Biochemistry
Student Research
Student Research
Student Research
Student research is an integral part of the Biochemistry Major at Bowdoin. Students work with faculty members on cutting-edge research projects using state-of-the-art equipment, and they are often able to publish completed projects. Biochemistry majors may work with Biology and Chemistry Department faculty who are not members of the Biochemistry Program.
Bowdoin Students Attend ASBMB Conference in New Orleans
A group of ten Bowdoin Biochemistry senior honors students traveled with two members of the Biochemistry faculty to New Orelands in April 2009. There they participated in the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, at which they presented their honors research, learned about the forefront of biochemistry research by attending seminars, and competed in an undertraduate student research poster competition. Our students were highly competitive in the poster competition, where Matthew Shew '09 won first place and Maria Koenigs '09 received an honorable mention in the Systems Biology category of the competition (both pictured to the right with Professor Danielle Dube). The conference was a stunning success, and the Biochemistry Program hopes to continue sending students to conferences in the future.
2008-2009 Biochemistry Honors Projects:
Rachel Ackerman - Genetic Sequencing and Distribution of C-type Allatostatin Neuropeptides in the Maine Lobster, Homarus americanus, Using Mass Spectral and Immunohistochemical Methods
Elita DeFeo - WAK2 Mutations that Affect Cell Wall Binding
Cody Desjardins - Ectomycorrhizal Community Composition in Tsuga canadensis Stands with Varying Levels of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid-Induced Mortality
Tamlyn Frederick - Increased Trehalose Production in Bacteria Expedites Bioremediation of Hexavalent Chromium
Han Guo - Synthesis of Unnatural Azidosugars Designed to Hijack Helicobacter pylori's Pseudaminic Acid Biosynthetic Pathway
Maria Koenigs - Metabolic Profiling of Helicobacter pylori Glycosylation
Pablo Obergon - The WAK2 Extracellular Matrix Domain, and Its Role in Cell Expansion
Matthew Shew - Validating the Golgi Two-Hybrid ASsay's Utility in Studying Glycosylated Proteins
James Yoo - Analysis of Hedgehog Function in Zebrafish Tooth Development
A sampling of peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts co-authored by Biochemistry students (students indicated with *):
Christensen RL, Barney* EA, Broene RD, Galinato MG, Frank HA (2004) Linear polyenes: models for the spectroscopy and photophisics of carotenoids. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 430:30
Graustein* A, Walters* J, Gaspar* J, Palopoli MF (2002) Levels of DNA polymorphism vary with mating systems in the nematode genus Caenorhabditis. Genetics 161: 99-107
Koenigs MB*, Richardson EA*, Dube DH (2009) Metabolic profiling of Helicobacter pylori glycosylation. Molecular Biosystems. in press
Kohorn BD, Kobayashi M, Johansen S, Riese J, Huang L-F, Koch K, Fu* S, Dotson* A, Byers* N (2006) An Arabidopsis Cell Wall Associated Kinase Required for Invertase Activity and Cell Growth. The Plant Journal 46: 307-316
Kohorn BD, Kobayashi M, Johansen S, Fischer* A, Byers* N (2006) Wall Associated Kinase 1 is Crosslinked in Endomembranes and Transport To The Cell Surface Requires Correct Cell Wall Synthesis. Journal Cell Science 119: 2282-2290
Logan BA, Kornyeyev D, Hardison* J, Holaday AS (2006) The role of antioxidant enzymes in photoprotection. Photosynthesis Research (2006) 88: 119-132
McBride AE, Conboy AK*, Borwn SP*, Ariyachet C, Rutledge KL (2009) Specific sequences within arginine-glycine-rich domains affect mRNA-binding protein fuction. Nucleic Acids Res. Epub ahead of print
McBride AE, Zurita-Lopez C, Regis A, Blum E, Conboy A*, Elf S Clarke S (2007) Protein arginine methylation in Candida albicans: Role in nuclear transport. Eukaryot Cell. 6(7): 1119-29
McBride AE, Cook JT*, Stemmler EA, Rutledge KL, McGrath KA* Rubens JA (2005) Arginine methylation of yeast mRNA-binding protein Npl3 directly affects its function, nuclear export, and intranuclear protein interactions. J Biol Chem 280(35): 30888-98
Palopoli MF, Rockman MR, TinMaung A, Ramsay C, Curwen S*, Aduna A, Laurita J, Kruglyak L. (2008) Molecular basis of the copulatroy plug ploymorphism in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature 454:1019-1022
Stemmler EA, Cashman* CR, Messinger DI, Gardner* NP, Dickinson PS, Christie AE High resolution direct-tissue MALDI-FTMS reveals broad conservation of three neuropeptides (APSGFLGMRamide, GYRKPPFNGSIFamide and pQDLDHVFLRFamide) across members of seven decapod crustaean infraorders. Peptides. in press
Stemmler EA, Hsu YA, Cashman* CR, Messinger DI, de la Iglesia HO, Dickinson PS, Christie AE (2007) Direct tissue MALDI-FTMS profiling of individual Cancer productus sinus glands reveals that one of three distinct combinations of crustacean hyperglycemic hormone precursor-related peptide (CPRP) isoforms are present in individual crabs. General and Comparative Endocrinology 154: 187-192