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• Robert Canada 

• Julio de Paula

• Elizabeth Komives

• Saadet Makhmoudova

• Gulnara Musuraliyeva

• Meredith Newby

• C. Parry

• Hector Rasgado-Flores

• Suzanne Scarlata

• Jacqueline Tanaka

• Jerrel Yakel

Contact information: Tel: (202) 806-4521; Fax: (202) 806-4479; E-mail: faith@erols.com

Audience: Seminar at college or university 

Topics: Disease-related, Spectroscopy 
Description of presentations: The importance of cisplatin in the treatment of cancer is unquestioned. However, the development of cisplatin resistance is a serious drawback in cisplatin chemotherapy. We have recently established a relationship between the membrane binding of terbium, a lanthanide metal, and the cytotoxicity as well as the cellular accumulation of cisplatin in cisplatin-resistant human breast and ovarian cancer cells. Our laboratory (i.e., The Laboratory of Biophysical Cytochemistry) is unique in its capacity to conduct cancer research from a biophysical point of view. Critical to our mission is the training of high quality minority students and postdoctoral fellows. 

Biographical information: Educational History: B.S., Physical Sciences, 1972, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI; M.S., Biophysics, 1976, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI; Ph.D., Biophysics, 1979, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI 

Research and Professional Experience: Staff Fellow, Lab Neurophysiology, 1979-1982, NIH/NINCDS, Bethesda, MD; Assistant Professor, Dept Physiology & Biophysics, 1983-1988, Howard Univ, Washington, DC; Associate Professor, Physiology & Biophysics, 1988-present, Howard Univ, Washington, DC 

Recent Publications:

Canada, RG, Andrews, PA, Mack, KM and Haider, A, "The effects of terbium on the accumulation of cisplatin in human ovarian cancer cells," Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1267, 25-30, (1995). 

Mack, KM, Canada, RG and Andrews, PA, "The effects of terbium on the cellular accumulation of cisplatin in MDA-MB-231 human breast tumor cells," Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, 39, 217-222, (1997). 

Paltoo, DN and Canada, RG, "Effects of terbium on the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in FaDu human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma," Cancer Biochemistry Biophysics, 16, 213-227, (1998). 

Canada, RG and Paltoo, DN, "Binding of terbium and cisplatin to C13* human ovarian cancer cells using time-resolved terbium luminescence," Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1448, 85-98, (1998). 

Fuller, TL and Canada, RG, "Enhancement of cisplatin cytotoxicity by terbium in cisplatin-resistant MDA/CD human breast cancer cells," Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, in press. 

Contact information: Tel: (610) 896-1217; Fax: (610) 896-4904; E-mail: jdepaula@haverford.edu; 
WWW: http://www.haverford.edu/chem/depaula/depaula.html

Audience: General audiences, Seminar at college or university 

Topics: Spectroscopy, Science careers, Disease-related 

Description of presentations: 

• Using Lasers to Treat Tumors: We are working on the development of new drugs for the treatment of tumors via a laser-based technique known as Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). 
• How Can We Harvest the Suns's Energy: We investigate natural and artificial photosynthesis with a variety of laser techniques, some of which we developed for the first time. 
• Choosing a Career in Science: There are many paths that a student can take with a Science degree, including teaching, research, medicine, business, and law. I plan to discuss these options and propose specific courses of study (at the high school and university levels) that students may undertake to achieve specific career goals. 
• Biographical information: I was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. My family emigrated to the United States in 1976. Here, I finished my education with a BA in Chemistry (minor in German) from Rutegers University (New Brunswick) and a PhD in Chemistry (biophysical chemistry) from Yale University. After a post-doctoral appointment at Michigan State University, I joined the faculty at Haverford College, where I now am Associate Professor and Chair of the Chemistry Department. I have taught general chemistry, physical chemistry, biophysical chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, and instrumental analysis. My research centers around the use of lasers to probe light-induced biochemical and biomedical processes, such as photosynthesis and photodynamic therapy. I was awarded the Lindback Award for Excellence in Teaching, a Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, and have been elected councilor of the Council on Undergraduate Research

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Contact information: Tel: (858) 534-3058; Fax: (858) 534-6174; E-mail: ekomives@ucsd.edu; 
WWW: http://www-chem.ucsd.edu/Faculty/bios/komives.html

Audience: Seminar at college or university 

Topics: Protein structure, Protein folding, Spectroscopy, Transcription regulation 

Biographical information:

• SB Chemistry, MIT 1982
• SM Toxicology, MIT 1982
• PhD Pharmaceutical Chemistry, UCSF 1987
• postdoc Chemistry, Harvard 1987-1990
• Barany Award 2000

