Microscopy Facility | Biology Department

Research

Projects at JMU that use the microscopy facility

Researcher: Dr Mark Gabriele

Project: Development and organization of the auditory system using rat brains. The focus this project is to understand the early development and organization of converging pathways in the ascending auditory system, as well as the developmental mechanisms that guide such circuit formation. To address these fundamental questions, fluorescent tract-tracing is used in the developing rat to simultaneously label separate pathways and neuronal populations. Here, two separate but interacting neuronal populations that contribute to auditory development have been labeled with fluorescent dyes.

Researcher: Dr Susan Halsell
Project: Genetic and molecular characterization of shape changes during development in Drosophila using transgenic GFP-expressing fly embryos. Morphogenetic processes remodel the shape of an embryo, generating the complex forms and structures that characterize the mature organism. Defects in morphogenesis give rise to birth defects such as spina bifida. These investigations and characterizations of morphogenesis in Drosophila are important steps in understanding how to overcome birth defects.

Researcher: Dr Louise Temple, Dr Nathan Beach (ISAT)

Project: Pathogenesis of a bacteriophage (Bordetella avium) of ciliated cells in turkey trachea, which causes turkey coryza or bordetellosis.

Researcher: Dr Chris Bachmann (ISAT)

Project: Identifying potentially useful microalgae species for carbon dioxide sequestration and biofuel production, with the additional aim of utilizing waste materials from poultry farming as a source of nutrients.

Researcher: Dr Tim Bloss

Project: Apoptosis in Caenorhabditis elegans. During development and on into life, apoptosis eliminates unnecessary or badly damaged cells before they can adversely affect the health of the organism. Because the mechanisms that eliminate the cell are triggered within the cell itself, apoptosis is often referred to as “cellular suicide”. Because the core mechanism of apoptosis is highly similar between C. elegans and humans, this research could help us to better understand how apoptosis is controlled in humans, and how that control is lost during the development of disease.

Researcher: Dr Reid Harris , Dr Doug Woodhams

Project: Studying the effect of probiotic bacteria on the infection of amphibians by pathogenic fungus. Several species of amphibians are threatened by deadly skin fungi, called chytrids. Some amphibians carry bacteria on their skin that have anti-chytrid properties. Understanding them better could help to treat threatened and endangered amphibians in the wild. Listen to a radio piece on this research.

Researcher: Dr Alex Bannigan

Project: Molecular motors in the plant mitotic spindle. A kinesin mutant in Arabidopsis, called rsw7, is unable to perform mitosis properly. Mitotic spindles collapse and the chromosomes fail to separate, causing massive developmental defects. Dr Banningan is looking at exactly how this kinesin holds the mitotic spindle together.

Microscopy Facility, Biology Department, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA