Research in the sciences at Gonzaga University covers a wide range of topics at the cutting edge of science, not just in the traditional definitions of the disciplines, but at the interface of biology, chemistry and physics as well. Below you will find short descriptions of the individual research interests and/or available projects in faculty labs.  If you are interested in any of these projects, or even if you simply have questions, please contact the faculty member directly. 

For more independent research opportunities, check out our neighbors across the river, the WWAMI Medical Education Program. Research faculty at WWAMI may have openings in their labs for Gonzaga undergraduates. Please see the descriptions of their research below.
If you have any questions, please see Christy Watson or contact the WWAMI faculty directly.

If your research will make use of the Gonzaga Greenhouse, you will find more information here.

Summer Research Positions

For students interested in applying for a GSRP summer 2012 research position, you must check with the specific laboratory below to make sure there is an open position.  Not all faculty have open research positions!
If you are still interested in applying, fill out the application on the Undergraduate Research Main page.

Scroll down to view more detailed information for all faculty members, or click on a faculty member’s name to go to that specific laboratory.

Biology Faculty:

Kirk Anders: eukaryotic genetics using yeast as a model organism

Julie Beckstead: interactions between invasive plant species and seed pathogens

Mia Bertagnolli:  signaling molecules involved in cell adhesion, migration and disease

David Boose:  genetic diversity

Alessandro Catenazzi:  amphibian biodiversity and conservation, ecology of wildlife diseases

Gary Chang:  ecology of predatory and herbivorous insects

Seth Coleman:  behavioral ecology and disease dynamics in freshwater fishes

Bill Ettinger:  regulating photosynthetic carbon fixation

Joey Haydock:  reproductive partitioning in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker

Hugh Lefcort: predator/prey relations in aquatic snails

Marianne Poxleitner: evolution of cocaine biosynthesis and genetic enhancement of crops

Robert Prusch:  cellular mechanisms of endocytosis

Nancy Staub: salamander evolutionary biology

Brook Swanson: evolution of complex mechanical systems in animals

Dan Williams:  Genetic analysis of neurodegeneration in the model system C. elegans

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty

David Cleary:  synthesis and characterization of extended inorganic compounds with applications to chemical sensors, batteries, and catalysis

Matt Cremeens: neuropeptides: neuroscience for the organic chemist

Jeff Cronk:  enzymatic and structural studies of β-carbonic anhydrase

Greg Gidofalvi:  computational chemistry/electronic structure

Kate Hoffmann:  cloning and structural characterization of NIS siderophore synthesis enzymes

Eric Ross: development of porous nanomaterials for bioanalytical applications

Jennifer Shepherd: rhodoquinone biosynthesis in parasitic helminths

Joanne Smieja:  household water treatments

Stephen Warren:  synthesis and development of a diagnostic agent for neurodegenerative diseases and type 2 diabetes

Jeff Watson: mechanism of bacterial HMG-CoA reductase, a target for novel antibiotics

WWAMI Faculty

Kenneth Roberts:  sperm maturation, function and fertilization with application to male infertility and contraception

Weihang Chai:  cellular and molecular mechanisms behind the growth of cancer cells, especially the mechanism that regulates telomeres

Leventa Kapás:   humoral/hormonal regulation of sleep in rodent models

Éva Szentirmai:   the links between sleep and metabolism

Jonathan Wisor:  neurobiological basis for sleep, biological rhythms, and sleep disorders therapeutics

Research in Biology

Research in the Anders Lab

I am interested in genes, chromosomes, and genomes: how they contribute to the traits of an organism, how they are transmitted during cell division, and how they can change from generation to generation. My research makes use of the brewer’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model eukaryotic organism, and more recently I have been exploring the genetic analysis of bacterial viruses called mycobacteriophages. With regard to yeast, my students and I are working to understand how a common mistake in cell division--resulting in an extra chromosome--affects phenotype, genome stability, and ultimately, fitness. We are currently studying the effects of duplicating the small chromosome 6. We discovered that an extra copy of chromosome 6 prevents viability, and that an imbalance in tubulin expression is one significant cause. We suspect that there may be additional gene dose imbalances that interfere with other cell functions when chromosome 6 is duplicated. Our current goal is to discover and characterize the other significant dose imbalances at the molecular level. We use a variety of methods, including recombinant DNA techniques, microbial genetics, and whole-genome microarrays. With regard to bacteriophage genes, whole-genome sequencing can identify the genes present in the phage genome, but the sequence alone rarely indicates what the function of each gene is. We are employing similar recombinant DNA techniques and microbial genetics as our yeast work to discover the functions of newly-identified genes in bacteriophage genomes.

Contact Dr. Anders
Get more information on the Anders Lab

Research in the Beckstead Lab

Projects will focus on microbial ecology, plant-pathogen interactions, and invasion biology.  I work on an invasive plant, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) that has devastated the Intermountain West.  My long-term goal is to eliminate this invasive species and provide land managers with tools to restore cheatgrass-infested natural areas to native plant communities.  I currently have two ongoing projects. 

Current projects:

One project is to learn more about a seed pathogen that kills cheatgrass seeds and is being investigated as a potential biological control.  Student-lead projects may include determining whether this pathogen can also kill other related Bromus species and whether strains on a given species are specifically adapted to that host.  We also want to figure out how the fungal seed pathogen undergoes sex so we can breed better biocontrol strains.

The other project is just beginning but is very exciting.  There are naturally occurring die-offs of cheatgrass in the Western United States.  Nobody knows who is causing these die offs.  We want to figure out if pathogens are involved and how to use these organisms to eliminate cheatgrass and facilitate restoration to native plant communities.

The research work will involve basic microbiology skills (aseptic techniques, making various types of agars, isolation of fungus, and inoculation experiments) as well as seed germination experiments and collecting samples in the field.  Preference will be given to students who have completed BIOL 102 and BIOL 201.  Please contact Dr. Beckstead, if you have an interest in working on these projects.

Contact Dr. Beckstead

Research in the Bertagnolli Lab

Dr. Bertagnolli is not accepting students for summer 2012.

