her lab is studying nitrification and denitrification in the sediments of the Upper Mississippi River in conjunction with the local Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center and examining microbial interactions with the manganese biogeochemical cycle in temperate and Antarctic lakes. Organisms involved in these processes are identified by sequencing their 16S rRNA using this data to create molecular phylogenies.

Dr. Scott Cooper, Molecular Biology.  Students in Dr. Cooper’s lab use molecular techniques to understand the effects of hibernation on blood clotting - ground squirrels that hibernate have increased blood clotting times to prevent clots from forming as their hearts slow and blood pressure drops.  We are trying to understand how the squirrels regulate primary and secondary hemostasis to accomplish this.  This has direct medical applications in organ transplants, storage of blood products like platelets, and treatment of hypothermia.

Dr. Nick Downey,  Cell Biology.  Dr. Downey’s research focuses on the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Trypanosomes have only one mitochondrion and the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is attached to the flagellum of the cell.  Students in his lab work to understand the connection between the flagellum and this mtDNA. The link is proposed to be the method used by the trypanosome to segregate its mitochondrial genome (and it’s mitochondrion). Students use bioinformatics approaches to identify candidate proteins that may be involved in mitochondrial segregation and mtDNA replication. The location of candidate proteins is observed using fluorescence microscopy.  Students disrupt gene expression with RNA interference and infer protein function from the phenotype of the cell. We hope this will identify new approaches to develop effective anti-trypanosomal drugs.

Dr. Anne Galbraith, Molecular Genetics.  Students in Dr. Galbraith’s lab study the control of meiosis.  Their current focus is on the meiotic roles of CDC7 and DBF4, two genes whose protein products are known to be interact at G1/S of the mitotic cell cycle in order to initiate DNA replication.  Because of their known mitotic role, the lab is trying to determine whether these two genes are also required for DNA replication during meiosis.  A variety of methods are being performed to test this hypothesis. For example, mutant alleles of the CDC7 and DBF4 genes are being examined for their ability to undergo DNA replication during meiosis using flow cytometry. In related experiments, biochemistry and molecular genetics are used to see if the two proteins are expressed at the same time and interact during DNA replication in meiotic cells.  In addition, other proteins that interact with the Cdc7 protein during meiosis will be identified so that their relationships can be ultimately characterized as well.  

 Dr. Mike Hoffman, Virology.  Students in Dr. Hoffman’s research lab are investigating several steps in the replication cycle of human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV3), a common cause of respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. One area of focus is understanding the sequences involved in regulating transcription and replication of the HPIV3 genome. In this research, students make mutations in the viral genome and then determine the effects of these mutations on viral transcription, genome replication and virus viability. A second area of research focuses on understanding how HPIV3 virus particles are assembled and released from infected cells.  In this research, students use a combination of genetic engineering, biochemistry, and cell biology to characterize interactions between the matrix protein and other HPIV3 proteins. Such interactions are important in the assembly of virus particles.  In a similar manner, interactions between the matrix protein and cellular proteins are studied to understand how the matrix protein triggers release of virus particles from infected cells. 

Dr. David Howard, Cell Biology.  Students in Dr. Howard’s research lab study how cells control movement.  Most students investigate the regulation of eukaryotic flagellar motility, using the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The signal transduction pathway used to control flagellar beating is not well understood for any organism.  Students are using biochemistry to purify the novel form of the enzyme PKA, which somehow plays a key role in control.  Following purification will determine its protein sequence. Students are also cloning and determining the expression pattern of a putative PKA gene. To determine the role of this novel PKA and of specific dynein motor proteins in live cells, students are using high speed video microscopy and image analysis to precisely measure flagellar beating in various mutants and inhibitor-treated cells.  This latter project is particularly well-suited for students who have little experience in molecular biology techniques because they can participate in experimental design and collect publishable data with minimal training. 

Dr. Peg Maher, Physiology.  Students in Dr. Maher’s lab focus on how nutrients and hormones affect hunger and satiety in healthy individuals and those with metabolic and eating disorders. Students may work with cells, tissues, animal models, and/or humans. Students working in her lab have the opportunity to conduct numerous types of nutrition assessments, biochemical assays, in vitro and in vivo intervention studies, and epidemiological studies.

Dr. Jennifer Miskowski, Developmental Biology.  Research in the Miskowski lab focuses on the molecular basis of gonad development in the model system Caenorhabditis elegans.  Students use a combination of forward and reverse genetics, cell biology, and molecular biology to increase our understanding of the cellular processes and molecules that underlie gonad formation.  Students utilize RNAi to specifically deplete the levels of one protein and analyze the resulting phenotypes.  Interesting phenotypes observed by RNAi have served as the basis for an ongoing genetic screen, where students are working to identify heritable mutations that render the same developmental defects. Additionally, students use traditional cloning techniques to generate and subsequently characterize GFP reporter proteins while others perform indirect immunofluorescence to determine the localization patterns.  These data will provide insight into how multicellular organisms develop.

 Dr. Aaron Monte, Medicinal & Natural Products Chemistry.  Students in Dr. Monte’s research lab work in two primary areas: 1) how the structure of various serotonin analogs affects their function and 2) the discovery and optimization of novel antimicrobial drug molecules from natural sources. In each area, there are opportunities for undergraduates to conduct multi-step organic syntheses of small drug molecules that are later to be evaluated pharmacologically or microbiologically by collaborators. In the first area, the construction of chemical analogs of serotonin ultimately leads to a better understanding of the structure and function of serotonin 5-HT2 receptors in the nervous system, and to the roles that serotonin plays in neuronal biochemical pathways. In the second area, the molecules prepared are analogs of a novel antimicrobial drug structures discovered recently in this lab. In either area, students would gain considerable hands-on experience in organic synthetic techniques, as well as in spectroscopic methods of analysis including 1H- and 13C-NMR, IR, HPLC, and GC-MS.

Dr. William Schwan, Microbiology.   Students in Dr. Schwan’s lab have the opportunity to work in one of four areas: type 1 pilus regulation in Escherichia coli, proline transporters in Staphylococcus aureus, detection of virulence factor genes in community-acquired S. aureus, and screening of natural products for antibacterial activity against clinically important bacterial species.  In this research, students will have the opportunity to grow and analyze different species of bacteria as well as use molecular-based (i.e. cloning, various types of polymerase chain reaction procedures, horizontal gel electrophoresis, Western blotting, Southern blotting, beta-galactosidase assays, etc.) and genetic (homologous recombination, transformation, transduction, conjugation) techniques. Some of the new, state-of-art equipment that they will be able to use will include a LightCycler for real time PCR and a phosphoimager.

Dr. Bernadette Taylor-Winfrey, Immunology.  Students in Dr. Taylor’s research program work on monoclonal antibody production and development of ELISAs for serologic tests and cellular immunology assays, including tissue culture bioassays and flow cytometry.  Current students are working on Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis as a possible etiologic agent of Crohn’s disease, testing of fungal extracts for immunosuppressive activity against T cells, and comparing the human immune response to an intradermal influenza vaccine versus standard intramuscular vaccine.

Dr. Todd Weaver, Biochemistry.  Students in this laboratory perform research in two main areas. First, the hemolysin system from Proteus mirabilis is used to characterize the activation of bacterial toxins during pore formation in order to characterize the structural differences between the secreted (active) and non-secreted (inactive) forms of hemolysin A. Second, the recruitment of low-barrier hydrogen bonds during enzyme catalysis is being characterized using mutant forms of fumarase C, collecting steady-state kinetic and X-ray diffraction data on each form.

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Last updated December 2007