Montana INBRE

Montana INBRE E-Newsletter

October, 2009

If you have news to share with the MT INBRE Community, or if you wish to receive this Newsletter via email, please contact Valerie Holznagel.

Montana INBRE October 2009 Newsletter

October 2009 E-Newsletter (pdf)

MT INBRE Research at The University of Montana-Western

Investigation of the Early Secretory Pathway in Candida albicans
Dr. Michael Morrow, Associate Professor of Biology at UM-Western, focuses his research on the opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans, a yeast that infects humans and is the fourth most common cause of nosocomial bloodstream infections. These infections are due to hospital-acquired pathogens in the bloodstream and are a leading cause of death in the US (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no2/wenzel.htm). C. albicans is not always in a pathogenic state. For the organism to transition into the pathogenic state, it relies on the secretion of virulence factors and cell wall proteins that pass through a secretory pathway, the mechanisms of which are not yet clearly defined in C. albicans. Dr. Morrow is working to define the initial steps of the pathway, specifically the translocation of secreted proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Understanding these mechanisms may provide the field with a deeper understanding of fungal cell biology and may ultimately lead to identification of new drug targets.

(L to R) Michael Morrow, Amanda Kortum, Emily Morrison, Ben Gilboe, Michael Gilbert, Katie Rompala

Dr. Morrow is approaching the problem of identifying which proteins are involved in these initial steps in two ways. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a well-studied yeast in which the proteins that play a role in the translocation of secretory proteins into the ER have been well defined. Dr. Morrow will utilize S. cerevisiae to find out if two essentially analogous proteins in C. albicans perform the same functions. Dr. Morrow is also developing an in vitro ER translocation system to characterize functional mechanisms of C. albicans proteins.

Providing undergraduate science students with independent hands-on research experiences is a central goal of the project. Dr. Morrow finds personal satisfaction in seeing students excited about biomedical research and helping them attain biomedical careers of their choice. Working with the various projects in the lab allows students to conduct fruitful experiments from start to finish within the time constraints of their academic schedules. Undergraduate Amanda Kortum in Dr. Morrow’s lab originally planned to apply to veterinary school. “My project has offered me a chance to further my knowledge in biology, presented me with opportunities otherwise not accessible, and taught me how to perform professional lab and research techniques,” says Kortum, “And now, instead of being interested exclusively in clinical work, I feel that a career involving research may be more fitting for me.”

Originally hired at UM-Western with BRIN funds, Dr. Morrow has succeeded in establishing a healthy biomedical research environment at UM-Western. According to Dr. Morrow, “It [INBRE] has provided a very strong biomedical research infrastructure, which has been critical to providing students with classroom and research experiences in cell and molecular biology. As a result of this infrastructure and these experiences, Montana Western students are prepared with all the tools necessary to begin graduate school or enter biomedical careers after graduation.” With his efforts and strong institutional support from UM-Western, the number of students choosing to major in biomedical sciences has increased ten-fold.

Borrelia burgdorferi: Inducible Gene Expression in an Experimental Enzootic Cycle
Dr. Michael A. Gilbert, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at UM-Western, is new this year to Montana INBRE. Dr. Gilbert studies gene expression in Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. This bacterium has an enzootic life cycle alternating between Ixodes ticks and mammalian hosts, typically small rodents. Uninfected larval ticks acquire the bacteria by feeding on infected rodents. These ticks then remain infected and are capable of transmitting B. burgdorferi throughout their remaining developmental stages. Although humans are only inadvertently infected, Lyme disease remains the most common arthropod-borne disease in the United States. A vaccine directed against OspA, a major outer surface protein of B. burgdorferi, was developed, but it was eventually withdrawn from the market. Currently no vaccine directed against B. burgdorferi is available for humans. Therefore, increasing our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis used by B. burgdorferi is necessary to provide more effective diagnostic and treatment options for Lyme disease patients, and genetic studies continue to be one of the most effective means available to accomplish this.

Montana INBRE Receives ARRA Community Engagement Supplement

MSU Nursing Faculty to Pursue CBPR Projects with Two Montana Native American Communities

Drs. Patricia Holkup and Elizabeth Kinion, nursing faculty at MSU, worked together to develop their NIH-NCRR Community Engagement ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) proposal. Their projects are quite distinct, yet share the common goals to reduce health disparities in Montana Native American communities through CBPR initiatives led by Montana tribal communities and health boards and to further develop the state’s pipeline to careers in health sciences.