As a cell biologist, I am interested in signaling pathways involved with cell adhesion and migration, and how alterations in these processes lead to disease. For example, many individuals with colon cancer have mutations in the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) gene, which affects cell adhesion and migration and ultimately results in tumor formation and metastasis. Patients with diabetes have altered signaling pathways that result in tissue injury.  Using cells cultured in the lab, we can manipulate the genetic and/or physical environment of the cells to mimic the conditions they would experience in patients with these conditions and then study specific parts of signaling pathways that are altered by these conditions.  Undergraduate students who participate in these projects become independent in the research laboratory and are exposed to basic laboratory skills as well as more advanced techniques such as cell culture and sterile technique, microscopy, gel electrophoresis and Western immunoblotting. Students typically take Cell Biology (BIOL 201) prior to working in my lab.

This project will focus on original experiments designed to study signaling molecules involved in pathways that lead to tissue injury in diabetes. Control epithelial cells grown in culture will be compared to those that are given high levels of glucose, similar to the conditions found in diabetic patients. Cell morphology, growth rate and adhesion will be analyzed under these conditions. In addition, the distribution of signaling molecules thought to be involved in diabetic pathways will be compared. Laboratory techniques used in these experiments include growing cells in culture, microscopy (both light microscopy and fluorescence microscopy), and image analysis. In addition, the student will gain significant experience in experimental design and data analysis, and the opportunity to interact with collaborators at the Providence Medical Research Center in Spokane.

Contact Dr. Bertagnolli

Research in the Boose Lab

Dr. Boose is not accepting research students for academic year research during 2011-2012.

The general topic of my research is genetic diversity in natural populations, and what it tells us about ecological and evolutionary processes. My primary research project is a collaboration with Dr. Julie Beckstead and colleagues in Utah, studying Pyrenophora semeniperda, a fungus that infects the seeds of native and introduced grasses in the western U.S. The fungus, known by its fans as “Black Fingers of Death” for the distinctive black reproductive structures it makes, is a potential biocontrol agent for cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), a highly invasive annual grass.
As part of this effort, I have been examining genetic variation in samples of the fungus from across the Intermountain West. I am also working with students who are studying samples of the fungus isolated from host plants other than cheatgrass, in an effort to see if the fungus specializes on host species in any way.

A second project on which I have been working for some time looks at genetic diversity in plants that inhabit ephemeral wetlands known as vernal pools. Vernal pools are shallow depressions that fill with water in the spring and become completely dry by the early summer. The animals and plants that live in vernal pools have evolved life cycles and other adaptations that allow them to survive this drastic change in conditions. As a result, many of the plants and animals that live in vernal pools are found only in vernal pools.
I'm looking at one particular group of vernal pool plants in the genus Navarretia, which includes about a dozen species and subspecies in vernal pools and other ephemeral wetlands throughout the western United States. The goal of the research is to understand patterns of relatedness among different populations, subspecies, and species, in order to generate hypotheses about how the group evolved and spread to its current range.
All of the projects in which I am involved use molecular genetic markers of some sort. Generally, I use either direct sequencing of regions of the DNA, or highly variable markers known as microsatellites. The projects involve isolating DNA, optimizing the techniques for applying the different markers, generating the data (e.g., doing the DNA sequencing), and then analyzing the data. Most of the work is in the lab, with a few opportunities to get out in the field and see the study organisms in their natural habitat. Students wishing to work on these projects should have a solid background in genetics and evolution, and some experience with the laboratory techniques involved (PCR, gel electrophoresis).

Contact Dr. Boose

Research with Dr. Catenazzi

Emergent diseases are threatening increasing number of species worldwide.  Among the most threatened vertebrates, amphibians are currently declining at staggering rates throughout the globe.  Several diseases have been associated with population declines and local species extirpation.  Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytritium dendrobatidis, is responsible for the collapse of amphibian faunas in Australia, California, Central America and the Andes.  Students in my lab work on topics related to the distribution of this disease along the Andes of South America and the foothills of the Rockies in northern Idaho.  Specifically, our work with Andean amphibians will test the recently proposed hypothesis that chytridiomycosis has spread in epidemic waves along the Andes, moving in opposite directions from two hypothesized introduction points.  We are using PCR-based assays to detect the presence of B. dendrobatidis in museum specimens preserved at several US, South American and European collections.  The aim is to build a time series of B. dendrobatidis infection that can be compared with the pattern of amphibian population declines caused by chytridiomycosis. This comparison will indicate whether the wave pattern seen from mapping the timeline of declines is matched by the temporal pattern of B. dendrobatidis infection in the Andes.  This work involves work in the lab, ie swabbing specimens and extracting DNA.

A second project, starting this fall, will gather data on population status and presence of B. dendrobatidis in populations of amphibian species that are threatened or that are endemic to the Pacific Northwest.  We will focus our efforts on endemic species from the foothills of the Rockies in northern Idaho.  We will visit sites where historical records (museum specimens) indicate the presence of these species in the past, and determine whether these amphibians are still occurring.  We will swab amphibians in the field to determine prevalence of infection with B. dendrobatidis.  Our goal is to compare distribution of amphibian species between past records and current distribution, and to assess whether chytridiomycosis is a threat to amphibian populations in the region.

Contact Dr. Catenazzi

Research in the Chang Lab

My research group examines the role of insects as consumers in ecosystems and the factors affecting their impact. Understanding the factors that influence the amount of resources that insects consume can improve our ability to manage weeds and other pests. I am conducting studies of two local ecological systems that are accessible to undergraduate researchers who are interested in developing their own projects. Both systems offer the potential to combine laboratory experimentation with field biology.

Current projects:

Highly motivated students who are interested in developing an independent project on the effects of urbanization on insect populations or communities are encouraged to contact me for more information.

Research in the Coleman Lab

My primary research program is based on a remarkable natural hybrid zone between the swordtail fishes Xiphophorus birchmanni and X. malinche in the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico, and has three major foci:
(1) The evolutionary divergence of communication systems used in mate choice.
2) Female cognition, mate assessment strategies, and the evolution of male displays.
(3) The ecological and evolutionary dynamics between environmental stress, inducible molecular defenses, and tumorigenesis.
In addition to these three research foci, I intend to develop a local research program investigating sensory, cognitive and behavioral ecology in the brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.

Current projects:

Effective control of invasive species requires understanding their population biology, which can be achieved through population genetic studies. Analyses of population genetic variation in invasive species can provide information on the history of the invasions, breeding systems, and gene flow patterns.  Moreover, population genetic studies of newly-introduced invasive species can tell us much about rates of genetic divergence among populations – a central issue in understanding the process of reproductive isolation and speciation.  This research project will investigate the population genetics between native and introduced populations of the brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans).

