Biophysical Tools for Biologists

Professor of Biochemistry and Marine Biology at Northeastern University, promoted 1996. Joined Northeastern faculty in 1987. Previously a faculty member in Dept. of Biochemistry at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, 1983-1987.Principal Investigator in the U.S. Antarctic Program since 1984. Twelve field seasons "on the ice" since 1981. Research conducted at Palmer Station, Antarctica, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica.Research areas: Biochemical, cellular, and physiological adaptation to low and high temperatures. Structure and function of cytoplasmic microtubules and microtubule-dependent motors from cold-adapted Antarctic fishes. Regulation of tubulin and globin gene expression in zebrafish and Antarctic fishes. Role of microtubules in morphogenesis of the zebrafish embryo. Developmental hemapoiesis in zebrafish and Antarctic fishes. UV-induced DNA damage and repair in Antarctic marine organisms.

• Section 1. Fluorescence Methods1) Photoactivation and Photobleaching Techniques for Analysis of Organelle Biogenesis in vivo 2) Analysis of the Dynamics of Living Cells by Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy 3) Molecular Sensors Based on Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer to Visualize Cellular Dynamics 4) Real-Time Fluorescence of Protein Folding in vivo5) Microfluidic Glucose Stimulation of Ca+2 Oscillations in Pancreatic IsletsSection 2. Microscopic Methods6) Introduction to Optical Sectioning: Confocal, Deconvolution, and Two-Photon 7) Use of Electron Tomography to Elucidate Sub-Cellular Structure and Function 8) Proteomics of Macromolecular Complexes by Cellular Cryo-Electron Tomography9) Total Internal Reflectance Microscopy (TIRF)10) Atomic Force Microscopy of Living Cells 11) Real-Time Kinetics of Gene Activity in Individual Bacteria 12) Measurement of Cytoskeletal Proteins Globally and Locally in vivo 13) Infrared and Raman Microscopy in Cell Biology 14) Imaging Fluorescent Mice in vivo by Confocal Microscopy15) Nanoscale Imaging of Intracellular Fluorescent Proteins: Breaking the Diffraction BarrierSection 3. Methods at the In Vitro/In Vivo Interface16) Analysis of Protein Posttranslational Modification by Mass Spectrometry 17) Imaging Mass Spectrometry 18) Wet EM Using Quantum Dots 19) Single Cell Capillary Electrophoresis Section 4. Methods for Diffusion, Viscosity, Force and Displacement20) Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy in Living Cells 21) Magnetic Bead Force Applications 22) Measurement of Membrane-Cytoskeleton Adhesion Using Laser Optical Tweezers23) Cellular Rheological Measurements in vivo 24) Physical Behavior of Cytoskeletal Networks in vitro and in vivo 25) Force Regulation of Microtubule Dynamics in Fission Yeast Section 5. Techniques for Protein Activity, Protein-Protein and Protein-RNA Interactions 26) Quantifying Protein Activity Using FRET and FLIM Microscopy 27) Measurement of Protein-Protein Interactions in vivo Using FRET and FLIM 28) Measurement of RNA Interactions in vivo Using Molecular Beacons – Section 6. Computational Modeling29) Stochastic Modeling in Cell Biology 30) Computational Methods for Analyzing Patterns in Dynamic Biological Phenomena: An Application to Microtubule Dynamics 31) Computational Modeling of Self-Organized Spindle Formation