Nora Caberoy

Dr. Nora Caberoy’s research is on eye diseases. Specifically, she studies the retina (the thin, multi-layer, light-sensitive tissue that is found all the way at the back of the eye) and the role of retinal pigment epithelium phagocytosis in photoreceptor death that leads to retinal dysfunction and then blindness. By identifying factors and pathways associated with damage of the retina, she hopes to be able to develop ways to prevent or treat blindness.

In parallel with Caberoy’s work in the eye, she also identifies and characterizes factors that contribute to the development of obesity with the hope of developing therapeutic strategies to prevent or treat obesity. She explores the physiological and pathological roles of tubby protein in the development of obesity.

Grant Mastick

To build a brain, the embryo must produce a spatially organized array of a vast number of neurons, then interconnect them. Our research group uses genetic and molecular approaches in mouse and chick embryos to investigate the functions of specific genes in brain development. This research has implications for the molecular therapy of neurological disease and injury, and is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Our current research is on the migration of neurons and their axons through the developing brain. We investigate how molecular signals guide axons to migrate precisely long distances on longitudinal pathways, how cranial nerves grow out to connect to muscles, and also how neuron cell bodies settle in specific positions. Our studies focus on a system of signals, the Slit/Robo repellents and the Netrin attractants, to understand the mechanisms by which opposing signals are integrated by neurons.

Ernesto Abel-Santos

Dr. Abel-Santos is interested in research that combines the areas of organic chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology. The Abel-Santos laboratory is currently applying enzymology approaches to the process of Bacillus spore germination. Due to its potential as a bioterrorism weapon, new methods to control B. anthracis (a.k.a ANTHRAX) infections are needed. B. anthracis spores are resistant to most type of antiseptic and antibiotic treatments. Although anthrax spores are resilient, they have to “taste” their environment to determine when conditions are right to germinate (e.g. your lungs) Using the information gathered from the kinetic models, we have developed nucleoside inhibitors against anthrax spore germination. These compounds have proven to be effective in protecting macrophage form anthrax-mediated killing.

Christine Cremo

Dr. Christine Cremo has worked in the field of muscle proteins since her doctoral work on the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor in the heart. After working on fluorescent nucleotide derivatives for studies on skeletal myosin structure and function, she moved on to try to understand the regulation of the smooth muscle myosin ATPase by phosphorylation of the regulatory light chain. The focus has been on structure-function relationships. This work is ongoing, as well as a new focus on structure-function relationships of smooth muscle myosin light chain kinase. This work has high relevance to several human diseases such as asthma, hypertension, and gastrointestinal disorders.

Heather Burkin

Dr. Heath Burkin’s research is focused on signaling pathways in the pregnant uterus. She has been involved in a variety of research topics related to understanding fertility and fetal, infant and child health problems at the molecular level during a career spanning approximately 10 years. This topic is extremely relevant today when 12.8% of births in the United States are premature. Since preterm birth is the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality, it is distressing that this number is so much higher than in other developed countries.

Her research is focused on signaling pathways activated by stretch in human myometrium. An estimated 10% of preterm births can be attributed to abnormal uterine distension and mechanical forces regulate myometrial gene expression, cell growth, and contractility. Further defining the signaling pathways that regulate stretch-induced activation of the human myometrium will have important implications for the treatment of preterm labor.

Dylan Kosma

Dr. Dylan Kosma is a Plant Physiologist & Molecular Geneticist.  He is an Assistant Professor in the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno.

The aerial organs of all higher plants are covered with a lipid-rich cuticle that serves to protect plants from their environment. The cuticle is comprised of a lipid polymer, cutin, that is embedded and covered with aliphatic waxes. Suberin is a biosynthetically-related lipid polymer that is found in tree bark, seed coats, the surface of mature roots and surrounding the vasculature of young roots. Suberin production is a ubiquitous response to wounding. Collectively, cutin and suberin comprise the most abundant, naturally occurring lipid polymers on the planet. It is estimated that leaf cuticles alone represent a surface area twice that of the earth’s land surface.

The Kosma lab is focused on understanding the complex plant lipid polymers cutin and suberin. We use a multidisciplinary approach combining biochemistry, analytical techniques and molecular genetics to comprehend the macromolecular structure and functional significance of these polymers with an emphasis on their role in plant tolerance to abiotic stress.

Seungil Ro

My research interest is studying the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) that control gut neuromuscular (motility) disorders. The gut is a vital organ for human survival: it is where food is digested, where nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream, and where undigested waste moves through and leaves the body. This digestive process is achieved by the synchronized movement (motility) of gastrointestinal (GI) muscle, which mixes food and propels the digested content through the GI tract. Motility of GI muscle is controlled by three key cells: enteric nervous system (ENS), interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), and smooth muscle cells (SMCs). ENS and ICC generate complex rhythmic motor behavior and spontaneous electrical slow waves, respectively, both of which control SMCs, the final effectors for muscle contraction and muscle relaxation. Developmental abnormalities and pathophysiological damage of these cells are directly linked to GI neuromuscular diseases such as Hirschsprung’s disease, diabetic gastroenteropathy (DGEP), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), and chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO).

Gayle Dana

Dr. Dana is the NSF EPSCoR Project Director and the Nevada State EPSCoR Director. Dr. Dana’s expertise is in surface water hydrology and energy balance of desert, seasonally snow-covered, and polar regions. Present research projects include 1) nutrient and sediment source assessment for TMDL development in the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River Watersheds; (2) hydrochemical modeling in a Lake Tahoe watershed (3) effects of fire on nutrient dynamics in forested watersheds, (4) evaporation from lakes and reservoirs in support of the Truckee River Operating Agreement, and (5) spatially distributed energy balance modeling for climate change detection in Antarctica. Dr. Dana is the Science Advisor to the Truckee River TMDL and Watershed Council, and is a collaborator with the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research project.

Ai-Sun (Kelly) Tseng

Dr. Ai-Sun (Kelly) Tseng is an Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The regulation of animal size and shape is a longstanding and fundamental question in Biology. Although animals such as planaria and salamanders can fully regenerate their body parts after injury, humans lack this amazing ability. The Tseng lab is especially interested in studying how an animal senses physiologically that it has injured or lost body organs and how it responds to repair the damage.