Dr. Coleman also has some expertise in the area of pigeon wing-beat sounds.  Read more about it in a recent article by Discovery.com.

Contact Dr. Coleman

Research in the Ettinger Lab

Several different lines of evidence suggest that changes in calcium concentration in the chloroplast may have a role in regulating photosynthetic carbon fixation (dark reactions). To test this theory, Dr. Ettinger is in the process of measuring the levels of calcium inside different compartments of the plant chloroplast. Many different ion selective electrodes or fluorescent metal binding dyes lack the ability to effectively discriminate between calcium and magnesium ions. The calcium sensitive biolumenescent protein aequorin has been routinely used to measure calcium in biological systems. The protein emits photons in proportion to the calcium activity in solution. A recombinant DNA vector (pMAQ6) has been developed that directs the expression of aequorin in the plant chloroplast stroma. Dr. Ettinger and his students are transforming common wall cress Arabidopsis thaliana with pMAQ6 with the hopes of measuring calcium concentrations in the chloroplast stroma, and is developing other vectors to direct the expression of aequorin and direct its alternate localization to the thylakoid lumen and the plant cytosol. This research requires skills developed in quantitative analysis (CHEM310, or CHEM240), and genetics and evolution (BIOL202) or molecular biology.

Current projects:

My students will be working on our project to measure Ca²⁺ concentrations in living plant chloroplasts.  We are using calcium-sensitive proteins as in-vivo probes of calcium concentrations. One such probe, Aequorin is a bioluminescent protein that luminesces in direct proportion to the amount of calcium present in solution. My collaborator, Carl Johnson, previously created an RBCS:aequorin construct to study calcium concentrations in the chloroplast stroma. Last summer my students modified Dr. Johnson’s vector to create two thylakoid-localized versions of Aequorin; one with an OE23 transit peptide, and the other with an OE17 transit peptide. The OE23:Aequorin and OE17:Aequorin chimeric genes have been successfully transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana plants. We have performed subcellular localization studies on the transgenic plants and have demonstrated that the plant transformed with the OE23:Aequorin construct is expressing Aequorin and localizing the protein to the thylakoid. We need to do further studies to assess the localization of the OE17:Aequorin protein product. Furthermore, many of the localization studies have been performed on Tobacco plants. We greatly desire to create transgenic tobacco plants using our vectors. This would enable us to perform much more comparative studies.
Another Calcium-sensitive protein probe we are working on is YC3.6, which is calcium-sensitive fluorescent protein. We have designed vectors that should express YC3.6 in plant cells and target the protein selectively to the chloroplast stroma using a transit peptide from the small subunit of Rubisco (RBCS), or to the thylakoid lumen using the transit peptides from either OE17 or OE23. The RBCS:YC3.6 construct was recently created and we are attempting to transform Arabidopsis thaliana plants with that construct. My students will also be working on cloning the YC3.6 gene into an E.coli expression vector. Overexpressing YC3.6 in E. coli will allow us to purify significant amounts of YC3.6 to be used in the study of the pH and oxygen sensitivity of the protein.

Contact Dr. Ettinger

Research in the Lefcort Lab

Please note that Dr. Lefcort accepts applications for summer research positions only.

I study how heavy metal pollution from mining affects competition and predator/prey relations in aquatic snails.  This summer I am looking for two students who will both work on two projects.

One project will test if snails will avoid moving on sediments containing heavy metals. The second study will test if exposure to an unpredictable predator environment during gestation and growth affects a snail’s later ability to detect and avoid heavy metals and predators. This study builds on work from Psychology on children raised in unstable homes with unpredictable violence. The children’s brain development is altered and their later physiological responses to mental stress differ from children raised in normal homes.

Although most of the work will be in the laboratory the students need to be prepared to work outside gathering snails from the field.

Contact Dr. Lefcort

Research in the Haydock Lab

The general goal of the project has been to explicitly test hypothesis concerning reproductive partitioning in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker, which have been under study at Hastings Natural History Reservation in central coastal California since 1971. What is cooperative breeding and what is reproductive partitioning? Cooperative breeding refers to social species in which the parents as well as other individuals in the social group provide care for offspring (termed alloparental care). Reproductive partitioning refers to distribution of parentage in social groups in which more then one breeder of each sex competes to breed. In most cooperatively breeding birds, social groups only contain a breeding pair and their offspring that do not breed, at least in part due to incest avoidance, so reproductive partitioning is not an issue. Acorn woodpeckers are unusual among cooperatively breeding birds in that social groups can consist of up to seven males that are unrelated to up to three females within a single social group, in addition to their offspring that are also group members. Thus, reproductive partitioning, which can range from egalitarian with each individual obtaining about equal reproductive success to high skew where a single individual of each sex monopolizes breeding, becomes an important component of each individual’s fitness. Several hypotheses have been proposed that make predictions for the amount of skew, based on factors including within sex relatedness, competitive ability and probability of successfully dispersing to another group. The goals off my students have involved collecting parentage information to test a specific one of these hypotheses.
A critical question to understanding the fitness costs and benefits of sociality in acorn woodpeckers is to obtain parentage information on reproductive partitioning within groups that contain at least two potential breeders within a sex. Because group structure varies considerably (number of potential breeders, age structure, genetic relatedness, and genealogical relationship), information on many groups is required to build a complete picture.
Previous work with students from Gonzaga University has produced the development and optimization of microsatellite primers to determine parentage as well as individual genotypes for 800 individuals (on up to 12 loci). My students have worked on relatively small sets of groups that are similar in structure (e.g. 2 potentially cobreeding males and a single female breeder) addressing specific hypotheses. Despite the wealth of data produced thus far, more data is needed, especially in complex social groups (see project 2 below). In addition, I hope to begin development of a new technique that will allow for the determination of mating success among cobreeding males by detection of sperm in the perivitelline layer of eggs (see project 1 below).

