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College of Agriculture
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Veterinary Molecular Biology
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Research
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Molecular Biology
Department of Veterinary Molecular Biology
Molecular Biology
Molecular Biology is the study of the basic processes of life at its most fundamental level, the level of atoms and molecules. VMB researchers study a diverse range of molecular topics including molecular genetic analyses of the role of vertebrate-specific N-terminus of TATA-binding
protein, novel mechanisms of protein translation
initiation such used by RNA viruses, and regulation of Toxoplasma gondii differentiation from an actively-dividing
tachyzoite into a growth-arrested bradyzoite that can persist indefinitely in a human or animal host.
Cramer Lab
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Research focuses on the host-pathogen interaction between the filamentous mould Aspergillus fumigatus and its mammalian hosts utilizing gene replacement technologies in the fungus and murine models of invasive aspergillosis. Current research is focused on understanding how the fungus tolerates and survives in hypoxic conditions, which are found in vivo during mammalian fungal pathogenesis. We are also interested in identifying antigens for use in vaccine development for patients at risk for invasive aspergillosis infections. |
Hardy Lab |
Studies molecular interactions between enteric viruses and host cells. Our model systems include the rotaviruses that cause severe infantile gastroenteritis and the noroviruses that are primary cause of epidemic food- and waterborne gastroenteritis outbreaks. In each of these systems, we seek to understand the interactions between viral proteins and cellular proteins that regulate viral gene expression, and the interactions that modulate cellular gene expression. |
Schmidt Lab
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Our group focuses on understanding processes of vertebrate-specific gene regulation, with
a particular focus on understanding the functions of vertebrate-specific components of the
basal transcription machinery. Our approach involves using targeted mutagenesis in ES cells
to produce lines of mice in which newly evolving components of the basal machinery are either
deleted or replaced with more primitive versions of that component. |
White Lab |
Research focuses on understanding the role of developmental mechanisms in the pathogenesis of Apicomplexa parasites (Malaria, Toxoplasma, Eimeria, and Cryptosporidium). Through genetic, biochemical, and functional genomic approaches, we are deconstructing the pathways controlling the parasite cell cycle and the molecular switches that link parasite growth and development, which these parasites use to evade host defenses. |
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