Student Profiles - 2004

Jennifer Fox
Stover Lab
BMCB Field (entered program in Fall 2004)

From: Baltimore, MD
Undergraduate: University of Maryland, Baltimore County, BS (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) in 2004
GRADUATED in May 2009, presently post-doctoral fellow at the NIH

Statement

I chose Cornell because of the interdisciplinary nature of the BMCB program.  Not only are students able to minor in another field such as chemistry, genetics, nutrition, biophysics, or microbiology, but they also have the option of joining some of the labs in these departments.  By taking advantage of these opportunities, I feel I have developed a broad knowledge base that will allow me to succeed no matter what area of research I find myself in the future.

Research

Cytoplasmic serine hydroxymethyltransferase (cSHMT) is a key regulator of folate-dependent de novo thymidylate biosynthesis.  The expression of cSHMT is controlled through an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) located in the 5’ untranslated region of the cSHMT transcript.  Mammalian IRESs are cis-acting regulatory elements that permit 5’-cap-independent translation and provide a mechanism to enhance rates of translation when cap-mediated ribosome scanning is impaired.  My research aims to elucidate the mechanism and physiological significance of the IRES-mediated translation of cSHMT in order to allow for a better understanding of the regulation of thymidylate biosynthesis, and to ultimately reveal the molecular mechanisms that underlie the pathologies and developmental anomalies associated with disruptions in folate metabolism.

Publications

Fox, J. T., Shin, W. K., Caudill, M. A. and Stover, P. J. 2009 "A UV-Responsive Internal Ribosome Entry Site Enhances Cytoplasmic Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase Expression for DNA Damage Repair." J. Biol. Chem. In press.

Fox, J. T., and Stover, P. J. 2009 "Mechanism of the Internal Ribosome Entry Site-mediated Translation of Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase 1." J. Biol. Chem. In press.

Jennifer T. Fox and Patrick J. Stover.  “Folate-Mediated One-Carbon Metabolism.”  In Vitamins and Hormones, Vol. 79: Folic Acid and Folates.  Gerald Litwack, Editor.  Academic Press/Elsevier.  In Press. 

Collynn F. Woeller, Jennifer T. Fox, Cheryll Perry, and Patrick J. Stover (2007).  “A Ferritin-Responsive Internal Ribosome Entry Site Regulates Folate Metabolism.”  JBC, 282 (41): 29927-29935.

Conference Presentations

“Insights into the Mechanism of the IRES-Mediated Translation of Cytoplasmic Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase (cSHMT).”  Jennifer Fox and Patrick Stover (oral presentation).  Translational Control Meeting, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.  September 7, 2008.

“The IRES-Mediated Translation of Cytoplasmic Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase (cSHMT) is Stimulated by UV-Induced DNA Damage.”  Jennifer Fox and Patrick Stover (oral and poster presentations).  ASBMB Symposium on Riboregulation.  Experimental Biology Conference, San Diego, CA.  April 6, 2008.

“hnRNP H2, BrunoL2, and Heavy Chain Ferritin are Novel ITAFs that Regulate Folate-Mediated One-Carbon Metabolism.”  Jennifer Fox, Collynn Woeller, and Patrick Stover (poster presentation).  EMBO Conference on Protein Synthesis and Translational Control, Heidelberg, Germany.  September 13, 2007.

 “Molecular mechanism of the cSHMT IRES.”  Jennifer Fox, Collynn Woeller, Cheryll Perry, and Patrick Stover (oral and poster presentations).  ASBMB Symposium on Molecular Mechanisms of Protein Biosynthesis.  Experimental Biology Conference, Washington DC.  April 30, 2007.

“Characterization of a ferritin-responsive IRES.”  Jennifer Fox, Collynn Woeller, and Patrick Stover (oral presentation).  Translational Control Meeting, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.  September 8, 2006.

“Characterization of the Cytoplasmic Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase IRES.”  Jennifer Fox, Collynn Woeller, and Patrick Stover (poster presentation).  FASEB Summer Research Conference on Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and One Carbon Metabolism.  Indian Wells, California.  August 6, 2006.

“Molecular mechanism of the cSHMT internal ribosome entry site (IRES).”  Jennifer Fox, Collynn Woeller, and Patrick Stover (oral and poster presentations).  ASBMB Symposium on RNA Structure, Function, and Regulation.  Experimental Biology Conference, San Francisco, California.  April 5, 2006.