Current projects:

Project 1:
Proximate mechanisms of sperm competition and skew. The eventual goal will be to determine potential proximate mechanisms by which skew is maintained and paternity determined by genotyping sperm present on the perivitelline membrane of eggs. The idea behind this relatively new technique is to identify the sperm trapped between the ovum’s perivitelline layers as an allelic record of sperm competition close to the time and place of fertilization. It involves the relatively simple procedures of collecting eggs either prior to or immediately after the start of incubation and removing the perivitelline membrane. The technical hurdles involve eliminating the maternal and/or embryonic DNA attached to the membrane that, due to their higher concentration, can potentially confound PCR amplification of the sperm DNA, and matching the remaining DNA to potential sires. In collaboration with Dr. Bart Kempenaers of the Max Planck Institute, I hope to have a student working on refining this technique and overcoming the technical hurdles mentioned above. In the case of acorn woodpeckers, the application of this technique over the next few years offers the opportunity to infer information about the mating history of females that, because copulations are almost never seen, cannot be obtained observationally. This will be particularly valuable in the following contexts: (a) Is sperm from both males in groups with 2 cobreeder males (and a single breeder female) generally present at fertilization, even though almost two-thirds of nests are sired by a single male? If not, then it would suggest that females copulate with only a single male for each clutch, in which case it is plausible that males could adjust their behavior according to copulatory access (e.g. for degree of effort in feeding nestlings) If sperm from both males is generally present, the question remains as to why one of the males is generally so much more successful at gaining paternity and has implications for breeders not knowing actual paternity; (b) Do sperm present differ between sequential nests involving the same coalition of males? If so, this would suggest that females copulate with a different male for each clutch, offering a mechanistic explanation for the observed switching of paternity between successive clutches; (c) In large, complex groups containing 2 joint-nesting females and/or 4+ cobreeder males this technique will be especially informative, particularly when such coalitions include younger sons that appear not to achieve their fair share of paternity (based on previously collected data). d) Do sperm present differ in sequential nests involving the same coalition of males and breeder females? If so, this would suggest that females are not consistent with what males they copulate with, again offering a mechanistic explanation for the observed switching of paternity between successive clutches.

Project 2:
Reproductive partitioning in complex groups.The other students working in my lab will continue to investigate the patterns of reproductive bias in large male coalitions (one student) and among complex social groups containing joint-nesting females and large male coalitions (a second student). While only 12% of groups between 2004 and 2008 involved 3 or more cobreeder males, 27% of breeder males lived in coalitions of 3 or more and are thus important to estimating the direct and indirect fitness benefits of cobreeding. Similarly only 15% of groups contain joint-nesting females, but 23% of breeder females live in coalitions. Preliminary data from the complex social groups suggest that nests produced by joint-nesting females are more likely to be multiply-sired than nests of single females and that there is no difference in the frequency of multiple paternity between nests with small vs. large coalitions of cobreeder males. Both of these patterns will be addressed in these student projects.

Contact Dr. Haydock

Research in the Poxleitner Lab

Current projects:

I currently have two projects underway in my lab. The first is a plant genetic engineering project to confer aphid resistance to roses.  The second is a bioinformatics projects to sequence and annotate Erythroxylum chloroplasts.

The first project is important because aphids are a major pest of many important food crops as well as ornamental plants.  This research will focus on transforming a miniature rose species with the enzyme b-Farnesyl Synthase (EBF).  EBF is responsible for making the sesquiterpene Farnesene that acts as an aphid deterrent as well as a kariomone to attract parasitic wasps that lay eggs in aphids, thereby destroying them.
Miniature roses grown in tissue culture will be transformed using a strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens previously engineered to contain the EBF gene. Rose plants will be regenerated from the transformed tissue in culture.  A series of plant growth regulators will initiate shoot and root growth until viable rose plants are obtained.  These plants can then be grown in a growth chamber or greenhouse. After transformants have been established they will be evaluated for the EBF gene using traditional molecular biology techniques. The transformed roses’ ability to deter aphids will be evaluated in studies conducted in growth chambers.

The second project will use Bioinformatics and Phylogenetics to better understand the evolutionary histories of the genus Erythroxylum.  There are over 200 different species of Erythroxylum.  Two species, E. coca, and E. novogranatense (commonly called “coca”) have been cultivated for thousands of years and cocaine, an alkaloid, isolated from the leaves.  However, the wild species do not produce cocaine.  This leads to interesting questions about the evolutionary relationships between the cultivated and wild species.  Current studies using morphological, chemical, and molecular data to create phylogenies are underway.  Unfortunately, DNA sequences commonly used to collect the necessary molecular information are problematic.
Sequencing an entire Erythroxylum chloroplast (or mitochondrial) genome will greatly enhance the information available to create accurate phylogenies. This project will begin by isolating DNA from Erythroxylum chloroplasts. The DNA will be sequenced using Solexa 454, or Ion Torrent sequencing technology.  This sequence will be annotated using common bioinformatics programs.  Once an Erythroxylum reference genome has been established alternative methods will be used to sequence multiple chloroplast genomes from previously isolated DNA. Differences among these sequences will be used to create more accurate phylogenies describing the evolutionary relationships of the genus.

Contact Dr. Poxleitner

Research in the Prusch Lab

Contact Dr. Prusch

Research in the Staub Lab

Salamanders communicate via pheromones. My research focuses on understanding the structure, function, and evolution of pheromone-producing glands.  Salamanders are known for their moist glandular skin, yet little is known about which glands actually produce pheromones other than the well-studied courtship glands on the male chin (known as the mental gland). While pheromones from the mental gland have been well studied, little is know about the pheromones that females produce or about the pheromones that males produce from non-mental glands sources. Interestingly, males of some species lack the pheromone-producing mental gland that is supposedly so important for courtship.  Do they produce pheromones from other glands?  Do they have pheromone genes?

Current projects:

1)  To identify pheromone producing glands in plethodontid salamanders we are starting a new project to first check the species’ genome for pheromone genes.  Ideally we would like to be able to do this with formalin-fixed specimens, so we don’t have to use fresh tissue from living animals.  Using primers for pheromone genes in Plethodon shermani, we will use the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis to identify pheromone genes in other species.  PCR products will be sequenced and compared to known pheromone genes.   Sequence results from this study will be used to build specific probes for in-situ hybridization projects to identity specific pheromone-producing glands. 

2) in situ hybridization studies: We design pheromone (PRF, PMF, SPF) specific mRNA probes to use with in situ hybridization to detect which glands, of the many in salamander skin, are actually producing pheromone mRNA in both males and females. Several questions can be addressed using this approach:  1) Where are courtship pheromones produced in males that lack specialized courtship glands?
2) Which glands in the post-cloacal region produce pheromones?
  

3) What is the morphology of the lateral line system in newts?  This project will use histological methods to answer this question.   The lateral line system is present in aquatic amphibians but not well described for newts.

