NCSU BIT news

BIT Students Present Winning Poster

Students from BIT 100 Phage Hunters class presented a winning poster at the 21st Annual NC State Undergraduate Research Symposium. Congratulations to:

Akshitha Vijayakumar Biochemistry
Clay Gruber Biology
Austin Graves Biological Sciences;
Heather Hill Biochemistry;
Megan Fruchte Biological Engineering

For their poster, titled A Putative tmRNA of Mycobacteriophage Astraea.

Announcing the 2012 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience!

Now Accepting Applications

The NC State Biotechnology Program is now accepting applications for the 2012 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (BIT SURE). This is an opportunity for undergraduate students to gain valuable independent research experience. Please see the Application Information link to view eligibility requirements and other details. The application form is also posted. All application materials are due Friday, February 24.

Tat specific factor 1 modulates HIV-1 RNA size class levels

Khrystyna Stolyarchuk, a senior biochemistry major, gave an oral presentation on her research completed this past summer in the BIT SURE Program. The State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium was held November 19th at East Carolina University's Heart Institute.

2011 Molecular Biotechnology Research Symposium

Download flyer

Invited Speakers:

Thursday, November 10, 2011
?? PM
McKimmon Center, Room 2
Directions to McKimmon Center

Sponsored by:
Department of Education-GAANN & NIH/NCSU Molecular Biotechnology Training Programs
Merck & Co., Inc.
North Carolina Biotechnology Center

MBTP Annual Symposium is Nov. 10

Invited Speakers:

Philip Benfey "Development Rooted in Emergent Properties of Regulatory Networks"

Lee-Ann Jaykus "Food Virology: A Case Study of the Importance of Biotechnology to Food Safety and Public Health"

Joseph DeSimone "Co-opting Moore's Law: Vaccines and Medicines Made From a Wafer"

McKimmon Center Rm2, NCSU campus Thursday, November 10, 2011 1:30p-4:30p

Click here to download flyer. Click here for directions.

"A CHANGE IS GONNA COME" – HEGS AND THE DYNAMIC GENOME OF F1 MYCOBACTERIOPHAGES

Rising sophomore, Allie Amick, presented the research done by BIT (MB)
210/211 students at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Farms
Research Center on June 11, 2011.

BIT/MB 211 students win 20th Annual NC State Undergraduate Research Spring Symposium in the area of microbiology

Joshua Russell Chappell Microbiology;
Iara Calil Genetics;
Anna Knight Biological Sciences, History;
Hannah Berry Biochemistry 






Microbiology Session 1, C2 

Mentor(s): Eric Miller Microbiology and Susan Carson Plant Biology

Mycobacteriophage Mutaforma13 contains a conserved beta-lactamase gene 

During the fall 2010 semester, students in the Phage Hunters first year
inquiry course isolated a novel bacteriophage, Mutaforma13, and annotated
its genome, revealing the presence of a β-lactamase gene at the gp19
location. β-lactamase is produced in some bacteria, providing antibiotic
resistance by breaking the β-lactam ring found in penicillin and other
β-lactam antibiotics. The host bacterium for Mutaforma13, Mycobacterium
smegmatis, is naturally resistant to penicillin which presents new questions
as to the function of gp19. Phamerator, a genome comparison program,
identified a homologous gene in a syntenic location of the genome in related
phages of the F1 subcluster. The Mutaforma13 β-lactamase gene has a high
level of sequence similarity with 9 other phages, including several members
of the F1 subcluster and one member of the J cluster, suggesting possible
evolutionary relationships. New experimental ideas to explore gp19 function
include obtaining a mutant strain of M. smegmatis  that is sensitive to
penicillin. The mutant strain can be used to determine if Mutaforma13
confers resistance to penicillin in M. smegmatis. New insights into emerging
antibiotic resistance in related pathogenic bacteria (i.e., M. tuberculosis)
may be gained by exploring the phage-mediated transfer of the β-lactamase
gene in M. smegmatis.

http://harvest.cals.ncsu.edu/applications/symposia/public/2011_Spring/winners.cfm

Students Selected for 2011 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience

Congratulations to Morgan Dent and Khrystyna Stolyarchuk! They were selected to participate in the 2011 BIT Summer Undergraduate Research Experience. Morgan is a Senior Biomedical Engineering major and Tissue Engineering minor. Khrystyna is a Junior Biochemistry major and genetics, microbiology, and biotechnology minor. Both students will be performing research with Dr. Heather Miller on a human transcription-splicing factor and its interactions with the HIV-1 RNA genome.

BIT SURE information sheet

Position available - Biotechnology Teaching Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Biotechnology Program at North Carolina State University ( http://biotech.ncsu.edu ) invites applications for a position as Teaching Postdoctoral Fellow in the area of molecular biology. Responsibilities will include developing and implementing one or more new laboratory courses in a cutting-edge area of molecular biotechnology in the fellow's area of expertise, and teaching sections at the graduate and undergraduate levels of an existing course that covers manipulation and expression of recombinant DNA. The successful candidate must have strong interpersonal skills and teaching ability. A Ph.D. is required. This is a 12-month position, and is renewable for up to 3 years, based on performance and funding.

Applications received prior to Nov. 1, 2010 will be assured of full consideration, and the position can begin as early as April 1, 2011. For further information or to apply go to https://jobs.ncsu.edu and “search vacancies” for position number 100339 .

AA/EOE. ADA accommodations: Call 919-513-3809. NC State welcomes all persons without regard to sexual orientation.

2010 Molecular Biotechnology Research Symposium

Download flyer

Invited Speakers

Molecular Biotechnology, a Bacterium and a Hidden Epidemic

Edward Breitschwerdt, DVM
Professor, Internal Medicine
NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Adjunct Professor of Medicine
Duke University Medical Center

The Cell's Compass: How Chemoattractant Receptor Biasing of an Excitable Network of Parallel Signaling Pathways Mediates Directed Cell Migration

Peter N. Devreotes, Ph.D.
Professor & Director
Department of Cell Biology
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine

Metabolic Control of Cell Death

Sally Kornbluth, Ph.D.
James B. Duke Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
Vice Dean for Research
Duke University Medical Center

Thursday, September 30, 2010
1:30 PM
McKimmon Center, Room 2
Directions to McKimmon Center

Sponsored by:
Department of Education-GAANN & NIH/NCSU Molecular Biotechnology Training Programs
Merck & Co., Inc.
North Carolina Biotechnology Center