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Eric GershonMichael McAlear, chair and associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, and James Arnone, a Ph.D candidate in his lab, have published “Adjacent Gene Pairing Plays a Role in the Coordinated Expression of Ribosome Biogenesis Genes MPP10 and YJR003C in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae” a paper that shows that the physical position of genes on chromosomes -- immediately adjacent gene pairs in particular -- plays an important role in how they are turned on and off. These findings were first discovered in yeast cells, but also hold true over a wide range of life forms, from worms to fruit flies to humans.…
Manju Hingorani, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, and Jacob Bricca, adjunct assistant professor of film studies, explained their experimental cross-disciplinary course on science documentary filmmaking at Wesleyan in a December 2010 article published in American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Today. In the article, Hingorani and Bricca wrote about their course, "Making the Science Documentary," which they co-taught together, starting in 2007. The course was designed to introduce undergraduate students to the life sciences and to documentary filmmaking (more…)
Manju Hingorani, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a $165,083 grant from the Connecticut Department of Health for her study titled “Role of DNA Mismatch Repair in Tobacco Smoke-Mediated Carcinogenesis.” The grant will fund a post-doc and research associate’s projects through September 2012. Also, Hingorani, received a $497,532 grant from the National Institutes of Health for her study titled “PCNA Clamp Mechanisms in DNA Replication and Repair.” The grant will fund graduate and undergraduate students’ research projects through June 2013. The project is supported by Award number R15GM094047 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Also, Hingorani…
In August, Michael McAlear, chair and associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, presented an interactive lecture about Africa’s water cycle to the Kibera School for Girls. Kennedy Odede '12 and Jessica Posner '09 operate the school and the non-profit organization Shining Hope for Communities in Kibera, Kenya. McAlear’s lecture included an experiment with test tubes he brought for the school. His sons, Matthew and Thomas, donated time in the school’s library. “We cannot thank Professor McAlear and his sons enough for their generous donation of supplies, time, and energy,” Posner says in her blog.
Robert Lane, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a grant worth $1,796,029 from the National Institutes of Health to support his research on “Mutually Exclusive Odorant Receptor Regulation. The grant supports the study through April 30, 2015.
For the next three years, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will support gene expression research led by Scott Holmes, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry. On March 2, the NSF awarded Holmes a $599,832, three-year grant for his studies on "Epigenetic Silencing of Gene Expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae." Gene expression refers to the observable characteristics generated on a molecular level by a particular sequence of DNA or gene; epigenetic controls are essential in maintaining the specific patterns of gene expression that distinguish hundreds of distinct cell types in skin, muscles and other types of tissue. "I’m thrilled to get…
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Manju Hingorani, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, is the author of "S. cerevisiae Msh2-Msh6 DNA binding kinetics reveal a mechanism of targeting sites for DNA mismatch repair," published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences " Early Edition," December 2009. Dana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, is the author of "Fossil soils constrain ancient climate sensitivity," published in the same journal.