Contact Dr. Staub

Research in the Swanson Lab

The Swanson Lab studies how complex mechanical systems evolve in animals. Specific current projects include: a study of the swimming performance costs of sexually selected male ornamentation in sword-tail fish, a study of the microstructure and impressive material properties in crustaceans, and a study of the effects of heavy metal pollution on fish feeding and swimming performance. Research students are involved in experimental design, data collection (in the field and in the lab), data analysis and presentations.

Current projects:

Project 1:
Comparative biomaterial analysis of fiddler crabs. This student will conduct nanomaterials testing of fiddler crab shells recently collected in the field. The student will become familiar with several testing techniques including toughness testing, bulk materials testing, nanoindentation and microindentation. These data will be compiled for 20 species and analyzed in conjunction with already-collected morphological data.

Project 2:
Manuscript writing for a comparative study of fiddler crabs. This student will analyze data that was collected this summer using several statistics packages, produce publication-quality figures presenting these data, write and revise a manuscript for submission this semester.

Contact Dr. Swanson

Research with Dr. Williams

My interest is focused on the molecules and cellular mechanisms involved in neurodegeneration that is triggered by reactive oxygen species. To do this, I utilize the genetic model system Caenorhabditis elegans and have developed a novel method to produce reactive oxygen species specifically in neurons. Expression of the photosensitizer KillerRed in the worm nervous system, then activation of KillerRed and production of reactive oxygen species by exposure to light, results structural and functional defects that are specific to the nervous system. This will allow for candidate genes to be examined possible roles in reactive oxygen species clearance or induction of neurodegeneration pathways, as well as unbiased forward screens to isolate mutants in which neurodegeneration has been perturbed.

Current projects:

The main project in my lab this year is to establish an illumination protocol that allows chronic reactive oxygen species production and measuring the extent of neurodegeneration. This will entail (1) general maintenance and strain generation of C. elegans in the laboratory, (2) design and production of an illumination protocol based on the spectral properties of KillerRed, and (3) implementation of this protocol to induce neurodegeneration and measuring the extent of functional neurodegeneration by behavioral assays and structural neurodegeneration by fluorescent microscopy. These experiments will establish a baseline and are critical to examine how neurodegeneration can be influenced by gene mutation.
A second project is aimed toward alternative uses for KillerRed, such as acute protein inactivation. This project involves (1) molecular biology and the generation of protein fusion constructs, (2) heterologous expression of KillerRed fusion proteins in yeast, and (3) illumination and assay of protein inactivation.

Contact Dr. Williams

Research in Chemistry and Biochemistry

Research in the Cleary Lab

Click here to download a description of Dr. Cleary's research interests.

Contact Dr. Cleary

Research in the Cremeens Lab

Like serotonin, neuropeptides are signaling molecules within the brain and gastrointestinal tract.  Problems with signaling often cause health problems. Despite the prevalence of neuropeptides within the brain and their importance, they are often poorly characterized under physiological conditions.  Our research aims to provide key structural characteristics of neuropeptides under physiological conditions for the sake of aiding the rational design of therapeutics.
Neuropeptides are found within neural tissue and bind to transmembrane G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). A given neuropeptide may interact with multiple receptors, each inducing unique effects within the nervous system. That they function as ligands to GPCRs, despite their often unstructured or only partially structured nature, is impressive. Whether or not the partially structured site displays a recognition motif is an open question. Directly identifying the functionally important characteristics of a given neuropeptide has been difficult because under physiological conditions they are primarily unstructured, which makes it rather challenging to obtain structural information for rationally designing therapeutics.

Current projects:

This research will target neuropeptides where a fundamental structural question relates to the cis-trans isomerization of an amino acid (proline). For example, under physiological conditions, endomorphin structural characteristics are unknown, and cis-trans proline isomerization might play an important role in receptor binding. Site-specific carbon-deuterium (C-D) labeled neuropeptides will be synthesized by solid-phase peptide synthesis and undergo spectroscopic characterization (IR, circular dichroism, and NMR). The insights gained from these studies will help unravel the complex nature of neuropeptide structure and specificity, which would ideally translate into more facile design of highly selective agonists and antagonists.

Contact Dr. Cremeens
Get more information on the Cremeens Lab

Research in the Cronk Lab

The carbonic anhydrases (CAs) catalyze a reaction of fundamental biochemical and physiological importance, the interconversion of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate ion

All CAs are zinc-dependent enzymes and a well-established mechanistic paradigm requires the coordination of substrate to the catalytic zinc ion (Zn²⁺). The structures determined for the b class carbonic anhydrases (β-CAs), common in plants and bacteria, generally fall into two distinct subclasses based on the observed coordination of zinc. One subclass of β-CAs coordinate Zn²⁺ tetrahedrally with four protein-derived ligands, and in this configuration access of substrate to the zinc coordination sphere is apparently blocked. The ability of substrate to coordinate to zinc is observed in the other structural subclass. The available evidence supports the hypothesis that the blocked configuration, as seen for example in ECCA, a β-CA from Escherichia coli, represents an inactive conformation of the enzyme, and that all such β-CAs can undergo a transition to an active conformation. In addition, a unique, non-catalytic binding mode for the substrate bicarbonate was discovered in ECCA that appears to stabilize the blocked, inactive form of the enzyme and seems to represent a regulatory mechanism.
This project specifically aims to characterize the allosteric bicarbonate site that is likely shared by many eubacterial β-CAs, including a number of pathogens (e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Salmonella typhimurium). The structural and functional effects of its disruption by targeted mutagenesis are to be investigated by the primary method of X-ray crystallography, supported by kinetic measurements. In view of its potential as a site for therapeutic intervention, the characterization of the allosteric site will be furthered, in collaboration with Stephen Warren and coworkers, by a virtual screen for potential non-substrate ligands and subsequent determination by crystallography of the structures of the binary complexes. Finally, the relationship between allosteric bicarbonate binding and the hypothesized structural transition in ECCA will be probed by testing the effects of mutations designed to shift the conformational equilibrium, The two observed structural subclasses serve as an explicit two-state model for regulation.
This project will be attractive to students with interest in biochemistry, particularly protein structure and enzymology. It integrates a textbook example of an extremely fast enzyme with allosteric regulation of enzyme activity. The project also emphasizes computational methods, including molecular graphics, modeling, and informatic methods of drug discovery.

