| Adams, Michael | E-mail: adams@bmb.uga.edu | | The hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus (Pf) grows optimally at 100°C by fermenting peptides and sugars. It also reduces elemental sulfur to hydrogen sulfide. From Pf we are purifying and characterizing a range of metal-containing, oxidoreductase-type enzymes and redox proteins that are involved in unusual catabolic pathways. In addition, all ORFs in the Pf genome (1.9 Mb) are being cloned and expressed in an NIH-funded structural genomics initiative with the goal of obtaining 3D structures on all Pf proteins. The function of all Pf ORFs are being assessed using DNA microarrays and proteomic approaches in conjunction with metabolic and physiological analyses. | | Keywords: Functional and structural genomics, metabolism and enzymology of organisms that grow near 100C |
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| Dean, Jeffrey | E-mail: jeffdean@uga.edu | | Our research is directed toward an improved understanding of the biochemical and molecular genetic mechanisms that control plant growth and development, particularly with respect to vascular tissues and lignocellulose formation. In this effort, we use a suite of genomic approaches based on high-throughput DNA sequencing and microarray platforms. We are heavily involved in an international effort to create a reference genome for conifers, and use loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) for this work. At the level of specific genes and pathways we are very interested in multicopper oxidases, such as laccase, and in the ethylene biosynthetic pathway. | | Keywords: Functional genomics, lignocellulose, compression wood formation, bioenergy, lignin |
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| Hajduk, Stephen | E-mail: shajduk@bmb.uga.edu | | Analysis of the function of RNA editing in the mitochondrion of African trypanosomes using a combination of biochemical, proteomic, informatic and molecular approaches. Evaluation of the mechanism of human innate immunity to African trypanosomes. | | Keywords: RNA Editing; Mitochondrial Biogenesis; African Trypanosomes; Innate Immunity; High Density Lipoproteins |
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| Kannan, Natarajan | E-mail: kannan@bmb.uga.edu | | Research in my lab is at the intersection of genome biology, evolutionary biology and computational structural biology. We combine techniques and approaches from these diverse disciplines to understand the underlying mechanisms of signaling proteins in atomic detail. | | Keywords: genomics, cancer informatics, evolutionary systems biology, computational structural biology, protein phosphorylation |
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| Pierce, Michael | E-mail: hawkeye@uga.edu | | Our research focuses on the function of glycoconjugates in the regulation of cell adhesion. 1) investigation of the mechanism how glycosyltransferases and oligosaccharide expression regulate cell adhesion, migration, and invasiveness; 2) structure and function of the glycosyltransferase GlcNAc-T V to develop an inhibitor as a cancer therapeutic; 3) identification of glycoprotein glycoforms diagnostic for carcinomas; 4) function of a novel endothelial cell lectin, most likely in pathogen surveillance; 5) structural determination of a new family of animal and fungal lectins, the X-type lectins; 6) functions of lectins in animal development and as ligands for BT toxins. | | Keywords: Glycosyltransferase regulation of tumor cell adhesion and invasion; structure/function of lectins |
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| Puett, David | E-mail: puett@bmb.uga.edu | | The current research interests of the Puett lab encompass two major interrelated areas: (1) molecular and cellular biochemical endocrinology of the glycoprotein hormones and their G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and (2) cancer biology and detection.
(1) Molecular and cellular biochemical endocrinology: Research in this area represents a long-standing major focus of the laboratory. Current research is concentrated on: (a) the family of homologous, heterodimeric glycoprotein hormones, composed of LH (luteinizing hormone), FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone), TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), and hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin; (b) their cognate GPCRs, members of the largest gene family in the human genome; and (c) the G proteins activated by these receptors, notably Gs. These ligand-receptor-downstream signaling systems regulate the reproductive axis and basal metabolic rate in humans and other animals. The major goals of this project are to elucidate structure-function relationships of the ligands, receptors, and G proteins, including the molecular aspects of ligand-receptor interaction, followed by transmembrane and intracellular signaling leading to biological responses. The experimental approaches include site-directed mutagenesis of the glycoprotein hormones and their receptors, protein engineering, biophysical studies, molecular modeling, and elucidation of cellular signaling pathways mediated by constitutively active and ligand-activated gonadotropin receptor.