Contact information: Tel: 211093; E-mail: saadetmakhmoudova@usa.net

Audience: Middle School, High School, General audiences, Seminar at college or university 

Topics: Ion channel structure and function, Molecular motors, Muscle, Science careers 

Description of presentations: N/A

Biographical information: N/A
 
 

Contact information: Tel: (996 312) 42-57-32 (o), (996 312) 47-68-38 (h); Fax: (996 312) 54-58-59; 
E-mail: musugul@nlpub.freenet.bishkek.su

Audience: Middle School, High School, General audiences, Seminar at college or university 
Topics: Ion channel structure and function, Science careers, Protein structure, Disease-related 
Description of presentations: I'm working in the Division of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Central Scientific Researsch Laboratory at the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy. Also I read the course of biophysics at the Kyrgyz State National University.

Biographical information: I've graduated from Moscow State University (Biology Faculty, Biophysics Department) and was a postgraduate student in the same department. I have a Ph.D. degree in biophysics and human & animal physiology. 
 
 

Contact information: Tel: 864-656-0824; Fax: 864-656-0805 
E-mail: mnewby@clemson.edu

Audience: Middle School, High School, General audiences, Seminar at college or university 
Topics: DNA and RNA structure and function, Spectroscopy, Disease-related 
Description of presentations: Our lab’s research interests focus on how the physical and chemical properties of ribonucleic acid (RNA) dictate its multifaceted role in the cell. From a structural scaffold, to a carrier of genetic information, to a catalyst, RNA is quite a molecular chameleon, changing its “colors” over the course of evolution to adapt to diverse scenarios within the cellular environment. Impressively, unlike proteins, RNA has does this with a limited chemical repertoire of only four nitrogenous base side chains, and in some instances additionally utilizes specifically incorporated post-transcriptional modifications and/or metal, protein, or small metabolite ligands. It is now known that >98% of the DNA in the human genome does not code for protein (Claverie, 2005), and much of this DNA is transcribed into RNA molecules that fulfill regulatory functions in the cell. These recent discoveries have given rise to a greater sense of urgency in the last few years in understanding RN
A structure and function, and have also shed light on RNA’s potential as a therapeutic agent, and as a target for novel drug design. As such, we are interested in the structural and dynamic properties of RNA that facilitate its structural and functional versatility in the cell, ultimately pursuing the questions that surround its role in the manifestation of many diseases. Our research methods consist of a multilayer approach, taken from the intersection of biology, chemistry, and physics, although our primary investigative tools are based in physics: NMR spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy.
 

Biographical information:

• Clemson University, 7/2006-present, Assistant Professor of Physics

• University of Michigan, 2002-2006, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2004-2006, NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow

• Florida State University, 1996-2002, Graduate Research Assistant, Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program
   

Contact information: E-mail: csparry@mit.edu

Audience: Middle School, High School, General audiences, Seminar at college or university 
Topics: Protein structure, Science careers, Bioinformatics 

Description of presentations: I am interested in the structure and function of large molecules molecules such as proteins, carbohydrates and the complexes these form. I use crystallographic methods such as x-ray crystallography as well as computational biophysical chemistry to perform molecular simulations in order to obtain thermodynamic and dynamical information of the systems. 
I also use pattern recognition methods to glean information from sequence databases. We have applied this method to predict class II MHC epitopes from genome databases. 

Biographical information: I graduated from California Institute of Technology and obtained my PhD at The Johns Hopkins University. For my Msc at Brown, and as a founding member of a small startup company, Nestor, I helped to develop algorithms using neural simulations for handwriting recognition. The algorithms derived from single neuron studies of the visual cortex. 
 
 

Contact information: Tel: (847) 578-3425; Fax: (847) 578-3265 E-mail: floresh@finchcms.edu; 
WWW: http://finchcms.edu/gps/Rasgado.htm

Audience: Middle School, High School, General audiences, Seminar at college or university 

Topics: Muscle, Signal Transduction, Ion channel structure and function, 
Description of presentations: The goal of our laboratory is to determine how skeletal muscle cells regulate their intracellular environment in response to changes in their needs and function as well as in response to alterations in their extracellular environment. Three main lines of research are pursued: i) Study of the molecular mechanisms of ionic translocation mediated by the sarcolemmal Na+/Ca2+ exchanger and the Ca2+ pump; ii) Characterization of the mechanisms of transport of Mg2+ across the sarcolemma; and iii) Study of the mechanisms by which cells sense and maintain their volume under resting conditions and in response to contraction and changes in the extracellular environment. 
Two experimental models are used. The first consists of internally perfused, voltage-clamped, barnacle skeletal muscle cells. This preparation is used to study membrane transport of solutes under conditions in which all the relevant physiological parameters are measured and controlled (i.e., membrane potential, composition of the intra and extracellular environment, membrane tension, and intracellular pressure). 
The second preparation consists of intact barnacle muscle cells whose basal end is mounted in a glass cannula (to measure intracellular pressure) and the tendon end is mounted in a force transducer. This preparation is used to measure the effect of electrical stimulation on cell volume, isometric force, and intracellular pressure. 

