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Volume 11, No. 2, Fall 01 | Return to Table of Contents
2001 MBL Research Fellows
Peter Burbach, Ph.D., is Director of Research at the Department of Medical Pharmacology and Anatomy, Rudolf Magnus Institute for Neurosciences, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. His research project was titled, “Homeobox Codes in the Stellate and Optic Ganglia of the Squid.” His recent research has focused on homeobox cascades in the developmental specification of neuronal systems, particularly in establishing transmitter identity and neuronal connectivity, using the mouse as a model. He wants to exploit the unique morphological and functional properties of the stellate and optic neurons of the squid to define such homeobox codes for two classes of homeobox subfamilies. Adult squid as well as squid in various embryonic and posthatching developmental stages will be used. The results of this study will help direct research in mammalian and fly systems. Dr. Burbach was funded by the MBL Associates, Baxter Postdoctoral Fellowship Fund, H. Burr Steinbach Memorial Fellowship Fund, and the James A. and Faith Miller Fellowship Fund.
David Burgess, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biology at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The title of his research project was, “Control of Cytokinesis.” He is interested in how cells change shape or form and how that is precisely regulated using the cytoskeleton. Specifically, he studies how timing and placement of the contractile ring is coupled to mitotic controls in cell division. Investigations are underway on the timing of cytokinesis as a function of the delivery of a positive cleavage stimulus to the cortical cytoskeleton and on the response system orchestrating the assembly and dynamics of the contractile ring. He followed up on work begun last summer by focussing on the source of new plasma membrane needed to increase the surface area of the cells during cytokinesis. His primary research organisms are sea urchins and sand dollars.
Dr. Burgess was funded by the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation.
Chris Cameron, Ph.D., is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Marine Science, The University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, Texas. His research focussed on “Cell Lineage Studies of Hemichordate Worms: Clues to the Ancestral Developmental Patterning of Deuterostomes and the Origin of the Chordates.” He proposed to construct a fate map by marking defined regions of the egg and early cleavage stage embryo in the hemichordate worms Schizocardium and Saccoglossus. These fate maps will establish where gastrulation is initiated, follow morphogenetic movements during early development, find out if the principal body axes are correlated with certain planes of cleavage, and establish which cells of the early cleavage stage embryo normally become the different components of the larvae. His research will also compare developmental patterning between these species that represent two superfamilies, and between echinoderms and chordates. Dr. Cameron was funded by the Evelyn and Melvin Spiegel Fellowship Fund and the MBL Associates.
Cecilia Canessa, M.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. The title of her research project is “Activation of ASIC1 Channels by Synaptic Transmission in the Giant Synapse from Squid.” The purpose of this research project is to test the hypothesis that protons released during synaptic transmission can activate the acid-sensitive channel 1 (ASIC1). She used the giant synapse of the stellate ganglion from squid (Loligo pealei) as the experimental model. The main focus of this research is the characterization of the structure-function and regulation of channels from the EnaC/Degenerin family. The recent cloning of new members of this family, the mammalian ASIC channels, has opened new avenues of research to define the functional role(s) of these channels in the nervous system. Dr. Canessa was funded by The Catherine Filene Shouse Foundation.
Fred Chang, M.D., Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Columbia University, New York, New York. His research was titled “Spatial Regulation of Cellular Architecture: Development of Multi-wavelength, 3D, Time-lapse Microscopic Imaging and Photo-ablation in Living Yeast Cells.” He studies the molecular mechanisms of spatial organization using genetics and microscopy approaches in fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Dr. Chang set up microscopy stations for high speed, time-lapse, Z-series, multiple wave-length fluorescence digital acquisition and for blue-green laser-mediated photo-ablation (GFP-assisted CALI) in living cells. The research explored mechanisms of nuclear positioning and intracellular motility of cell polarity and cytokineses factors and shed light on how fusion proteins to GFP and other fluorescent proteins can be used to probe the function of sub-cellular structures to establish spatial architecture in cells. Dr. Chang was funded by Nikon Instruments Inc.
Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco, M.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Genetics, Microbiology and Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. He has been named a Raymond and Beverly Sackler Scholar and is a member of the Biochemistry Study Section of the National Institutes of Health. The title of his research project was “Elongation Dynamics of DNA Dependent RNA Polymerases.” His research focuses on RNA transport in the nucleus and between the nucleus and the cytoplasm as well as the proteins responsible for this transport mechanism. He also studies the enzymes that are functionally relevant to transactivation of the HIV promoter. In his previous work at the MBL, he and his colleagues built an evanescent wave microscope that allows scientists to visualize single molecule enzymology and mechanics. Dr. Garcia-Blanco was funded by The Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation.
Yosef Gruenbaum, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Genetics, The Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel. The title of his research project was “The Molecular Basis of Lamina Activity in Spisula solidissima.” The lamina is involved in nuclear organization, cell cycle regulation, transcriptional repression, cell differentiation and apoptosis. Mutations in protein components of the lamina and the lamin-associated protein, emerin, give rise to a range of inherited life threatening diseases, including various dystrophies and cardiomyopathies. The proposed research will address fundamental questions about the function of the nuclear lamina, by identifying evolutionarily conserved residues in lamin and emerin and testing the role of these residues in lamin-emerin interactions. Dr. Gruenbaum was funded by the Gruss Lipper Foundation.
George Langford, Ph.D., is the Ernest Everett Just Professor of Natural Sciences and Professor of Biological Sciences at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. His research project was titled, “Actin-based Vesicle Transport in the Squid Giant Axon.” It has been shown recently that vesicles contain multiple types of motors including actin-based and microtubule-based as well as plus-end and minus-end directed motors. In addition to the finding that multiple types of motors are present, current studies show that different types of motors interact with each other on the vesicle to produce a ‘hetero-motor’ complex. He studied the mechanism by which vesicle transport on microtubules and actin filaments is coordinated and regulated. He tested the hypothesis that myosin V and kinesin form a complex on vesicles through tail-tail interactions and that feedback between the two proteins facilitates the transition of vesicles from microtubules to actin filaments. This work has a bearing on the regeneration of nerve cells after spinal injury. Dr. Langford was funded by the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation.
Shimon Marom, M.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. The title of his research was “Learning in Networks of Cortical Neurons: Rewarding by Stimulus Removal.” In the process of learning, “appropriate” stimulus-response associations are selected over many other “inappropriate” ones. The principles underlying this selection are usually thought of in terms of a reward system, realized in the form of a neuromodulator that is released from a unique set of neurons after the occurrence of a salient event. The results of his recent research challenge this view by demonstrating selective learning in a cortical network without a neural rewarding entity. His research explored the hypothesis that the learning network involves clear changes in calcium dynamics. In addition, he explored the possibility that using voltage sensitive dyes will enhance the spatial resolution of the neural activity groups involved in the “learning” process. Dr. Marom was funded by the Gruss Lipper Foundation.
Katsuya Miyake, Ph.D., is a Research Fellow in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, The Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia. The title of his research was “Resealing of Plasma Membrane Disruption in Sea Urchin Eggs,” which investigates how cells repair tears in their surface covering. Rapid resealing of the disrupted plasma membrane is a crucial first step in repair, since otherwise cell death rapidly ensues. He plans to develop a quantitative assay for the wound-induced endocytotic response, and use this assay to define its time course, and its basic characteristics, including: 1) dependence, if any, on external Ca2+ and Ca2+ channels; 2) dependence, if any, on actin and/or microtubule-based cytoskeleton; 3) dependence, if any, on phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity. Dr. Miyake was funded by The Frederik B. Bang Fellowship Fund.