During a recent informal survey of Blackfeet community members, the issue of widespread unresolved grief emerged as a significant underlying cause of their experienced health disparities. In close collaboration with members of the community, a grief recovery program has been planned. This two-year program will involve a community-wide historical trauma educational conference, a grief retreat facilitator training, and the implementation of grief retreats that have incorporated healing practices unique to the Blackfeet Nation.

Research team members Emily Matt Salois, MSW, ACSW, Gyda Swaney, PhD, and Dr. Holkup plan to explore the relationship of historical trauma to grief among the Blackfeet people through the use of two culturally evaluated grief inventories. Phenomenological interviews also will be conducted, in an effort to work toward a description of the lived experience of grief among Blackfeet people.

Undergraduate students at Blackfeet Community College will study CBPR and qualitative research methods and will play an important role in data collection and analysis for the project. “Our main goal for students is to de-mystify the research process and to give them the opportunity to participate in culturally appropriate ways of conducting research in their community,” say Drs. Swaney and Holkup.

“Our belief is that research should make a difference in people’s lives, and this research project has the potential to do that.” – Salois, Swaney, and Holkup

Dr. Holkup sees many benefits to this project. Not only will the project address INBRE’s goals, it will also contribute to the existing but sparse research on grief in Native American communities. The culturally specific retreat may provide a model into which other tribal groups can integrate their own traditional healing practices.

Working to reduce health disparities from a different direction, Dr. Kinion plans to address the critical problem of insufficient dental care for young children at Fort Belknap Reservation. Early Childhood Caries (ECC) affects Native American children disproportionately, and can result in a wide range of damaging consequences, from dental infection to decreased self-esteem.

FBC Allied Health Students Gemma Doore and Danielle Kinsey

INBRE Undergraduate Research at MSU

Montana INBRE/Undergraduate Scholars Program Awards

Eighteen MSU undergraduate students are receiving funding awards from Montana INBRE through MSU’s Undergraduate Scholars Program. MSU students applying for these competitive awards collaborate with a faculty sponsor and submit a detailed research proposal. The following students received awards: Patrick Bender, Ryan Andrew Boharski, Brittany Buchholz, Loribeth Evertz, Hilary Fabich, Drago Guggiana, Tiffany Hensley, Shannon Kruse, Karin Langhus, Heather Lytle, Allison MacGregor, Bethany McMaster, Kiera McNelis, Gharett Meng, Caleb Sturge, Alfred Swanson, Katie Walton, and Thomas Wright.

Montana INBRE Public Health Internships

Introduced in the fall of 2008, Montana INBRE’s Public Health Internship (PHI) program is designed to provide undergraduate students from any discipline research experience in community health and health disparities. These seven undergraduate MSU students are initiating year-long research projects as part of the PHI program (listed with their internship location): Jared Bozeman (Bridger Clinic), Ryan Fell (AHEC/MORH), Emily Freeman (Bridger Clinic and Gallatin County Department of Health), Philip Gardner (Bridger Clinic), Julia Middleton (AHEC/MORH), Jessica Peretti (Montana Nutrition and Physical Activity Program), and Kelan Stanfill (Gallatin County Department of Health WIC Program).

Montana INBRE News and Events

Student Opportunities

Funding Opportunities

Congratulations to Jessi Smith, MSU Associate Professor of Social Psychology and MT INBRE Researcher Dr. Jessi Smith has been awarded an NSF grant to study how Native American men and women differentially negotiate cultural expectations as well as social support structures to persist in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines. The project is titled “Supportive Communities: How Gender Impacts the Native American Experience in STEM fields.” Dr. Smith is the PI on this $217,000 award, and will collaborate with former MSU faculty member Dr. Anneke Metz, currently at Southern Illinois University.

Western Region COBRE-INBRE Scientific Conference

The Western region COBRE-INBRE scientific conference is held every other year, with different western region IDeA states playing host. This time, it was Montana’s turn. Montana INBRE sponsored the conference along with two COBRE programs at MSU and two at The University of Montana. Over 300 people participated in the September conference at Big Sky, Montana, representing most of the 23 COBRE and INBRE programs in the IDeA Western region. Attendees included administrators, faculty, and graduate, undergraduate and high school students as well as representatives from NIH-NCRR.

