As I write this newsletter this year, we sit in 9,000 feet of snow and ice, and await the
next ice age, despite Greenland’s thaw. In our
igloos, we continue to focus on how mRNAs
are controlled, how proteins and RNAs fi nd
one another, and the many ways in which
biology uses RNA.
Continuing…
JJ Chritton has passed her prelim with
fl ying colors and convinced her committee
that she could “do three complete experiments
a day without breaking a sweat” which of
course led them to suggest that “she should do
six experiments a day so that she sweats.” We
hope she will soon gain the acclaim of reviewers
with equal aridity. She is working on how
one class of repressor proteins work, using
cell-free systems that parallel in vivo studies
in yeast, and has made great headway. Aaron
Goldstrohm, a post-doc, after a fl urry of
papers and job interviews, is returning to the
bench to fi gure out which proteins talk to a
central group of regulators (the PUF proteins,
for the avocados among you), as a means to
understand how they repress translation and
cause mRNAs to be destroyed. Along the way,
Aaron has written a review of deadenylases and
another of how to study poly(A) removal, both
published in prominent journals. Th ese grew
out of his studies with Brad Hook and Daniel
Seay. Brad has moved on to Promega (a local
Biotech company) where he thrives developing
and analyzing new products and applications.
Rumor has it that he is soon to make an
appearance at a lab bench here again – most
welcome.
Laura Opperman, soon to defend her
thesis, has been working on how PUF proteins
fi nd their RNA targets. Th is work has gotten
an elating boost through our collaboration with
Dr. Traci Hall (North Carolina) who has determined
the structure that goes along with Laura’s
earlier molecular genetics. Once she fi nishes
collecting the data and writing ten additional
papers, she will be moving on to Scott Kennedy’s
lab on campus to study RNAi. Craig
Stumpf, another student, is soon to defend
his PhD as well; and will be staying for a while
after to explore PUFinalia in new ways. Craig
and Laura have been joined in this endeavor by
Yvonne Koh, a graduate student, whose work
in short order revealed some new surprises in
recognition, and now is moving off in new
directions. Andrew Prigge and Leah Gross,
two undergrads, have joined in developing new
ways to fl y through PUF–RNA space.
Amy Cooke, a CMB student, has been
using frog oocytes to understand how mRNAs
in eggs and embryos are controlled; a longterm
issue here is to try to understand to
what extent the mechanisms seen in yeast and
embryos are really the same, and what features
of each are idiosyncratic. A paper is becoming
visible on the horizon.
Labib Rouhana and Jae Eun Kwak both
defended their theses at the end of 2007. Labib,
who continues to work on new regulators and
new ways to detect RNA-protein interactions
in vivo, is planning a radical change of setting,
and has arranged a post-doc with Dr. Agata in
Kyoto, Japan. He anticipates working on how
mRNA control contributes to regeneration.
Jae Eun has fi ngers in many pies. Right now,
she is juggling work on the role of mRNA control
in memory – some major breakthroughs
there in which she identifi ed an enzyme critical
for long-term memory in particular – with
studies of a new group of enzymes that add
poly(U) rather than poly(A) to RNAs. Th e
memory studies have benefi ted immeasurably
from a collaboration with Jerry Yin in Genetics,
who in a triumph of inbreeding, was in
fact Bill Reznikoff ’s grad student when Marv
fi rst arrived in Madison. Jacque Baca, is fi guring
out how protein and microRNA mechanisms
of repression may interface in the C.
elegans germline.
Moving on…
Daniel Seay, graduate student here and
a man of exothermic life style, exuding energetic
radiation in many forms, has moved on
to Rockefeller as a post-doc with Mike Young,
studying rhythms in fl ies. My impression is
that he really likes New York, but is looking
forward to being done with his work from
here. He continues to wrap up a very interesting
group of studies on a new form of regulation,
for which he was incessantly teased here
at fi rst – kudos to him. |
Coming back….
Natascha Buter, who had received a Master’s
in the lab a few years ago, has returned
and now takes care of us all in maintenance,
ordering, etc. It’s a great pleasure to have her
back to lend her energy, insight and great spirit. Laurel Bessey, an undergrad, continues
to pour plates and help with lab maintenance.
A few alumni….
Omissions are inevitable, but let me mention
a few small developments that relate to
alumni with whom I have had some sort of
special contact in the last year. It was delightful
to have a visit from Niki Gray and Kris
Dickson, in a birthday celebration in Madison,
and to meet their Signifi cant Others and
hear what they are up to – namely, science
in Edinburgh (Niki) and Big Shot editing in
Boston (Kris). Judith and I have had the good
fortune to see a bit more of Dave Zarkower
and Vivian Bardwell, both on the faculty at
University of Minnesota, now that Zach goes
to college nearby. It's always a treat to see them
both. Scott Ballantyne, at UW River Falls,
continues to have creative ideas about how
regulation works, and is always great to hear
from. Had a chance to visit Sunnie Th ompson
in Birmingham last year, and it was a
special pleasure to see how happy she was in
her new professorial state. Cameron Luitjens,
now a lawyer raking in the billable hours, was
recently accosted with an email from me about
work he did 10 or more years ago, which we
are thinking about trying to write up at last,
since it keeps getting asked for. Th is will really
challenge the long-term memory bank. Mike
Sheets and Catherine Fox, both on the faculty
here, are buoyed by their delightful son, Max,
who has the great wisdom to be oblivious to
deadlines. Dave Bernstein, in Washington
and still involved in science policy, married
this last year and appears from a distance to be
thriving. From the words we exchange, Pete
Wigley, down under, seems to be entirely
unchanged, though I suspect he now weighs
340 pounds, carries a machete and smokes
cognac-laced cigars (but still has those shorts).
My apologies to the many of you that I have
been unable to mention.
Marv is graduating, defending, writing
grants and letters, and greatly enjoying science
and the people in the lab, however bizarre their
behavior becomes (you have no idea). Carol
continues to keep him on track. Marv enjoys a
temporary trip to the third person, as it makes
him feel so athletic, as in “He really loves to
step back behind the three point line and write
the Abstract as he drives to the hoop and slams
the Discussion through the net.” But shocking
himself back to fi rst-person reality…. I am
doing fi ne, or so I think, with no increased athleticism.
Our son, Zach, is off at Macalester,
where as the British say, the world is his oyster,
and he is devouring them on the half-shell
by the dozen. Chemistry, mathematics, computer
science and writing are off ered up with
horseradish, lemon and dipping sauce. Children,
whether biological or scientifi c, whether
newborn or middle aged, are one of the great
graces of my life, and I thank you all. Come by
sometime. You will always be welcome.
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