For more info, contact Dr. Courtney Robinson (Howard University) or Dr. Zakee L. Sabree (Ohio State University)
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Agenda
Meet the faculty
Dr. Juan D. Alfonzo
Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor
Department of Microbiology
Alfonzo.1@osu.edu
http://alfonzolab.blogspot.com
We are interested in RNA processing events that are unique to trypanosomes and that could be exploited as targets for the design of therapies against protozoan diseases. Protozoan parasites are responsible for the infection and death of millions of people worldwide. In a broader context, we are interested in how intracellular compartmentalization affects the fate of tRNAs within cells and thus their function. I am especially interested in three facets of tRNA processing: tRNA editing and tRNA modification in trypanosomes and tRNA import into mitochondria in various systems.
Aman Husbands
Assistant Professor
Department of Molecular Genetics
husbands.6@osu.edu
http://molgen.osu.edu/people/husbands.6
Developmental biology is the study of how organisms grow and acquire their final shape. Even a quick glance at the natural world highlights how remarkably complex these final shapes can be, despite originating from a single cell. How do organisms manage to create these complex shapes? And why doesn’t such a difficult process go wrong all the time? My lab is interested in the mechanisms underlying these two developmental concepts – termed complexity and reproducibility – which we study using plants as our model system.
Michael Campbell,
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
Howard University
Current genetic evidence indicates that anatomically modern humans evolved in Africa ~300,000 years ago, and then migrated across the globe within the last 100,000 years. The history of modern humans has encompassed a number of demographic events, including population structure, admixture and migration, which have shaped patterns of genetic variation in contemporary populations. In addition, novel genetic and phenotypic adaptations (such as, lactase persistence, skin pigmentation and bitter taste perception) have also evolved in populations in response to dramatic variation in climate, diet, and/or exposure to infectious disease. In the end, present-day patterns of variation in human genomes are a product of both demographic and selective events. One of the “grand challenges” in genomics research is to better understand the connections between evolutionary history, genomic variation and varying complex traits, including disease susceptibility. My laboratory is interested in understanding these connections within the context of diverse human populations from Africa and the Middle East. My research falls into three main categories: A) population genetic history, B) genomic basis of complex disease and normal variable traits, and C) computational methods for detecting adaptive evolution.
Gerry Carter
Assistant Professor
Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology
email: Carter.1640@osu.edu
web: socialbat.org
I study cooperative traits and relationships in animals. How do cooperative animals choose, form, maintain, and regulate their social relationships? How do these relationships influence the structure of mammalian societies? What kinds of strategies do animals use when forming cooperative relationships? To address these questions, I study social relationships in the common vampire bat, a species that engages in reciprocal food (blood) sharing with both kin and nonkin. We study cooperation, cognition, and communication in the lab and field.
Jeseth Delgado Vela, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Howard University
Amid the challenges of climate change, aging infrastructure, and urbanization environmental engineers must develop an equitable, environmentally sustainable, and cost-efficient urban water cycle. Water and wastewater treatment function relies on microbial activity. Tools in molecular biology have undergone rapid advances, generating new forms of data that provide increased detail of molecular process. Harnessing molecular data can advance biotechnology development for urban water treatment. The goal of my research is to combine process modeling and molecular biology approaches to understand the urban water cycle and consequently help inform water treatment approaches, policy, and technology development.
Kirstie Grant
Graduate Student, Burke Lab
Howard University
A Molecular Phylogeny of the Collective Rumex genus, Emphasizing the Polymorphic Sexual Systems of Its Species
George Middendorf
Professor
Department of Biology
Howard University
Dr. George Middendorf’s research has mostly focused on the behavioral ecology of amphibians and reptiles. In southeastern Arizona, he is engaged in a long-term study of the behavior and population ecology of Yarrow’s spiny lizard, Sceloporus jarrovi. Other herp studies include investigations of defensive behaviors of horned lizards, Phrynosoma and of herpetofaunal communities in Maryland, West Virginia and Bolivia. Non-herpetofaunal studies includes research with a conservation organization in Suriname on population demographics of three-toed sloths in Paramaribo and in Washington, DC, environmental issues in the neighborhoods surrounding Howard University.
Sarah Short
Assistant Professor
Entomology Department
Short.343@osu.edu
Theshortlab.org
Mosquitoes transmit multiple pathogens which cause devastating diseases, including dengue and Zika virus. Dr. Short studies the many ways that microbes interact with mosquitoes and the effects those microbes have on disease transmission. In one project, her lab is investigating how nutrition impacts the bacterial communities in the digestive tracts of mosquitoes and the downstream impacts on virus transmission. In another, they are investigating the impact of natural parasites called microsporidia on mosquito susceptibility to human pathogens. This information will help our understanding of how mosquitoes transmit pathogens and what makes mosquitoes better or worse at spreading disease.
Patrick Ymele-Leki
Associate Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Howard University
The Biofilm Engineering and Drug Discovery (BEDD) research program focuses on (i) developing screening assays for the identification of novel small molecules with antimicrobial activity, and (ii) studying microbial models that are relevant in clinical, industrial and environmental settings. Long-term goals are to enhance the current arsenal of antimicrobial agents and further our understanding of complex microbial communities. Current projects include (i) the investigation of biofilm structural features in fluid flows and their impact on the efficacy of known antimicrobial agents; (ii) the evaluation of potential antimicrobial challenges for in situ biofilm control; and (iii) the analysis of microbial mechanisms for iodate reduction and iodine speciation.