Current Research Projects
The goal of my research is to understand the mechanisms behind tardigrade stress tolerance. I use complimentary approaches including next-generation sequencing, proteomics, analytical, molecular, and cell biological techniques and reverse genetics to answer fundamental questions in biology.
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Identifying novel mediators of stress tolerance
How some organisms survive extreme abiotic conditions, such as complete desiccation, is a long standing mystery that has fascinated scientists for centuries.
Using comparative transcriptomics, genomics, and proteomics, coupled with reverse genetics we are identifying genes and their products that are required for tardigrades to survive different stress conditions. Tardigrades on the International Space Station
Life as we know it has evolved to live on Earth. Thus, space environments present a number of challenges and lead to a suite of developmental and physiological perturbations.
I am leading a project to identify both immediate and long-term, multigenerational changes in gene expression in tardigrades cultured onboard the International Space Station. Our hope is that this research will lead to the development of therapies and/or countermeasures for coping with the deleterious effects of prolonged space flight. |
Intrinsically Disordered Proteins and Stress Tolerance
An emerging paradigm in the field of stress tolerance, and in particular desiccation tolerance, is the use of small intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) to mediate protection. These enigmatic proteins have known or suspected roles in survival of extremes in organisms spanning the kingdoms of life.
We have identified at least two novel families of IDP unique to tardigrades as being required for their survival during drying. These proteins function mechanistically by vitrifying (turning to glass) the intracellular space. But how IDPs function in other systems is largely a mystery. We seek to address whether IDPs from dispirit kingdoms of life function via similar or distinct mechanisms. Engineering stress tolerance
Most organisms and biological material cannot survive abiotic stresses to the extent that tardigrades and other extremophiles can.
I am applying what we know about tardigrade tolerances to the engineering of stress resistant cells. My long-term vision is that these experiments may ultimately lead to the development of drought and temperature resistant crops and methods for stabilizing sensitive pharmaceuticals and complex human cellular systems. |
