Profile for Scott Cooper

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Scott Cooper

Professor
Biology University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Specialty area(s)

Effects of hibernation on blood clotting in 13-lined ground squirrels.

Brief biography

I began teaching at UW-L in 1995. I am currently a full professor in biology with a 50% appointment as the director of Undergraduate Research and Creativity.

Current courses at UWL

Radiation Biology BIO 333
Molecular Biology BIO 435
Molecular Biology Lab BIO 436
Bioinformatics BIO 440
Molecular Mechanisms of Drugs and Disease Action BIO 443
Triathlon ESS 100

Education

B.S. Biochemistry - Michigan State University, 1986

Ph.D. Biochemistry - University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1992

Post-Doc Pathology - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1993-1995

Career

Teaching history

Molecular Biology lecture consists of four sections: central dogma, regulation of gene expression, cellular processes, and current topics in molecular biology.  Another focus of the course is in learning how to read primary literature.

In Molecular Biology Lab students work on two projects that are part of the research programs of other faculty in biochemistry or cell and molecular biology. This allows the students to participate in a real research experiment. This also exposes them to several aspects of biotechnology research; CRISPR, QPCR, site directed mutagenesis, cloning, and computer modeling. The students write their results in a peer-reviewed journal format.

Bioinformatics is a team taught course that focuses on the many applications of bioinformatics and the theoretical algorithms underlying these computer programs. There are four sections to the course; Databases, Phylogenetics, Genomics and Proteomics.

Molecular Basis of Disease and Drug Action examines the biological basis of many non-infectious and non-cancerous diseases and the drugs used to treat them. For each disease the students are given three perspectives; pathology, pharmacology and clinical. This course is team taught by Scott Cooper (pathology), Aaron Monte (pharmacology) and several M.D.s from local hospitals (clinical). There are five units in the course; Pathology and Pharmacology, Inflammation, Cardiovascular, Neurological, and Genetics. Students also give oral presentations on assigned diseases.

Radiation Biology is a course primarily for nuclear medical technology (NMT) and radiation therapy (RT) majors. It focuses on the effects of radiation on biological systems. The lab involves both exploring the properties of radiation, and the effects of radiation on biomolecules and cells.

Professional history

My research focuses on 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. I typically have 6-8 teams of 3-4 students working on different aspects of this project.  This research is funded by the NIH.

Research and publishing

  1. Bonis A, Anderson L, Talhouarne G, Schueller E, Unke J, Krus C, Stokka J, Koepke A, Lehrer B, Schuh A, Andersen JJ, Cooper S. Cardiovascular resistance to thrombosis in 13-lined ground squirrels. Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 2018
  2. Cooper, S., Lloyd, S., Koch, A., Lin, X., Dobbs, K., Theisen, T., Zuberbuehler, M., Bernhardt, K., Gyorfi, M., Tenpas, T., Hying, S., Mortimer, S., Lamont, C., Lehmann, M., Neeves, K. Temperature effects on the activity, shape, and storage, of platelets from 13-lined ground squirrels.  Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 187(5), 815-825, 2017.
  3. Cooper, S.T., S.S. Sell, M. Fahrenkrog, K. Wilkinson, D.R. Howard, H. Bergen, E. Cruz, S.E. Cash, M.T. Andrews, and M. Hampton, Effects of hibernation on bone marrow transcriptome in thirteen-lined ground squirrels. Physiol Genomics:
  4. Blake W. Sauey, Jon J. Amberg, Scott T. Cooper, Sandra K. Grunwald, Roger J. Haro & Mark P. Gaikowski, Digestive physiology comparisons of aquatic invertebrates in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Freshwater Ecology 2016
  5. Cooper, S., Sell, S., Nelson, L., Hawes, J., Benrud, J. A., Kohlnhofer, B. M., Burmeister, B. R.’ Flood, V. H., Von Willebrand factor is reversibly decreased during torpor in 13-lined ground squirrels. J Comp Physiol B, 186(1), 131-139, 2015.
  6. Cooper ST, Richters KE, Melin TE, Liu ZJ, Hordyk PJ, Benrud RR, Geiser LR, Cash SE, Simon Shelley C, Howard DR, Ereth MH, Sola-Visner MC. The hibernating 13-lined ground squirrel as a model organism for potential cold storage of platelets.  Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol, 302(10), pp 1202-8, 2012.
  7. Patrick R. Gonzales, Timothy D. Walston, Laureano O. Camacho, Dana M. Kielar, Frank C. Church, Alireza R. Rezaie, Scott Cooper. Mutation of the H-helix in Antithrombin Decreases Heparin Stimulation of Protease Inhibition. BBA Proteins and Proteomics, 1774 (11), pp 1431-1437,

