Fall 2011 - the Department of Biology - Syracuse University

GRADUATE STUDENT PROFILE:Zaara SarwarGrowing up in Bangladesh, in a traditional societywith conservative values, I have been fortunateto be exposed to a rich diversity of experiencesin my academic and social life. This would not havebeen possible without the encouragement of my familywho treasure education above all else.My mother, a renowned classicalmusician, exposed my sister and me tothe rich heritage of our culture. My father,a scientist and entrepreneur, showed ushow with a sound education we couldcontribute to the development of oursociety. The achievements of my parentshave shown us that we can use oureducation to help Bangladesh, my homecountry, to become a more advanced andglobalized nation. For instance, my sisterwho has obtained a master’s degree inpublic administration intends to promotethe betterment of Bangladesh throughher work in the public sector. As formyself, I have always been interested inthe sciences. My interest in the biologicalsciences dates to reading The Double Helixby James Watson. Watson’s descriptionof the elucidation of the structure of theDNA molecule and its elegant simplicityin relation to its role as the repositoryof all genetic information stimulatedmy interest in molecular biology. Thisalong with strong high school sciencecourses instilled in me a fascination forbiochemistry and physical chemistrythat facilitate life processes. This ledme to earn a B.Sc. in chemistry andmathematics from Queen’s Universityin Canada, following which I decidedto further my education by enrolling inthe structural biology, biochemistry, andbiophysics Ph.D. program at SyracuseUniversity.At Syracuse University I joined Dr.Anthony Garza’s lab where the mainfocus of research is the mechanisms ofbacterial biofilm formation. In nature,and of particular interest to medicine, inmany chronic infections bacteria grow assurface-associated communities of cellsembedded in an extracellular polymericmatrix. The bacteria in the biofilm oftenrespond collectively to environmentalstimuli, sometimes expressing genes orshowing pathogenic activities not evidentwhen the cells are growing in isolationor in planktonic culture. In addition,bacteria growing in biofilms are oftenparticularly resistant to host defensemechanisms and conventional therapieswith antibiotics.Recent studies have shown thatbiofilms in the environment can actas reservoirs for pathogens such asVibrio cholerae and Shigella spp. betweenepidemics. Bacterial biofilms thrivein drinking water and food sourcesthat do not undergo proper sanitationprocedures. In fact, poor drinking waterquality is one of the primary meansof spreading infectious diseases inBangladesh. Children are especiallysusceptible to infectious diseasescaused by biofilm formation. Moreover,malnutrition of children, which is acommon phenomenon in Bangladesh,makes the children even morevulnerable to chronic diseases. I believethat understanding the mechanismsof bacterial biofilm formation, howbiofilms are maintained, and how cellscommunicate within the biofilm are veryimportant. These topics are the subjectsof my dissertation research.In our laboratory, we study the gramnegativesoil bacterium Myxococcusxanthus. Although not a humanpathogen, M. xanthus grows in biofilmsin which the bacteria act cooperativelyin movement and in subduing anddigesting bacterial prey which are theirsource of food. In addition, in response toadverse environmental conditions such asnutrient depletion, M. xanthus undergoesa complex life cycle during which bacteriain the biofilm aggregate and formmulticellular structures called fruitingbodies (Figure 1).16 THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITYS