William F. Ettinger, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology

Teaching science is the best occupation in the world. It is uplifting to challenge a student, let them struggle with an idea, then watch that “ah-ha” moment when they get it. Personally, this is gratifying and thrilling. It fills each day...

Dr. William F. Ettinger

Contact Information

  • Spring 2023
    Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays: 3:10-4:30 p.m.

    Other hours available by appointment

  • (509) 313-6623

Education & Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D., Plant Physiology, Washington State University

B.S., Biology, Lewis and Clark College

Courses Taught

BIOL 105: Information Flow in Biological Systems

BIOL 207: Genetics

BIOL 375: Virology

BIOL 359: Studies in Biodiversity (Zambia)


Teaching science is the best occupation in the world. It is uplifting to challenge a student, let them struggle with an idea, then watch that “ah-ha” moment when they get it. Personally, this is gratifying and thrilling. It fills each day with challenges and rewards. It is also rewarding to see students as they mature, graduate and go on to bigger and better things. I have been lucky to get to know some wonderful students. It is fantastic to follow them as they choose a career and excel at it.

Bertagnolli, M.E., Ettinger, W.F., Herzog, C.W. Assessing the Irritation Potential of Toothpastes Using a Red Blood Cell Lysis Assay. Manuscript in Preparation.

Kirk R. Anders , Alex M. Murphy*, William F. Ettinger, Douglas Kempthorne, Charles Kittridge, Alex Kures*, Sarah Lundgren*, Jacob Masters*, Rachel Noyes*, Christina Winters*, Perry Yazzolino*, Kasandra Ziebert*, Joseph Haydock, Stephen Hayes, Rebecca A. Garlena, Daniel A. Russell, Marianne K. Poxleitner, Ann-Scott H. Ettinger (2017) Genome Sequences of Cluster K Mycobacteriophages DrHayes, Urkel, and SamuelLPlaqson Genome. ASM Genome Announcements. SUBMITTED http://genomea.msubmit.net/cgi-bin/main.plex?el=A7IG1yjo1B7Czai2F5A9ftdyGHj7SyL2LexuLy6zZqbZAZ

Ettinger, WF (2015) Analyzing Anaphylaxis: Bees, Latex, and Peanuts: Watch Out for a Severe Allergic Reaction. Ski Patrol 32(2): 69-72.

Johnson, C.H., Shingles R., & Ettinger, W.F. (2006) Regulation and Role of Ca++ Fluxes in the Chloroplast., Chapter 20 in “The Structure and Function of Plastids" Robert R. Wise & J. Kenneth Hoober eds. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration Series, Springer, The Netherlands. 403-416

Hou, H.J.M., Zhang, X., Liu, H. *Stevens, J., *Young, E., *Lien, T., *Dempsey, E.*, Ettinger, W.F. & Gunner, M. (2005) “Photodamage of one bacteriopheophytin molecule in the photosynthetic reaction center from R. sphaeroides”, in Photosynthesis: Fundamental Aspects to Global Perspectives, A. Van Der Est and D. Bruce eds., Vol 1, pp. 501-503

Avenson, T. J., Kanazawa, A., Cruz, J. A., Takizawa, K., Ettinger, W. F., and Kramer, D. M. (2005). "Integrating the proton circuit into photosynthesis: progress and challenges." Plant Cell and Environment 28: 97–109.

Li, T., Sirakova, D., Rogers, L., Ettinger, W.F., & Kolattukudy, P.E. (2002) Regulation of Constitutively Expressed and Induced Cutinase Genes by Different Zinc Finger Transcription Factors in Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi (Nectria haematococca) J. Biol. Chem. 277: 7905-7912.

Miller, K.L. & Muelheim, J. (corporate authorship: please see comments in personal statement) (2002) Report of the Food Allergy Task Force To Dr. Brian Benzel, Superintendent Spokane Public Schools. http://www.spokaneschools.org/NutritionServices/pdf/FATF.pdf

Ettinger, W.F., *Clear, A.M., *Fanning, K.J., *Peck, M.-L. (1999) Identification of a Ca++/H+ antiporter in the plant chloroplast thylakoid membrane. Plant Physiol. 119: 1379-1385.

Lefcort, H., *Thomson, S.M., *Cowles, E.E., *Harowicz, H.L., *Livaudias, B.M., Roberts, W.E., and Ettinger, W.F. (1999) "The importance of fear: Predator and heavy metal-mediated competition between tadpoles (Rana luteiventris) and snails (Lymnaea pulustris)." Ecological Applications, 9: 1477-1489.

Lefcort, H., *Meguire, R.A., *Wilson, L.H., and Ettinger, W.F. (1998) "The effects of heavy metals on the survival, growth, metamorphosis, and anti-predatory behavior of Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) tadpoles." Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 35: 447-456.