Kudos

presented

Scott Cooper, Biology, presented "From Burrow to Bedside: Blood Clotting in Hibernating Ground Squirrels" at BloodWorks Research Institute on Jan. 13 in Seattle, Washington.

Submitted on: Jan. 19

 

presented

Scott Cooper, Biology, presented "From Burrow to Bedside: Blood Clotting in Hibernating Ground Squirrels" at University of British Columbia on Jan. 11 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Submitted on: Jan. 19

 

awarded

Scott Cooper, Biology, received the award for Star Reviewer from American Physiological Society. Recognition of reviewers who consistently go above and beyond by providing an extraordinary number of reviews and/or particularly timely reviews in each year. The star reviewers are chosen by the Editors-in-Chief to recognize their outstanding service to the journal.

Submitted on: Sept. 19, 2022

 

published

Scott Cooper, Jennifer Klein, Todd Osmundson, Anton Sanderfoot, Jaclyn Wisinski and Alder Yu, all Biology, co-authored the article "Instructional Innovations in College-Level Molecular Bioscience Labs during the Pandemic-Induced Shift to Online Learning" in Education Sciences published on Wednesday, March 23 by MDPI. Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 230; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12040230

Submitted on: Mar. 23, 2022

 

awarded

Award recipients at 54th International Banquet on April 6, 2019 in La Crosse, WI were:

  • Virginie Cassidy, Global Cultures & Languages — Burt and Norma Altman Award in University Service
  • Scott Cooper, Undergraduate Research & Creativity — W. Carl Wimberly Founders Award for International Partnerships
  • La Crosse Public Library, La Crosse Public Library — Burt and Norma Altman Award in Community Service
  • Hoang Nguyen, Accountancy, and Ningyuan Wang, Statistics, — International Student Academic Excellence/Internationalization Award
  • Alessandro Quartiroli, Psychology — Burt and Norma Altman Award in Leadership
2019 marks the 54th anniversary of the International Banquet. The UW-La Crosse International Engagement & Education (IEE) invited the La Crosse community to attend the 2019 International Banquet! The International Banquet began as a celebration and an opportunity to share the rich diversity and culture the international students & scholars bring to UW-La Crosse and the community and is now a celebration of all our international connections. The Banquet includes entertainment performed by international students/staff/faculty/community members and an internationally themed menu. W. Carl Wimberly Founder's Award for International Partnerships - This award was established to recognize an outstanding person that has contributed to the development of long-term excellence in international programming. Burt and Norma Altman Awards - Burt and Norma Altman are longtime supporters of international education. Over many years that have opened their home and hearts to UWL international students and they continue to support international initiatives for our campus. In their honor, these awards were established in recognition of outstanding contributions to the advancement of international education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the categories of Leadership, University Service and Community Service. The Academic Excellence/Internationalization award recognizes an outstanding international student for academic achievement and contributions to the internationalization of UWL. This award is offered to graduating, undergraduate students who have met all graduation requirements. This year’s award goes to two outstanding students who have been engaged across campus, and in the community, throughout their studies at UWL.

Submitted on: April 8, 2019

 

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