Student Profiles

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Stephen Gee

Undergraduate Education: University of South Carolina
Degree / Year: BS Biology - Minor in Chemistry / 1997
Mentor(s): Sharon Milgram

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Yolanda Huang

Undergrad Education: Pennsylvania State University
Degree / Year: BA Wellesley College/ 2003
Mentor(s): Mohanish Deshmukh

Current Research Activities

Our lab is interested in examining the regulation of the apoptotic pathway in postmitotic cells. My project is based upon previous findings that XIAP, a key anti-apoptotic molecule which inhibits caspases, is important in restricting neuronal death in sympathetic neurons. We, therefore, hypothesize that mice deficient of XIAP will be more vulnerable to neurological diseases.

Publications

Huang YY*, Johnson CE*, Parrish AB, Smith MI, Vaughn AE, Wright KM, Zhang Q, van Dyke T, Weschsler-Reya RJ, Kornbluth S, Deshmukh M. Selective Induction of Apoptosis in Brain Tumors by Direct Activation of the Apoptosome. (In submission).

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Yang Liu

Undergrad Education: Fudan University
Degree / Year: BS / 2002
Mentor(s): Vytas Bankaitis

Current Research Activities

Ph.D. Thesis
7/2004-current: Vytas Bankaitis Lab
The Sac1p phosphoinositide phosphatase is required for maintenance of Golgi organization and early stages of embryonic development in mammals.

Publications

Bankaitis, V.A., Vincent, P., Merkulova, M., Tyeryar, K., and Liu, Y. 2007. Phosphatidylinositol transfer proteins and functional specification of lipid signaling pools. Advances in Enzyme Regulation (In Press).
Spana E.P., Elliott, B., Liu, Y., Perrimon, N., and Bankaitis, V.A. 2007. Novel roles for a Drosophila phosphatidylinositol transfer protein in regulation of mechanosensory bristle development, planar polarity signaling and EGF receptor activity. (to be submitted 4/2007).
Liu, Y., Boukhelifa, M., Ile, K.E., , and Bankaitis, V.A. 2007. The Sac1p phosphoinositide phosphatase is required for maintenance of Golgi organization and early stages of embryonic development in mammals. (to be submitted 4/2007).

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Vidya Mani

Undergrad Education: Bangalore University
Degree / Year: BS / 2000
Mentor(s): Scott Hammond

Current Research Activities

Investigating the role of microRNA in determining tumorigenic potential of malignant cells.

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Tom Marshall

Undergrad Education: Xavier University, Washington State University
Degree / Year: BS, Molecular Biosciences / 2000
Mentor(s): Jim Bear

Current Research Activities

I currently am characterizing Coronin 2A, an F-actin binding protein that localizes to stress fibers and focal adhesions. Through the use of shRNA knockdown and GFP fusion overexpression constructs, I am trying to determine the role of Coronin 2A in actin cytoskeleton organization and cell motility. In particular, I am aimed at determining if differential expression of Coronin 2A affects breast cancer cells chemotaxis toward the stimulus EGF.

Publications

Brown CJ, Takayama S, Campen AM, Vise P, Marshall TW, Oldfield CJ, Williams CJ, Dunker AK. Evolutionary rate heterogeneity in proteins with long disordered regions. J Mol Evol. 2002 Jul;55(1):104-10.
Marshall TW, Link KA, Petre-Draviam CE, Knudsen KE. Differential requirement of SWI/SNF for androgen receptor activity. J Biol Chem. 2003 Aug 15;278(33):30605-13.
Petre-Draviam CE, Cook SL, Burd CJ, Marshall TW, Wetherill YB, Knudsen KE. Specificity of cyclin D1 for androgen receptor regulation. Cancer Res. 2003 Aug 15;63(16):4903-13.
Marshall TW, Cai L, Bear JE. Chemistry comes to the cell: ASCB 2005. Nat Chem Biol. 2006 Mar;2(3):119-22.
Cai L, Marshall TW, Uetrecht AC, Schafer DA, Bear JE. Coronin 1B Coordinates Arp2/3 Complex and Cofilin Activities at the Leading Edge. Cell 2007 March 9:128, 915-929.

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Allyson Vaughn

Undergrad Education: University of Missouri-Columbia
Degree / Year: BS / 2002
Mentor(s): Mohanish Deshmukh

Current Research Activities

Our lab is working to better understand the mechanisms by which postmitotic cells regulate the programmed cell death pathway and undergo apoptosis. We find that compared to mitotic cells, postmitotic cells more strictly regulate this pathway in order to last the lifetime of the organism. Understanding how this process is regulated differentially between dividing and non-dividing cells is important for developing rational therapies that may prevent cell loss in pathological situations such as stroke, spinal cord injury, and neurodegenerative disease. In particular, I am interested in understanding the mechanisms by which neuronal cells resist apoptosis induced by cytosolic cytochrome c, and how this resistance is overcome in response to both developmental and pathological apoptotic stimuli.

Awards / Honors

Cell and Molecular Biology Grant (a predoctoral training program funded by the NIH for UNC graduate students) 8/2004-8/2005.
Keystone Symposia Education Fund: Scholarships for Cellular Senescence (2005).
PEO Scholars Award Recipient (2006).
F31 NIH predoctoral fellowship (NRSA) (2007-).

Publications

Potts MB, Vaughn AE, McDonough H, Patterson C, Deshmukh M. Reduced Apaf-1 Levels in Cardiomyocytes Engage Strict Regulation of Apoptosis by Endogenous XIAP (2005). J. Cell Biol. 171 (6):925-930
Murphy MM, Zayed MA, Evans AE, Parker C, Ataga KI, Telen MJ, Parise LV. Role of Rap1 in Promoting Sickle Red Blood Cell Adhesion to Laminin via BCAM/LU (2005). Blood. 105 (8):3322-3329.
Wright KM, Vaughn AE, Deshmukh M. Apoptosome dependent caspase-3 activation pathway is non-redundant and necessary for apoptosis in sympathetic neurons. (2007) March 14(3):625-33. Cell Death and Differen.
Vaughn AE, Deshmukh M. Essential Postmitochondrial Function of p53 Uncovered in DNA Damage-Induced Apoptosis in Neurons (2007) Jan 12 online ahead of print Cell Death and Differen.

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Hao Wu

Undergrad Education: Beijing Forestry University
Degree / Year: BS / 2001
Mentor(s): Patrick Brennwald

Current Research Activities

Rho3 and Cdc42 are members of the Rho family of small GTPases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both proteins play important but distinct roles in regulating polarized growth in yeast. My research is focused on understanding the mechanism by which Rho small GTPases regulate exocytosis. Genetic analysis has revealed that Rho3 and Cdc42 shares a common effector Exo70. Exo70 adopt a conformational change upon activation of GTP-bound Rho3 and Cdc42, which then leads to activation of the Exocyst complex and secretion.

Publications

Roumanie O, Wu H, Molk JN, Rossi G, Bloom K, Brennwald P, Rho GTPase regulation of Exocytosis in yeast is independent of GTP hydrolysis and polarization of the exocyst complex. J Cell Biol. 2005 Aug 15;170(4):583-94.

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