Hashimoto, A., Ettinger, W.F., Yamamoto, Y. and Theg, S. M. (1997) Assembly of newly imported oxygen-evolving complex subunits in isolated chloroplasts: sites of assembly and mechanism of binding. The Plant Cell, 9: 441-452.

Ettinger, R.H., Ettinger, W.F., & *Harless, W.E. (1997) Active immunization with cocaine-protein conjugate attenuates cocaine's effects. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior. 58: 215-220.

Bormann, N.E., Van Der Sluys, W.G. & Ettinger, W.F. (1995) Heavy metal transport implications of biotic uptake in the Coeur d'Alene River. In: Watershed Management: Planning for the 21st Century. Ward, T.J,. ed. American Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 165-174.

Lippuner, V., Chou, I.T., Scott, S.V., Ettinger, W.F., Theg, S.M., & Gasser, C.S. (1994) Cloning and characterization of chloroplast and cytosolic forms of cyclophilin from Arabidopsis thaliana. J. Biol. Chem., 269: 7863-7868.

Olsen, L.J., Ettinger, W.F., Damsz, B., Matsudaira, K., Webb, M.A., & Harada, J.J. (1993) Targeting of glyoxysomal proteins to peroxisomes in leaves and roots of higher plants. The Plant Cell, 5: 941-952.

Ettinger, W.F. & Theg, S.M. (1992) Sequence of the cDNA encoding the 17 kDa protein of the photosynthetic oxygen-evolving complex of pea. Plant Physiol., 99: 791-793.

Cline, K., Ettinger, W.F. & Theg, S.M. (1991) Protein-specific energy requirements for protein transport across or into thylakoid membranes: two lumenal proteins are transported in the absence of ATP. J. Biol. Chem., 267: 2688-2696.

Ettinger, W.F. & Theg, S.M. (1991) Physiologically active chloroplasts contain pools of unassembled extrinsic proteins of the photosynthetic oxygen-evolving enzyme complex in the thylakoid lumen. J. Cell Biol., 115: 321-328.

Ettinger, W.F., & Harada, J.J., (1990) Translational or posttranslational processes affect the accumulation of isocitrate lyase and malate synthase proteins and enzyme activities in embryos and seedlings of Brassica napus. Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 281: 139-143.

Ettinger, W.F., Thukral, S.K., & Kolattukudy, P.E. (1987) Structure of cutinase gene, cDNA and the derived amino acid sequence from phytopathogenic fungi. Biochem., 26: 7883-7892.

Kolattukudy, P.E., Crawford, M.S., Woloshuk, C.P., Ettinger, W.F., & Soliday, C.L. (1987) The role of cutin, the plant cuticular hydroxy fatty acid polymer, in the fungal infection of plants. In: Ecology and Metabolism of Plant Lipids. Fuller, G., & Nes, W.D. eds. American Chemical Society Symposium Series # 325. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., pp 152-175.

Kolattukudy, P.E., Sebastian, J., Ettinger, W.F., & Crawford, M.S. (1987) Cutinase and pectinase in host-pathogen and plant-bacterial interaction. In: Molecular Genetics of Plant-Microbe Interactions. Verma, D.P.S., & Brisson, N. eds. Mortinus Nijhoff Publ., pp 43-50.

Kolattukudy, P.E., Ettinger, W.F., & Sebastian, J. (1987) Cuticular lipids in plant-microbe interactions. In: The Metabolism, Structure, and Function of Plant Lipids. Stumpf, P.K., Mudd, J.B., & Ness, W.D. eds. Plenum Publ., pp 473-480.

Hospital acquired infections are a class of illness that are seemingly senseless; after all people go to hospitals to get well. Unfortunately, people in the hospital are also ill and quite susceptible to picking up infections. In hospitals there is a high concentration of other ill patients, and nurses, doctors, and other hospital staff can shuttle microbes amongst them. In the United States there are an estimated 1.7 million hospital acquired infections each year, leading to roughly 99,000 deaths. One class of hospital-acquired infection is central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI). In this case microbes are introduced directly into the bloodstream through a catheter port. There are roughly 250,000 CLABSI infections each year, with mortality rates ranging from 12-25%. Catheter ports are common routes for microbes to enter the bloodstream. Our research involves a commercial product produced to disinfect and protect catheter ports. Shown below is a typical blue catheter port, and a green disinfecting cap. We are working with Hyprotek, a Spokane-based company that produces catheter-disinfecting caps. We contaminate catheter ports in the laboratory with different strains of bacteria, and then test to see how many bacteria remain after treatment. Individuals working on this project will learn basic microbiological skills, be involved in production of reports to Hyprotek, and be involved in regular lab meetings.