(2) Cancer biology and detection:
One of the GPCRs mentioned above, the LH receptor, is expressed in a number of ovarian cancers and believed to influence properties of the tumor. This lab is studying the consequences of ligand-mediated LH receptor expression in cultured human ovarian cancer cells. Approaches include investigations on hormone binding, signaling, gene expression, protein expression, and the effects of receptor activation on cell migration, invasiveness, and metastatic potential. Another study, in collaboration with Prof. Ying Xu, involves gene expression and proteomics on a variety of cancers. The overall aims of these studies are to better understand the expression profiles of different cancers and to seek cancer markers. | | Keywords: Molecular & cellular reproductive biochemical endocrinology, G protein-coupled receptors, tumor biology and early cancer detection |
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| Rose, John | E-mail: rose@bcl4.bmb.uga.edu | | X-ray structural biology, the mitochondrial inner membrane space transport system, structure based vaccine and therapeutic design, improved/automated methods for synchrotron SAD data collection and structure determination. | | Keywords: mitochondrial inner membrane transport, structure assisted vaccine and therapeutic design, improved/automated methods for SAD structure determination |
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| Scott, Robert | E-mail: rscott@uga.edu | | Biophysical analysis of metallobiochemical systems using X-ray absorption spectroscopy; systems biology approaches to discovery of transcriptional regulation of microbiological hydrogen production as part of an alternative energy project. | | Keywords: biophysics
systems biology
biohydrogen
alternative energy
proteomics
protein-DNA interaction |
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| Terns, Michael | E-mail: mterns@bmb.uga.edu | Two major research projects in the Terns Lab:
- Telomerase and cancer: We are investigating the regulation of the biogenesis and transport of the telomerase RNP, a key molecule in the processes of aging and cancer. Telomerase maintains telomeres at the ends of chromosomes. Telomerase activity and telomere length are lost with aging, resulting in cell senescence and death. In order to be able to grow indefinitely, nearly all cancer cells re-activate telomerase. Thus telomerase is a promising target for anti-cancer and anti-aging therapies. In cancer cells, we have found that the two essential components of telomerase (telomerase RNA and TERT) travel distinct, cell cycle-regulated pathways within the nucleus that culminate in co-localization at telomeres during S phase for telomere synthesis. We are working to identify the factors responsible for the regulated activity of telomerase in normal and cancer cells.
- Virus defense in prokaryotes: All bacteria (including human pathogens) are subject to attack by viruses and other genome invaders. We are working to delineate a newly-identified RNA-mediated pathway that protects bacteria and archaea from viruses and other invaders. The pathway appears to parallel the eukaryotic RNAi pathway and is referred to as "prokaryotic RNAi". This is a very exciting new research area with significant biomedical and biotechnological importance.
| | Keywords: non-coding RNAs, RNA-protein complexes, regulation of telomerase, cancer, RNAi, virus defense |
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| Urbauer, Jeffrey | E-mail: urbauer@chem.uga.edu | | Our research focuses on protein structure and function and protein-protein interactions. We employ an approach combining modern analytical, biophysical and molecular biology techniques, with an emphasis on biomolecular NMR spectroscopy. Our core projects include the study of gene regulation and novel regulators of transcription initiation in bacteria, oxidative stress and calcium signaling, steroid hormone (estrogen) receptor activation, and regulation of biofilm formation and pathogenesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These projects are important fundamentally, and they important biomedically with respect to antibiotic target development, oxidative stress and biological aging, and diseases such as breast cancer and cystic fibrosis. | | Keywords: Transcription regulation, steroid hormone receptors, estrogen receptor, breast cancer, oxidative stress, calcium signaling, calmodulin, NMR spectroscopy, physical biochemistry |
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| Wells, Lance | E-mail: lwells@ccrc.uga.edu | | Our laboratory is interested in how post-translational modifications of proteins increase functional diversity. Primarily, we are interested in glycosylation, with a focus on 1. O-GlcNAc in Type II diabetes and stem cell biology , 2. O-Mannosylation in Congenital Muscular Dystrophy and viral entry into host cells, 3. Glycoproteins as biomarkers in human disease, specifically pancreatic cancer and metabolic syndrome, 4. Development of technology-based approaches, primarily mass-spectrometry, for quantitive proteomics/glycomics/glycoproteomics. | | Keywords: O-glycoslyation, type II diabetes, congenital muscular dystrophy, cancer, glyco/proteomics. |
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| Woods, Robert | E-mail: rwoods@ccrc.uga.edu | | The focus of my group's research is to examine the relationships between carbohydrate conformation and biological recognition and activity. We are particularly interested in the mechanisms of carbohydrate recognition in the immune system. Current research projects include examinations of bacterial antigen-antibody interactions, as well as other carbohydrate-protein interactions. The carbohydrate antigens associated with bacteria, such as Salmonella paratyphi B and group B Streptococcus are being studied in order to quantify the contributions made by hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions. In conjunction with experimental methods (NMR and X-ray), we apply molecular dynamics simulations with the GLYCAM parameters and the AMBER force field. | | Keywords: Immunological carbohydrate-protein interactions studied by computational simulation and experimental methods |
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| Xu, Ying | E-mail: xyn@bmb.uga.edu | | Cancer Computational and Systems Biology: We are interested in developing integrated computational and omic techniques for (a) identification of biomarkers for a number of human cancers, detetable through analyses of serum/urine samples, and (b) understanding the relationships between molecular signatures and cancer formation & development. Our work involves microarray gene expression data generation and analyses, comparative genome analyses and analyses of other experimental data.
Computational Study of Plant Cell-wall Synthesis Genes and Pathways : We are interested in developing computational prediction and analysis techniques for inference of genes involved in cell wall synthesis in plants and regulatory elements of these genes & their relevant biochemical pathways. Our work currently involves prediction and analyses of protein-protein interactins relevant to cell wall synthesis, prediction of Golgi-residing proteins, bi-clustering analyses of microarray gene expression data and co-evolutionary analyses of cell-wall synthesis genes.
Study of Microbial Genome Structure and Application to Pathway & Network Inference: We are interested in understanding both the micro- and macro-structures of microbial genomes through computational studies and experimental validation, and in understanding why microbial genomes are organized the way they are. We are also interested applying the knowledge and information gained through such studies to prediction of pathways and networks in microbes.
Computational Methods for Protein Structure Prediction and Modeling: We are interested in developing effective computational methods for protein fold recognition, protein structure prediction and modeling, and protein complex prediction; and applying these tools to solve real structural biology problems. We are also interested in developing hybrid methods for protein structure solution using information from derived from computational tools and partial experimental data, including NMR and X-ray crystallograpohic data.
Our research work is currently sponsored by NSF, DOE, NIH, Georgia Research Alliance, Georgia Cancer Coalition and the University of Georgia. In addition, our work had been generously supported by Oak Ridge National Lab and Pacific Northwest National Lab.
| | Keywords: Bioinformatics, computational structural and systems biology |
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| York, William | E-mail: will@ccrc.uga.edu | | The "primary" cell wall, which surrounds growing plant cells, plays a key role in plant development. One of its most important functions is to control the rate and orientation of cell expansion. Polysaccharide networks in the wall expand by gradually yielding under osmotic stress, allowing the cell to grow in a controlled, oriented fashion. This process determines the morphology of each cell, which ultimately determines the shape of the entire plant. Research in my laboratory is aimed at characterizing the molecular dynamics and topology that lead to the assembly and controlled expansion of the cell wall. | | Keywords: Structure, function, and assembly of plant cell walls; Bioinformatics for glycomics and glycobiology |
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