Principal Investigator	Institution	Dept.	Project
Dr. Todd Sandrin	UW Oshkosh	Biology and Microbiology	effects of metals and their speciation on expression of bacterial metal resistance mechanisms
Dr. Teri Shors	UW Oshkosh	Biology and Microbiology	characterization of D9 and D10 proteins of vaccinia virus (VV) and the MCOO2L gene product of MCV
Dr. Toivo Kallas	UW Oshkosh	Biology and Microbiology	Rieske iron-sulfur protein; electron transport and signaling; oxygen radicals; iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis
Dr. Michelle Michalski	UW Oshkosh	Biology and Microbiology	detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in deer and ticks in Wisconsin
Dr. Dana Vaughan	UW Oshkosh	Biology and Microbiology	characterization of retinas before and after induced retinal degeneration
Dr. Sharon Hawi	UW Oshkosh	Biology and Microbiology	applications of fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals
Dr. Robert Wise	UW Oshkosh	Biology and Microbiology	effects of heat stress on the proteome of cotton
Dr. James Paulson	UW Oshkosh	Chemistry	mitotic phosphoproteins; dephosphorylation of proteins during mitotic exit
Dr. David Hall	Lawrence University	Chemistry	rhinovirus infection and regulation of genes involved in asthma
Dr. Colleen Byron	Ripon College	Chemistry	enzyme electrochemistry
Dr. Maragaret Stevens	Ripon College	Chemistry	molecular genetics of sea urchins
Dr. Russ Feirer	St. Norbert College	Biology	cellular and molecular biology of Arabidopsis
Dr. Cynthia Oschler	St. Norbert College	Chemistry	protein expression in synaptic neurotransmission
Dr. Warren Johnson	UW Green Bay	Human Biology	characterization of global regulatory factors in E. coli

During the Spring 2004 semester, Dr. Jim Paulson and chemistry major Kelly van Vleet used the GelDoc and the fluorescence imager to study protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation in mitotic chromosomes. Proteins were first separated by electrophoresis in SDS polyacrylamide gels and then, using the fluorescence imager, phosphorylated proteins were visualized with "ProQ Diamond," a new phosphoprotein specific fluorescent stain. Afterwards, both phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated proteins were visualized by staining the gels with Sypro Orange and scanning on the fluorescence imager, or by staining with Coomassie Blue and photographing with the GelDoc.

During Summer 2004, Eric Kracht (undergraduate microbiology major and recipient of a UW Oshkosh Faculty-Undergraduate Collaborative Research Grant ) worked with Dr. Todd Sandrin to explore mechanisms by which a naphthalene-degrading bacterium indigenous to the Fox River (Comomonas testosteroni)resists the toxic effects of cadmium. Specifically, Kracht and Sandrin investigated proteins that were induced or suppressed by cadmium. The team isolated two proteins of interest and are currently characterizing each. A preliminary peptide mass fingerprint of one of the proteins is shown here and was obtained using the Bruker Reflex IV MALDI-TOF-MS. Proteins were separated using gel electrophoresis instrumentation also housed in the Core Facility.

Also during Summer 2004, Jennifer Okon (undergraduate microbiology major) and Darryl Horn (Biology graduate student) worked with Dr. Todd Sandrin to obtain genetic fingerprints of E. coli isolates found contaminating beaches and recreational swimming waters across Wisconsin. Okon, Horn, and Sandrin continue to PCR amplify repetitive genomic elements (BOX) of several hundred of these isolates. The complex fingerprints were obtained using gel electrophoresis equipment within the Core Facility. Analyses were performed using software contained within the Facility. An example gel, containing several fingerprints, is here.

Two more undergraduates are working with Dr. Sandrin this academic year and are utilizing additional instrumentation within the Core Facility. Using DNA microarrays, Candace Otte (undergraduate microbiology major) will explore whether pH-dependent cadmium speciation alters gene expression in E. coli. Aso Qader (undergraduate microbiology major) will use 2-d gels and MALDI-TOF-NS to investigate whether medium-dependent cadmium speciation affects protein expression in E. coli.

Katrina Olson, a graduate student in the Department of Biology and Microbiology at UWOshkosh, is working with Dr. Robert Wise to characterize effects heat stress on the proteome of cotton. Specifically, the team is characterizing the proteome of subcellular structures located within chloroplasts.

Dr. Jerrrold Lokensgard (Lawrence University Chemistry Department) is working with undergraduate Yong Seokchoi to characterize a novel kairomone produced by Chaoborus that affects Daphnia. For their study, Lokensgard and Seokchoi are using our electrospray-ionization ion trap mass spectrometer.

Dr. Michelle Michalski (UW Oshkosh Biology Department) and undergraduates Megan Erickson, Rebecca Selle and Carla Rosenfield are using the gel imaging instrumentation in the Core Facility to determine the prevalence of tickborne disease in Wisconsin ticks and deer. Specifically, DNA from Anaplasma phagocytophilum, a bacterium that causes Human Granulocytic Granulosis in humans is being amplified from deer blood and visualized on the GelDoc EQ.

More updates to follow. . .