Prem Ponka, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Physiology and Medicine at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. The title of his research project was “Endosome-Mitochondria Interaction in Erythroid Cells: Role in Efficient Iron Trafficking for Heme Synthesis.” Iron (Fe) plays a fundamental role in vital processes such as oxygen transport, electron transfer and DNA synthesis. His research will focus on the mechanisms involved in the acquisition and intracellular transport of iron in immature red blood cells. Defects either in iron acquisition by red blood cells or in its translocation within the cells lead to anemias. He conducted time-lapse fluorescence microscopy studies to investigate the mechanism and regulation of endosome-mitochondria interactions and investigated the unique mechanism that protects cells from iron overload. This research will be important for understanding some of the anemias occurring in humans. Dr. Ponka was funded by The Universal Imaging Corporation Fellowship Fund.
Lawrence Schwartz, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts. Dr. Schwartz is planning to write a book that introduces the topic of cell death to general audiences. While he has been active in the field of programmed cell death for the past 25 years, he notes there has been an explosive interest since the mid-90’s. It is now known that all cells “know” how to commit suicide and mis-regulation of this process is the basis for the majority of human diseases, e.g. inappropriate suicide by valuable cells results in the loss of neurons in Alzheimer’s Disease or CD4+T cells in HIV infection. He believes that the field has matured sufficiently and is ready for a book covering the history, biology, and clinical relevance of cell death for non-scientists. Dr. Schwartz was funded by The Erik B. Fries Endowed Fellowship, The Frank A. Brown Memorial Readership, and the Fred Karush Endowed Library Readership.
Nadav Shashar, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the H. Steinitz Interuniversity Institute, Eilat, Israel. The title of his research was “Predator-prey Interactions in the Visual Domain-Polarization Vision in Squid and their Planktonic Prey.”The research addressed four specific issues in the context of interactions between squid and their prey: 1) Field measurements of the polarization of ambient light at night; 2) examining potential human impact; 3) electrophysiological examination of partial polarization limitations to polarization sensitivity of squid; and 4) examining polarization sensitivity (PS) in planktonic crustaceans. His research evaluated the actual ambient conditions and physiological limitations in which polarization vision operates. It will further provide information as to whether PS is uniquely available only to the predator, or to both predator and prey acting on the same playing field. Dr. Shashar was funded by the H. Keffer Hartline Fellowship Fund, the Lucy B. Lemann Fellowship Fund, and the Plum Foundation John E. Dowling Fellowship Fund.
Iain Stuart Young, Ph.D., is a Research Associate in the Department of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The title of Dr. Young’s summer research was “Molecular Mechanism of Relaxation and Contraction in Toadfish (Opsanus tau) Superfast Muscle.” He studied muscle fiber design and function to understand how a given system is fine-tuned to provide optimal performance under a variety of conditions. He researched the toadfish swimbladder, as it is the fastest muscle found in any vertebrate (vibrating at 200 times a second). This study examined the molecular processes of activation and relaxation using calcium-sensitive fluorescent dyes to determine the definitive Ca2+ stored in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). He also determined the rate of ATP use by the Ca2+ pumps. Dr. Young’s research will assist in the explanation of myopathies that include increased fatigability of muscle. Dr. Young was funded by the Frederik B. Bang Fellowship Fund, The Charles R. Crane Fellowship Fund, The John O. Crane Fellowship Fund, and the MBL Associates.
Michael Zochowski, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. The title of his research was “Characterization of Spatio-Temporal Changes in Oscillatory Response to Multiple Odor Stimulation in Turtle Olfactory Bulb.” The aim of the proposed research was to understand the mechanisms underlying formation of odor evoked oscillations in the turtle olfactory bulb. Specifically, he charactized how the rostral, middle, and caudal oscillations change their character dramatically when additional odor pulses are applied within a short time period (1-20 sec). The olfactory bulb responds differently to the second and third presentation of odors and the two mechanisms that may produce this effect are lateral inhibition induced by the first odor presentation and/or habituation effects. The experimental data was used to construct a dynamical model of odor-evoked activity in the olfactory bulb. This research has the potential of being applied to the discovery of mechanisms of odor processing in the brain. Dr. Zochowski was funded by The Stephen W. Kuffler Fellowship Fund, MBL Associates, and the M.G.F. Fuortes Memorial Fellowship Fund. |
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