Awards

• BMCB 2005-2006 Teaching Award
• Grace Steininger Fellowship from the Division of Nutritional Sciences, 2006
• BMCB NIH Competitive Training Grant Fellowship, 2006-2007
• ASBMB Graduate Travel Award to attend the Experimental Biology 2007 Conference
• BMCB NIH Competitive Training Grant Fellowship, 2007-2008
• ASBMB Graduate Travel Award to attend the Experimental Biology 2008 Conference
• Quillman Fellowship from the Division of Nutritional Sciences, 2008

Scott Gabriel
Helmann Lab
BMCB Field (entered program fall 2004)

From: Williamsport, PA
Undergraduate: University of Pittsburgh B.S. in 1998. Entered BMCB in Fall 2004
GRADUATED August 2009, presently Assistant Professor at Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI

Statement

When I was looking at graduate school programs, I was finishing a five year hiatus from education working as an adventure education facilitator. It was important to me that the program I chose had a broad base of training for its graduate students and supported their development as scientists.  In retrospect, I could not have chosen a better place to be. The training I have received here has been from scientists at the top of their respective fields and those same people have been incredibly kind and supportive. Outside the lab walls, I have found Ithaca a great place to live. My wife and I bought a house here and love the nature and culture that is so abundant in Ithaca. 

Research

All organisms experience and respond to stress in their environment. The Helmann lab studies stress responses in the model Gram positive organism Bacillus subtilis. My research focuses specifically on zinc limitation and how the Zinc Uptake Regulator (Zur) controls the transcriptional response to this starvation. I have worked to determine the biochemical mechanism of Zur’s sensing intracellular zinc concentration. Additionally, I am interested in elucidating the function of the unknown genes under the transcriptional control of this regulator and how they help the cell regain metal ion homeostasis.

Publications

B.Sankaran, S. Bonnett, K. Shah, S.E. Gabriel, R. Reddy, P. Schimmel, D.A. Rodionov, V. de Crécy-Lagard, J.D. Helmann, D. Iwata-Reuyl and M.A. Swairjo. Zinc-Independent Folate Biosynthesis: Genetic, Biochemical, and Structural Investigations
Reveal New Metal Dependence for GTP Cyclohydrolase IB. J. Bacteriol. (pending minor revision).

S.E. Gabriel and J.D. Helmann. 2009. Contributions of Zur-controlled ribosomal proteins to growth under zinc starvation conditions. J Bacteriol. 2009 Jul 31. [Epub ahead of print]

Banumathi Sankaran, Shilah Bonnett, Kinjal Shah, Scott E. Gabriel, Dmitry A. Rodionov,Valérie de Crécy-Lagard, John Helmann, Dirk Iwata-Reuyl and Manal A. Swairjo. GTP Cyclohydrolase Type IB Crystal Structure and Design for Manganese-Dependent Folate Biosynthesis (accepted to JMB pending minor revisions)

S.E. Gabriel, F. Miyagi, A. Gaballa and J.D. Helmann. (2008). “Regulation of the Bacillus subtilis yciC gene and insights into the DNA-binding specificity of the zinc-sensing metalloregulator Zur.” J Bacteriol190(10): 3482-8.

J.D. Helmann, S. Soonsanga, and S.E. Gabriel. 2007. Metalloregulators: Arbiters of Metal Sufficiency, in How Bacteria Handle Heavy Metals (Microbiology Monographs). Dietrich H. Nies and Simon Silver(Eds.), Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg.

Liu Q, Gabriel S.E., Roinick KL, Ward RD, Arndt KM. 1999. Analysis of TFIIA function in vivo: evidence for a role in TATA-binding protein recruitment and gene-specific activation. Mol Cell Biol. Dec;19(12):8673-85

Presentations

Scott E. Gabriel, J-W. Lee, A. Abberbock and John Helmann. Fur Family Transcriptional Regulators inBacillus subtilis: The Role of Three Conserved Metal Binding Motifs in Sensing Metals. Poster presented at ASM 108th General Meeting Boston, MA. (May 2008)

Scott E. Gabriel, B. Butcher, L. Salzberg and S. Merkel. The Use of Small Groups to Improve Learning in a Large Lecture Class. Workshop presented at 15th Annual ASM’s Conference for Undergraduate Educators. Beverly, MA (May 2008)

Scott E. Gabriel, John Helmann. In Feast and Famine: Maintaining Zinc Homeostasis in Bacillus subtilis(2007). Talk presented at Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phage Conference Madison, WI.

Awards

• Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phage Travel Grant. Phage Meeting, 2007
• Cornell University Graduate School Travel Grant. Cornell University, 2007
• BMCB NIH Competitive Training Grant Fellowship. Cornell University, 2006-2007