Olivia DrakeMichael McAlear, chair and associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, is the co-author of "The adjacent positioning of co-regulated gene pairs is widely conserved across eukaryotes," published in BMC Genomics, October 2012. The article is online here. The co-authors are Ph.D candidate James Arnone and Jeffrey Arace '12; Adam Robbins-Pianka BA '08, MA '10; and Sara Kass-Gergi '12. The team investigated co-regulated gene sets in S. cerevisiae beyond those related to ribosome biogenesis, and found that a number of these regulons, including those involved in DNA metabolism, heat shock, and the response to cellular stressors were also significantly enriched for adjacent gene…
Amy MacQueen, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry; Karen Voelkel Meiman, research associate; and Sarah Moustafa BA'11, MA'12 are co-authors of the paper, "Full-Length Synaptonemal Complex Grows Continuously during Meiotic Prophase in Budding Yeast," published by PLOS Genetics, Oct. 11, 2012. Moustafa worked on the paper as an undergraduate researcher and again as a BA/MA student. An abstract and the paper is online here.
Lauren RubensteinThe Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department sent three professors and six students to the international 2012 Yeast Genetics & Molecular Biology Meeting held at Princeton University recently, giving Wesleyan the largest per capita representation in the world. Attending from the department were Associate Professor and Chair Michael McAlear and his graduate student, James Arnone; Assistant Professor Amy MacQueen and her graduate students Pritam Mukherjee and Lina Yisehak, and recent alumni Sarah Beatie '12 and Louis Taylor '12; and Associate Professor Scott Holmes and his graduate student, Rebecca Ryznar. All spoke or presented on various aspects of yeast genetics, molecular biology,…
Rich Olson, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a grant worth $460,197 from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on Aug. 8. The grant will support his research on "Mechanism of Cell Membrane Targeting by Vibrio cholera Cytolysin" through July 31, 2015. Vibrio cholerae cytolysin (VCC) belongs to a family of secreted toxins produced by pathogenic bacteria that allows them to evade the immune system and to colonize the human body. Understanding how bacteria and their toxins target cells is important in developing therapies against human infectious diseases.
Three Wesleyan students were accepted into the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Honor Society. The students are Lee Gottesdiener '12, Sophia Levan '12 and Alejandra Olvera '12. These outstanding students have been selected based on their academic achievements, their commitment to research and science outreach. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with more than 12,000 members. Founded in 1906, the Society is based in Rockville, M.D. The Society's purpose is to advance the science of biochemistry and molecular biology through publication of scientific and educational journals: the Journal of Biological…
A research group led by Manju Hingorani, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, has published eight papers in 2011-2012 on the mechanisms of DNA replication and repair proteins, independently and in collaboration with research groups at Wesleyan and other national and international universities. The papers are: "Large conformational changes in MutS during DNA scanning, mismatch recognition and repair signaling," published in The EMBO Journal, 2012 (in press). "The Variable Sub-domain of Escherichia coli SecA functions to regulate in the SecA ATPase Activity and ADP release," published in the Journal of Bacteriology, 2012 (March 2 Epub). Don Oliver, the Daniel Ayres Professor of…
"Drug Design from Transition State Analysis" will be the central topic of the 12th annual Molecular Biophysics and Biological Chemistry Retreat Sept. 22. The public is invited to the retreat, which will be held at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown. Faculty from chemistry, physics and biology will present lectures. (more…)
Ishita Mukerji, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, director of graduate studies, is the co-author of "“HU Binding to a DNA Four-Way Junction Probed by Förster Resonance Energy Transfer," published in Biochemistry, issue 50, pages 1432–1441, 2011. This work specifically examines the Escherichia coli protein HU's four-way junction interaction using fluorescence spectroscopic methods. This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation.
Eric GershonIn a newly published paper, Rich Olson, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, describes studies of a toxin produced by the bacterium that causes cholera. The paper –“Crystal structure of the Vibrio cholerae cytolysin heptamer reveals common features among disparate pore-forming toxins” – is the culmination of nearly eight years work. Co-authored with Swastik De, a graduate student in Olson’s lab, the paper has been published online by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and will appear in a print edition later this spring. Olson’s lab studies the molecular details of how pathogens invade human hosts. Bacteria produce toxins to…
Ishita Mukerji, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, and dean of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics division, received a grant for $6,750 from the National Sciences Foundation. The grant is part of the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates, which provides funding for faculty to work with an undergraduate student. The award is supporting research on “Structure and Function of Holliday Junctions Complexed with Proteins Probed by Flourescence and UV Raman Spectroscopic Methods.”
Q: Maureen, you are an accounting specialist for the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department, and an administrative assistant for the Wesleyan Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Program in the Life Sciences. Is it challenging to wear two hats? A: Maybe it should be more of a challenge, but I’ve been doing it so long it’s become second nature. I akin it to speaking two languages, your brain just shifts automatically from one to the other. Michael Weir (director of the Hughes Program) in one door to talk summer applications and Mike McAlear (chair of the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department) walks in…
Manju Hingorani, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a $165,038 grant from the Connecticut Department of Health to support her project titled “DNA Mismatch Repair in Tobacco Smoke Medicated Cancer.” The project will be funded for 18 months.