MCP Ph.D.s 2010-2011Structurally Disordered Proteins Give Up TheirConformational Secretsby Onika MurrayCongratulations to our recentMolecular and CellularPharmacology Ph.Ds:Ari B. Abraham, Ph.D. (Tsirka Lab)MSTP candidate, 3rd yr. medical studentLisa Evans DeWald, Ph.D.(Levine Lab)Toxicology specialist, American ForensicToxicology ServicesJaime Emmetsberger, Ph.D.(Tsirka Lab)Postdoctoral fellow, SBUAngelo Guainazzi, Ph.D.(Schärer Lab)Project Manager Coordinator, HelsinnTherapeuticsHuiyan (Winnie) Huang, Ph.D.(Frohman Lab)Postdoctoral fellow, Brown <strong>University</strong>Dianne EunJoo Lee, Ph.D.(Talmage Lab)Postdoctoral fellow, Yale <strong>University</strong>Jim McCann has always had a flair for taking on daunting riddles with repose.As an undergraduate, he was able to solve the trickiest questions on exams, anability that set him apart. Here at SBU, Jim continues to distinguish himselfas a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Molecular & Cellular Pharmacologygraduate program. After receiving his B.E. in Chemical Engineering at TheCooper Union in 2007, he joined Dr. Mark Bowen’s lab in the Departmentof Physiology & Biophysics, where he has been applying single-moleculetechniques to protein structure determination.Earlier this year, Jim was first author on a publication in Structure, “DomainOrientation in the N-terminal PDZ Tandem from PSD-95 is Maintained in theFull-length Protein.” Given that this title might baffle the average person,Jim amiably explained the goal of his project. “We wanted to figure out theorientation of PSD-95, a protein about which very little is known structurallybecause of its ‘intrinsically disordered’ protein classification. PSD-95 is adynamic protein that continually shifts between an ordered and disorderedstate, so our single-molecule FRET technique has allowed us to figure out itsdomain orientation as well as its low-energy structure.”These results also have connections to health, as PSD-95 has been implicatedin a plethora of neurological diseases, such as autism, schizophrenia andAlzheimer’s. Jim’s work provides the first insights into the structure of PSD-95, which would provide an important guide in drug design for this class ofneurological disorders.Tom Nguyen, Ph.D. (Colognato Lab)Barbara Orelli, Ph.D. (Scharer Lab)Postdoctoral fellow, Columbia <strong>University</strong>Akua Bonsra Roach, Ph.D. (Du Lab)Regulatory Specialist, Technical ResourcesInternationalIva D. Tzvetanova, Ph.D. (ColognatoLab)Postdoctoral fellow, Max-Planck Institute,Göttingen, GermanyYao Yao, Ph.D. (Tsirka Lab)Postdoctoral fellow, Rockefeller <strong>University</strong>Oladapo O. Yeku, Ph.D.(Frohman Lab)MSTP candidate, 3rd year medical studentJim is also second author on an article in the April 2011 issue of Structure.The paper, entitled “Beyond the Random Coil: Stochastic ConformationalSwitching in Intrinsically Disordered Proteins,” dealt with verifying the lowestenergyconfiguration of PSD-95. Last September, the department recognizedJim for his work with a 2010 Van der Kloot Research Award, which is given forexcellence in research scholarship.Jim plans to complete his degree next spring, but his future career plans areotherwise still up in the air. “I’m really uncertain about what the next phasewill be. I’m deciding whether to take the industry or academia route.” Wecan guess, though, that wherever he goes, Jim will continue to solve difficultriddles.8 Summer | 2011 |
8th Annual Pharmacology Graduate Students’Symposiumby Cindy Leiton and Onika MurrayOn June 6 the MCP graduate students gathered for their 8th Annual GraduateStudents’ Symposium. This event is organized and run entirely by the studentsthemselves, and this year was led by student representative Victoria Fischer.Students Vinal Patel, Luisa Escobar-Hoyos, Cindy Leiton, Ken Lee, Tiffany Tsui,Ifeanyi Obiorah, and Christopher Eyermann gave wonderful talks that displayedthe breadth and depth of their ongoing research.“Since I joined the MCP program, today’s presentations had the most variety oftopics, from neurons to glia, to biochemistry and molecular biology. I thoughtit was by far the best representation of the variety of areas our program facultyare involved in, compared to previous years,” said Ifeanyi Obiorah.MCP Graduate StudentAwards & HonorsLuisa Escobar, Fulbright Scholar(2010-2013)Jason Quinones, Turner Fellow(2010-2015)Yao Yao, Sigma Xi and GordonResearch Conference Travel Grants(2010)Onika Murray, AACR Minority inCancer Research Award (2011)Luisa Torres, NSF GRFP HonorableMention (2011)Top: MCP graduate students and speaker Dr. Zervas Bottom:Dex-Ann Brown; Dr. Tsirkapresents the award to Jim McCann; Eileen Carpenter and Vinal PatelThe David L. Williams Memorial Travel Award is given annually in memoryof one of the department’s “founding fathers,” Dr. David L. Williams. Thisyear’s recipient was Jim McCann who will use the award to attend the AnnualBiophysical Society Meeting in 2012. Wahida Ali was recognized as the award’srunner-up.Students and faculty of the Graduate Programsin Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at theAnnual Fall Symposium 2010.Every year the students vote on a distinguished professor to give the keynoteseminar. This year, Dr. Mark Zervas of Brown <strong>University</strong> discussed his workon determining how the temporal and spatial deletion of Tsc1 and mTORdysregulation during brain development causes neurological disease in tuberoussclerosis. The MCP students joined Dr. Zervas for lunch and discussions aboutlife after the Ph.D., career options, and funding politics. The students weregrateful for his insight and perspective on academic and industry careers.Summer | 2011 |9
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