A second project that is getting underway is a systems biology investigation of the effects of β-CA knockouts or attenuation of enzyme activity on metabolic flux and expression profiles in prokaryotic cells. The substrates of carbonic anhydrase are hubs in a metabolic network, and limitation of the rate of CO₂/HCO₃- interconversion is likely to have significant effects on a number of cellular systems. Existing methods of metabolic modeling, such as flux balance analysis, will be applied to these systems to predict the effects of loss of CA activity, and eventual comparison with systems data obtained for wild-type and knockout strains. The development of inhibitors, the goal of the first project, will in principle allow titration of CA activity, in order to examine the effects of varying levels of CA activity on the systems properties of the affected cells. This project will be mainly computational and curational in its early stages, and will be blended with experimental data as progress permits.

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Research with Dr. Gidofalvi

The governing principles that describe the motion of the electrons are contained in the Schrödinger equation, and its solution, the wave function, allows for the computation of physical properties of molecules (equilibrium geometries, electrostatic moments, spectroscopic constants, excitation energies to name a few). Though these fundamental laws have been known for many decades, the instantaneous Coulomb-repulsion between the electrons renders the computation of exact electronic wave functions impractical. Consequently, significant research effort has been directed towards developing approximate methods such as coupled-cluster theory and density-functional theory. While these approaches yield accurate results for molecules near their equilibrium geometries, they can also lead to erroneous predictions for excited state lifetimes and transition-state energies. Although more sophisticated methods, such as multi-reference configuration interaction, overcome these limitations, the gain in accuracy comes at a higher computational cost. 

My research interests are in the development of new computational methodologies that are both accurate and affordable. The graphically contracted function method shows great promise in achieving this goal. As it is in its infancy, there are several directions that I would like to explore in the near future. Recent work within the graphically contracted function approach has mainly focused on the ground states (lowest energy) of molecules, and I would like to extend of the method for computing excited-state energies and properties. Having the ability of computing these higher-energy states will be helpful for understanding chemical reactivity, electronic spectra, and the coupling between potential energy surfaces. In addition, the efficient computation of equilibrium geometries, vibrational frequencies, transition state structures, and reaction paths requires the development of algorithms for orbital optimization. I am looking for up to two students to help me with these projects over the summer. I believe you will find research in our group interesting, if any of these apply to you:

• You are interested in learning about how electronic structure relates to molecular properties.
• You want to know more about mathematical/computational techniques in chemical modeling.
• You want to learn scientific programming.
• You are intrigued by the quirky world of quantum mechanics.

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Research in the Hoffmann Lab

Bacterial pathogens must scavenge iron from their host for growth and proliferation during infection.  They have evolved several strategies to do this, one being the biosynthesis and excretion of small, high-affinity iron chelators known as siderophores.  Two general pathways for siderophore biosynthesis exist: the well-characterized nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-dependent pathway and the NRPS-independent siderophore (NIS) pathway, which relies on a different family of understudied and novel synthetases.  NIS synthesis enzymes fall into at least three distinct families (A, B, and C,) based on substrate specificity, and with few exceptions are associated with some of the most virulent and persistent bacterial infections (staph, anthrax, plague) We are initially interested in structurally characterizing this understudied family of enzymes, as the single example of structurally characterized NIS synthetase (a type A enzyme) has described a novel-binding fold and enzyme chemistry.  Further structural information, both within type A and new structures of types B and C, as well as clear information about the secondary substrate binding pocket, and higher oligomerization state, are the primary goals for our work.

Current projects:

Since NIS sythetases fall into three distinct families, we have identified several members of each subtype, and propose a parallel approach to cloning, expression and structural characterization.  Beginning with two identified siderophore synthesis pathways, we will structurally characterize the type A enzyme DesD from Streptomyces coelicolor and from Bacillus anthraxis we will explore the type A NIS synthetase AsbA and the type C AsbB structures, from the petrobactin siderophore biosynthesis pathway (an obligate siderophore associated with anthrax pathogenesis). We will compare our AsbA, AsbB structures with the structures of enzymes out of Yersina pestis (types A and C), and Francisella tularensis (type B), all of which were identified using bioinformatics. Investigation of these siderophore biosynthetic pathways will provide novel structural information for uncharacterized subtypes of NIS synthetases, which we intend to use to begin a long-term program exploring the kinetic and chemical activity potentially leading to therapeutics for bacterial infection, but also to the better understanding of new enzyme chemistries.

Currently all projects in the lab are in cloning stages, or are waiting for materials to begin cloning. As the genes are cloned into overexpression vectors, we will individually begin expression, purification and solubility tests to maximize efficient expression, and then progress to crystallization trials.

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Research in the Ross Lab

Our research involves developing material and methodologies for the chromatographic analysis of adsorption and partition events at lipid bilayers.  Such behavior between lipid bilayers and molecules or biomolecules can, among other things, influence a drug’s activity and toxicity, affect the activity of membrane proteins, and determine the bioaccumulation of environmental chemicals.  Furthermore, lipid bilayers are integral components in many biosensing and liposome-based delivery strategies and the characterization of solute adsorption behavior, both specific and non-specific, is crucial to the development and application of these technologies.  A substance’s retention time in column chromatography is related to partition and adsorption behavior between the stationary and mobile phases.  Given that the retention times of multiple substances, at picogram quantities, can be determined simultaneously from a single injection, chromatographic interrogation of such events offers a high-throughput alternative to more labor and sample intensive equilibrium methods. 
Recent work in our lab has produced an effective method for assembling lipid bilayers on nanometer-scale silica colloids which are now being used to create lipid bilayer-mimetic stationary phases for liquid chromatography.  In contrast to the widely utilized stationary phases from commercial sources (Regis Technologies, Inc.) that mimic a phosphorylcholine monolayer, our bilayer films retain the lateral mobility of individual lipids and can be easily formulated with natural and synthetic lipid compositions thus generating more realistic mimics of biomembranes.  Such stationary phases may provide partition data that is more predictive of behavior in natural and complex membranes.  Furthermore, the capacity to functionalize the lipid bilayers with components such as signaling molecules or glycolipids should extend the analytical capability of our bilayer systems beyond those that have been described previously.