The conference schedule was full, with 14 sessions over two days. Sessions included oral scientific presentations by junior and senior investigators as well as discussions on ways to extend the student pipeline, collaborate with area Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs), and manage program data. Two well-attended poster sessions presented an opportunity for researchers to share their work and forge new collaborations. Highlights of the program included enlightening and entertaining presentations by five featured speakers whose expertise covers the breadth of IDeA research areas.

The conference was also honored by the presence of six NIH-NCRR officials. Dr. Padma Maruvada spoke on the different arms and research award opportunities within NCRR. She emphasized the importance of success stories to display the merit of these programs to Congress. Drs. Sidney McNairy and Maruvada also discussed ways to utilize CTSAs to strengthen collaborations and expand research opportunities.

Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to this conference! We hope you found it productive and enjoyable. Visit the Montana INBRE website to view the conference program, and poster and oral session abstracts.

Robert Schoene at the Next Café Scientifique
November 19, 2009
6:00 - 7:30pm

Humans on High: An exploration of human adaptation to the world’s high places

New Café location: The Baxter Ballroom, 105 West Main Street

Come to the next Café Scientifique to hear Dr. Robert Schoene describe how humans adapt and maladapt to low oxygen environments. The limits of human physical and mental performance during forays to the extreme altitude have been researched and will be described. Why can’t we go higher? This question that has haunted climbers for years will be explained. Some human populations have lived at high altitude for thousands of years. Some have done better than others and may provide insight to some evolutionary adaptations in the Himalaya and Andes. For lowlanders who are high level athletes, the question of the advantages and disadvantages of training at high altitude will be touched on. Some comparisons with animals who thrive in thin air will made. Dr. Schoene has taken part in many of these studies.

Dr. Schoene is a pulmonary/critical care physician practicing in Bozeman. He has had the good fortune of combining his passion for mountains with his career. He spent most of his career as a Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington and UCSD and had the opportunity to be a climber-scientist on the 1981 American Medical Expedition to Mt. Everest, as well as an investigator of high altitude pulmonary edema on Mt. McKinley in the 1980’s. He also has studied the high altitude natives in the Andes of Chile and Peru and is the co-author of High Altitude Medicine and Biology with Drs. John West and James Milledge, colleagues on Mt. Everest and many other high places.

The Café Scientifique is co-sponsored by the MT INBRE and the MSU College of Letters and Science. This event is free and everyone is welcome. Hors d’oeuvres are provided and drinks are available for purchase.

Social Science Speaker Series
December 4, 2009

Genetic Testing and Public Health: Ethical Issues
A presentation by Dr. Inmaculada de Melo-Martín
Friday, December 4, 2009, 12:00 - 1:00,
Wilson Hall Room 1-132.
Lunch will be provided.

Dr. Inmaculada de Melo-Martín is an Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Ethics, Department of Public Health at Weill Medical College, Cornell University. Dr. de Melo-Martín is a bioethicist specializing in controversial biotechnologies and genetic testing. Contact Kristen Intemann, Ph.D., at (406) 994-5787 for more information.

This series is co-sponsored by the Montana State University Office of the Vice President for Research, Creativity, and Technology Transfer and the MT INBRE.

Past Events

October 22 Café Scientifique: Dr. David P. Sklar, Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, discussed “When Love Hurts: A Public Health Approach to Intimate Partner Violence.” Sklar looked at how violence is typically portrayed in stories and movies and examined various social science theories of violence. He described a multi-disciplinary public health approach to preventing intimate partner violence that has been used over the past 10 years and how it has changed the way people think about violence.

Thank you to Ferraro’s Fine Italian Restaurant for graciously hosting the Café the past five years.

September 25 Social Science Speaker Series: Presenting to a mixed audience of faculty, staff, and students from across campus, Dr. Ingrid Johnston-Robledo spoke on “Reproductive Shame: Self-objectification and Young Women’s Attitudes Toward Breastfeeding and Menstruation.” The focus of her talk was on women’s experiences of reproductive shame and the association between this shame and women’s health behaviors and attitudes. The talk concluded with a discussion of the importance of understanding social influences on women’s health.