Setting fire to imaginations

For the new Center for Genomics and
Personalized Medicine, all of these projects
mean they will be busy with plenty of work
over the next several years.
Daniel Vera, who recently completed his
doctorate in biology (co-advised by Bass and
Assistant Professor Jonathan Dennis), will
serve as the center’s director.
He’ll be helping researchers analyze genomics
data, train undergraduate and graduate
researchers, offer workshops and assemble
interdisciplinary teams to apply for large
grants. Tyson, Gilbert, Dennis and College
of Medicine Associate Professor Michelle
Arbeitman will serve as an advisory committee
to the center.
“Genomics technology is such a powerful
tool,” Vera said. “There’s an expectation to use
it and if you don’t meet that expectation, you’re
out of the game.”
Additional users of genomics within
the Department of Biological Science
include the following researchers:
Associate Professor Jim Fadool, who
maps the genetic architecture of eye
development in the model zebrafish;
Associate Professor Darin Rokyta,
who uses genomics and proteomics to
characterize the complex mixtures in
snake venom;
Associate Professor Hong-Guo Yu, who
uses proteomics to define the protein
complexes that govern chromosome
segregation pathways in yeast;
Assistant Professor Emily Lemmon-
Moriarty (with Assistant Professor of
Scientific Computing Alan Lemmon),
who define the relatedness of species
in various naturally diverse groups of
animals; and
Assistant Professor Karen McGinnis,
who studies gene silencing pathways in
the crop species maize.
Hank Bass, an associate professor of
biological science, spends a lot of time
studying maize, or corn. He has discovered
that plants share some interesting genetic
similarities with humans.
Ray Stanyard
Ray Stanyard
Professor of Biological Science Kimberly A. Hughes recently found that a genetic rarity in male
guppies that affects their color patterns plays a role in how often they mate. As it happens,
these colorful guppies mate more often.
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