Current projects:

Achieving practical mobile phase velocities in packed columns of nanometer-scale colloids would demand unobtainable pressures from liquid pumps.  We’re circumventing this problem by generating micron-scale aggregates of the colloids used to support lipid bilayers in previous work.  Generation of such aggregates having structural properties conducive to efficient chromatography is a challenge.  An available project involves optimizing a polymer coacervation method recently studied in our group to elucidate polymerization conditions (monomer, pH, processing steps) and thermal treatment steps (polymer removal, silica sintering) that favor the formation of monodisperse, micron-size aggregates.  Chromatographic evaluation of the materials generated will be performed concurrently. 
Another project is available with similar end goals, that is, the generation of porous materials suitable for hosting lipid bilayers, but focused on polymeric resin materials instead of silica.  Stationary phases with a pore structure that is inverse, and much larger, to those developed above may result from dissolution of the silica (instead of the polymer) from the polymer-silica coacervate.   Alternatively, there are reports of polymer particles having a porous structure arriving from controlled polymerization conditions instead of the dissolution of entrapped silica colloids.  This project will explore both approaches.  While silica stationary phases are readily modified with reactive silanes, alternative methods for derivitizing polymer materials will need to be explored and characterized.  
Finally, a project is available that involves describing the activity of phospholipases (PLAs) within the porous network of colloidal crystals which provide a unique support for lipid bilayers.  The concentration of lipid within the crystal far exceeds that obtainable in aqueous solutions where high lipid concentration make the solution problematically viscous and the lipid bilayers unstable.  Consequently, the colloidal crystal platform could potentially facilitate PLA assays that are more sensitive, require less enzyme and lipid substrate, offer advantages in the interpretation of kinetic data, or allow new, capillary flow through formats of analysis.  The project would involve surveying literature to choose fluorescence based methods for probing enzyme activity, experimenting with methods that directly detect cleavage products electrochemically, assisting with the design of a small volume flow cell for fluorimetry, and comparing results with those conducted by traditional/commercial assays in solution.

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Research in the Shepherd Lab

Rhodoquinone (RQ, 1) is an essential cofactor used in the anaerobic energy metabolism of species such as the parasitic helminths, the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), and the purple non-sulfur bacterium, Rhodospirillum rubrum (R. rubrum).  RQ is not synthesized or used in humans and other mammals with a primarily aerobic energy metabolism.  However, RQ is structurally similar to ubiquinone (coenzyme Q or Q, 2), an important lipid component involved in the aerobic respiratory chain.  Both RQ and Q have a fully substituted benzoquinone ring and a polyisoprenoid side chain of varying length (depending on species). The only difference between the structures is that RQ has an amino group (NH2) instead of a methoxy group (OCH3) on the quinone ring (Fig. 1). 

Fig. 1.  Structures of rhodoquinone (1, RQ), ubiquinone (2, Q), and demethylubiquinone (3, DeMeQ).    The number of isoprene units (n) varies by species (in Saccharomyces cerevisiae n=6; Escherichia coli n=8; Caenorhabditis. elegans n=9; helminth parasites n=9 or 10; Rhodospirillum rubrum n=10; humans n=10).  RQ is not found in S. cerevisiae, E. coli or humans.

Therefore, the biosynthetic pathways of RQ and Q are proposed to be similar and may diverge from a common precursor.  The biosynthesis of Q has been well-characterized in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic species.  It has recently been shown in Dr. Shepherd’s laboratory that RQ and Q are derived from demethylubiquinone (DeMeQ, 3) in R. rubrum.  The main focus of Dr. Shepherd’s current research is to identify the candidate gene(s) and polypeptide(s) responsible for amino-transfer in RQ biosynthesis using the model organisms, R. rubrum and C. elegans.  Selective inhibition of the amination step in RQ biosynthesis may lead to highly specific antihelminthic drugs that do not have a toxic effect on the host.

Current projects:

Bioinformatics to investigate candidate aminotransferase genes in RQ biosynthesis.
The structural feature of RQ that is responsible for the very different reduction potentials between RQ and Q (-65 mV versus +100 mV, respectively), and their corresponding differences in chemical behavior, is the amino group on the quinone ring. We are working to identify the amino source in RQ biosynthesis through 15N- labeling experiments, and the class of aminotransferase involved may also be inferred through inhibition assays.  We would also like to perform sequence comparisons using the “Combo” Java-based browser for whole genome alignments.  It is possible that the aminotransferase gene used in RQ biosynthesis has not yet been annotated in the R. rubrum genome, and that its gene product may still be classified as a “hypothetical protein.” 
Our bioinformatics approach will compare the genome of R. rubrum with sequenced genomes of other similar prokaryotic species that do and do not produce RQ.  For example, R. ferrireducens is from a family of facultative anaerobes that produces RQ, and has an 82% genomic sequence identity to R. rubrum.  Whereas, R. sphaeroides does not produce RQ, but its chromosomes 1 and 2 show 78% and 86% identity to R. rubrum, respectively.  We propose to use the Combo browser to identify differences between the genomes.  All unique open reading frames identified in R. rubrum with strong candidate orthologs in R. ferrireducens (and no corresponding ortholog in R. sphaeroides) will be further screened for sequence similarity to aminotransferases. Screening for candidate aminotransferase genes will take place in several stages.  First, a generalized profile for aminotransferases will be created using ClustalW or ProfileMake/ProfileGap (Genetics Computer Group, Inc., Madison, WI) by performing multiple sequence alignments of known aminotransferases. The PLP-dependent enzymes are organized into five different fold classes: aspartate aminotransferase superfamily (fold type I), tryptophan synthase beta superfamily (fold type II), alanine racemase superfamily (fold type III), D-amino acid superfamily (fold type IV), and glycogen phophorylase family (fold type V).  A separate profile will be designed for each class. Next the unique sequences identified in R. rubrum from the genomic analysis will be screened using the aminotransferase profiles generated.  Candidates that fit one or more of the aminotransferase profiles will be further narrowed down for likely involvement in RQ biosynthesis by identifying those that have homologs in C. elegans and helminth parasites (e.g. A. suum and S. mansoni). Phylogenetic trees will also be constructed to identify bacterial-like enzymes in helminths using TREECON. The strongest candidates from this multi-step screening approach will be further characterized using deletion mutants.

Screening of RQ biosynthetic gene targets using R. rubrum deletion mutants.
The strongest aminotransferase gene targets identified will be used to prepare deletion mutants, which will be screened for their ability to synthesize RQ.  A mutant that is unable to synthesize RQ, is likely to have loss of function of a RQ biosynthetic gene product.  Any protein targets that are identified through mutant screening will later be overexpressed for further characterization. Ultimately, inhibitors will be designed based on X-ray crystallographic data, and tested for the ability to inhibit RQ production from these new enzyme targets.

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Research in the Smieja Lab

According to the most recent assessment by the World Health Organization, 884 million people around the world lack access to “improved water supply” and more than 2.5 billion lack access to “improved sanitation”.   The health consequences of inadequate access to improved water and sanitation include an estimated 4 billion cases of diarrhea and 1.6 million deaths each year, mostly among young children in developing countries.  My projects involve the development and optimization of sustainable, household water treatments for the removal of biological pathogens and naturally occurring inorganic contaminants such as arsenic and fluoride.

Current projects:

I am looking for a student to determine whether or not charred cow bone will effectively remove fluoride ions from natural waters.

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Research in the Warren Lab

Dr. Warren is currently on sabbatical leave and is not accepting students for summer 2012.

The world, especially the industrialized world, is facing 2 emerging epidemics. These epidemics will create significant medical needs that will negatively impact health care systems and the economies of the world if a proactive approach is not taken towards new solutions. One of these emerging epidemics is Type 2 Diabetes which is impacting a growing percent of our population. The other epidemic is the result of the steady increase in the average age of the population world wide (which is projected to continue) coupled to the exponential link between increasing age and the incidence of neurodegenerative disease.  Biochemical changes in the metabolism of cell types involved in both of these diseases have been noted.
Lactate has been considered a dead-end waste product of anaerobic metabolism since the 1930's. However, new evidence has emerged showing that lactate is an important energy source that is shuttled between cells and throughout the body. Lactate is being shown to play an important role in muscle and brain metabolism, with the associated implications for diseases in which these tissues form an important component. Muscle metabolism and its alteration have large implications in Type 2 Diabetes. Biochemical changes in the metabolism of the heart muscle are also implicated in congestive heart failure.
In brain metabolism, glucose has traditionally been thought to be the exclusive energy source. However, new hypotheses are emerging that the preferred energy substrate for neurons is not glucose but may instead be lactate. This has wide implications for the study of brain function and diseases as monitored by energy usage. For example, in Alzheimer's disease it has been reported that metabolic deficits often precede the appearance of first symptoms. A probe that could monitor the Krebs cycle could give early indication of decrease in neuronal metabolic activity and neuronal death. This could be an invaluable research tool and diagnostic for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
A specific aim of this research is to develop a probe that monitors lactate's function as an energy substrate while minimizing the number of assumptions and measurements needed to account for the other activities of the molecule and its metabolites. The goal is to monitor some of lactate's functions, but not all of them. To this end lactate analogs have been selected and will be synthesized and evaluated based on their potential for being trapped in the Krebs cycle where it is likely that rate and/or amount of accumulation can be correlated to the rate of activity for the cycle, thus providing a diagnostic indicator for many diseases where energy usage is altered. While currently there is no direct way to monitor aerobic metabolism in vivo at the cellular level,these analogs have this potential when developed as Positron Emission Tomography probes. This is timely and critical research that could advance our understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of energy dependent diseases.

Current projects:

I am looking for a motivated independent student to evaluate lactate analogs for their lactate dehydrogenase activity.

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Research in the Watson Lab

The Watson lab studies the structure and function of the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR).  In humans, this enzyme is the key regulatory point for the biosynthesis of cholesterol and is the target for statin drugs.  Bacteria also use this enzyme, and in some pathogenic bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), it is vital for the survival of the pathogen.  Emerging evidence from our lab suggests that there is another class of bacteria that use HMGR in an unknown fashion. We have recently cloned, expressed and purified the HMGR from a member of this new class, the opportunistic lung pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia, which causes, among other things, fatal infections in late-stage cystic fibrosis patients.  This organism is naturally resistant to nearly all antibiotics currently available; understanding the function of this enzyme in the life cycle of the pathogen could provide new ways to attack it.  We have begun studies to knock out the gene for HMGR B. cenocepacia to explore the enzyme's physiological role.

Current projects:

I am seeking up to two students to focus on structural and functional characterization of this newly discovered form of HMGR.  Primary projects include enzyme kinetics, fluorescence and/or circular dichroism spectroscopy, and characterization of stereospecificity in the enzyme reaction.  All students will learn basic biochemistry lab techniques such as protein expression, purification and characterization.  While typically students will have completed CHEM 331 and BIOL 201 prior to working in the lab, exceptions can be made.

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Research at WWAMI

Research in the Roberts Lab

Research in my lab focuses on the role of the epididymis in sperm maturation and function. Sperm are produced in the testis but gain the ability to fertilize an egg as they transit the epididymis. As sperm transit the epididymis they acquire proteins necessary for normal function from the epididymal fluid, which is a secretory product of the epididymal epithelium. The purpose of our research is to understand this maturation process.Our current main focus in on the role of CRISP1, an epididymal protein acquired by the sperm, in the regulation of sperm functions such as the acrosome reaction. Likewise, the role of CRISP4, a second CRISP protein produced in the epididymis and related to Crisp-1, is also under investigation. Experiments are also being performed to determine how the two isoforms of the CRISP1 protein (Proteins D and E) become attached to the sperm plasma membrane. This work has implications for clinical conditions of sperm dysfunction leading to male infertility.
My lab is also interested in the protein composition of sperm and the origin of sperm proteins. In collaboration with colleagues at Pacific Northwest National Lab, we have undertaken a total proteomic analysis of human sperm to determine the proteins required for sperm maturation. We are also using signal-trap cloning to identify and catalog cDNAs from the mouse epididymal epithelium encoding secretory proteins that become part of the sperm proteome.

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Research in the Chai Lab

For information on research in the Chai lab, please visit her homepage at WSU.

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Research in the Kapás Lab

We are interested in understanding the relationship between the regulation of sleep and metabolism. We study the role of metabolism- and feeding-related humoral and neuronal signals in the regulation of biological clocks, sleep-wake activity and arousal. Also, we investigate the effects of clocks and sleep, and the impairments thereof, on metabolism, eating and thermoregulation. We use integrative approach, in vivo rodent models, with simultaneous measurements of the amount and intensity of sleep, oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide production, food intake, body temperature, locomotor and wheel running activities supplemented by blood sampling for hormone measurements.

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Research in the Szentirmai Lab

The focus of my research is how sleep, metabolism and body temperature regulation are related. In the laboratory, we work with laboratory animals, with rats and mice. A student who is interested in this type of research can participate at many levels, from doing surgeries on animals through data collection, to data analysis.

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Research in the Wisor Lab

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