Summer 2008

Option #1

The following faculty members have indicated that they can provide mentoring for an undergraduate who does not need funding (volunteer, or part of the funded SROP, UROP, or other funded programs):

Scott Barolo, Ph.D. Molecular genetics and biochemistry of transcriptional regulation; structure/function analysis of signaling pathway-regulated enhancers, using Drosophila as a model system. Cell & Developmental Biology.

R. Keith Duncan, Ph.D. Early stages of signal processing in the auditory periphery, particularly in the context of hair cell physiology.  Neuroscience
http://www.khri.med.umich.edu/research/duncan_lab/index.php

Sonja Gerrard, Ph.D. Replication and assembly of RNA viruses; molecular pathogenesis and evasion of host innate immune systems. Microbiology & Immunology. Cellular & Molecular Biology. Epidemiology.

Bret A. Hughes, Ph.D. Structure, function, and regulation of ion channels in the retinal pigment epithelium. Ophthalmology. Physiology.

Mariana Kaplan, M.D. Dendritic cells in autoimmune diseases; APC apoptosis in lupus; endothelial cell apoptosis and vascular damage. Immunology.

Tom Kerppola, Ph.D. Regulation of gene expression by proto-oncogene transcription factors; protein interactions in living cells and organisms; and nucleoprotein complex architecture. Biological Chemistry. Biophysics.
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/kerppola.lab

Ming Lei, Ph.D. Structural and functional studies of the molecular mechanism of human telomere and its regulation. with an emphasis in a multi-subunit complex (telosome) which forms the protective cap of the telomere. Biological Chemistry.

David Lubman, Ph.D. The use of proteomics and glycoproteomics to study cancer biomarkers and the progression of disease. Our methods include protein fractionation techniques, liquid separations, mass spectrometry, protein microarrays and spectroscopic methods. We are also developing microproteomic methods to study stem cells and the tumor microenvironment. Surgery. Bioinformatics. Molecular and Cellular Pathology.

Ormond A. MacDougald, Ph.D. Adipocyte gene expression and metabolism; transcriptional and posttranslational regulation of the transcription factor, C/EBP (alpha). Molecular & Integrative Physiology.

James E. Penner-Hahn, Ph.D. Structural characterization of metalloprotein metal sites; molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis; investigation of Zn biochemistry and the roles of Zn in development; EXAFS and X-ray absorption spectroscopy of proteins. Biophysics.

Elizabeth M. Petty, MD Molecular genetics of solid tumor development; translation of molecular genetic discoveries to clinical applications; medical ethics. Cellular & Molecular Biology. Human Genetics.

Mark Russell, Ph.D. Examining cardiac and skeletal muscle structure and function. Cellular & Molecular Biology. http://www.sitemaker.med.umich.edu/mwrussell.lab

Rachael Seidler, Ph.D. Psychophysics and functional neuroimaging to determine the behavioral and neural substrates contributing to movement and motor skill learning. Neuroscience.

Grace Su, M.D. Liver and innate immunity. Immunology.

R. Scott Turner, MD, Ph.D. Molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease using cells and neurons in culture and transgenic mouse models; (beta) amyloid precursor protein and Alzheimer's disease. Molecular and Chemical Neuroscience. Neuroscience.
http://www.umich.edu/~neurosci/faculty/raymondt.htm

Hisashi Umemori, M.D. Molecular mechanisms of specific neural network and synapse formation in the mammalian nervous system. Biological Chemistry, Neuroscience, Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute. http://www.mbni.med.umich.edu/mbni/faculty/umemori/umemori.html

Delia Vazquez, MD Development of the classical endocrine system which responds to stress, the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Regulation of the serotonin system during development. Neuroscience.

Michael Wang, Ph.D. Molecular basis of neuronal injury and protection. Neuroscience.

Lois Weisman, Ph.D. To uncover mechanisms of organelle inheritance, and to determine how these processes are spatially and temporally regulated. We have discovered that myosin V attaches to membranes via organelle-specific receptors. In addition inheritance requires a newly discovered signaling pathway. Cell & Developmental Biology. Cellular & Molecular Biology. Life Sciences Institute.

Yuan Zhu, Ph.D. Molecular genetics of disease, the role of tumor suppressor genes in neural development and tumorigenesis in the nervous system. Cell & Developmental Biology.