Biographical information: 

Place of birth: Mexico, Distrito Federal. 

Present position: 
7/94 - Associate Professor. Department of Physiology and Biophysics. Finch University of Health Sciences/ The Chicago Medical School (FUHS/CMS) 

Education: 
1979 - M.Sc., Neurosciences, Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Avanzados del Instituto PolitTcnico Nacional. Mexico D.F. 

1984 - Ph.D., Neurosciences, Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Avanzados del Instituto PolitTcnico Nacional. Mexico D.F./Dept. Physiology. University of Maryland. Medical School. Baltimore, MD. 

Nwoga, J.C., Sniffen, J.C., Pea-Rasgado, C., Kimler, V.A., & Rasgado-Flores, H. (1996). Effect of pentachlorophenol on calcium accumulation in the muscle fibers of the Balanus Nubilus. J.Physiol.(Lond.)491:13-20. 

Rasgado-Flores, H., Tie, J., Espinosa-Tanguma. R, and DeSantiago, J. (1996). Voltage-dependence of Na/Na exchange in barnacle muscle cells: I. Na-Na exchange activated by a -chymotrypsin. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 779:236-248. 

Gonzalez-Serratos, H., Hilgemann, D., Rozycka, M., Gauthier, A. & Rasgado-Flores, H. (1996). Na/Ca exchange studies in sarcolemmal skeletal muscle. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 779:556-561 
Grossman, J.D., Bishop, A., Travers, K.E., Perreault, C., Woolf, J., Hampton, T., Rasgado-Flores, H., Gonzalez-Serratos, H. and Morgan, J.P. (1996). Deficient cellular cyclic AMP may cause both cardiac and skeletal muscle dysfunction in heart failure. J. Card. Fail. 2:S105-111 

Summers, J.C., Trais , L., Lajvardi, R., Hergan, D., Buechler, R., Chang, H., Pe?a-Rasgado, C., and Rasgado-Flores, H. (1997). Role of concentration and size ofintracellular macromolecules in cell volume regulation. Amer. J. Physiol. 273 (Cell Physiol. 42): C360-C370. 

Rasgado-Flores, H. and Gonzalez-Serratos, H. Coupled fluxes of Magnesium in excitable cells. Frontiers in Bioscience (in press) 

• 1985-86 - Executive Secretary. Society of Latin American Biophysicists 
• 1986-present - Coordinator- Society of Latin American Biophysicists 
• 89 - Grant Review Committee "Bressler Research Foundation". Univ. of MD. Baltimore. 
• 90 - Grant Review Committee "Special Research Initiative Support". Univ. of MD. Baltimore, MD. 
• 90-97 - Grant Review Committee "American Heart Association-Metropolitan Chicago Affiliate" (AHA-MC). 
• 94-95 - Vice-Chair. Fellowship and Clinical Research Review Committee. AHA-MC. 
• 95-97 - Chair-Fellowship and Grant-in-Aid Review Committee. AHA-MC & AHA-Illinois. 
• 1996 - Grant Reviewer. J.S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation 
• 1997 - Volunteer Program Director. AHA-MC 
• 96-98 - Vice-Chair Research Council. AHA-MC 
• 96-98 - Member "International Physiology Committee". American Physiological Society. 
• 92-98 - Member Research Council- AHA-MC. 
• 97-00 - Member "Minorities Affairs Committee". Biophysical Society. 
• 98-00 - Co-Chair Research Council. AHA-Midwest Consortium 
• 98-00 - Co-Chair Study Section. AHA-Midwest Consortium 
• 97-present - Grant Review Committee. "Chilean National Council for Research" 
• 99-00 - President-Elect. Society of Latin American Biophysicists. 
• 99-01 - Chair "International Physiology Committee" American Physiological Society. 

• 98-present - Managing Editor. Frontiers in Bioscience 
• 90-present - Editor: Bulletin of the "Sociedad de Bioffsicos Latinoamericanos". 

• 1972 - Youth Mathematical Society "Manuel Lopez Aguado" first prize. Mexico 
• 1991-96 - Established Investigatorship. American Heart Association. National. 
• 1994 - Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research.FUHS/CMS 
• 1996 - Invited Speaker. Sigma Xi Society. "Music and Physiology: Interrelationships and Enigmas". FUHS/Chicago Medical School. 
• 1996 - Outstanding Service Award: "Role Model for Youth". Waukegan High School. Waukegan, IL 
• 1997 - Distinguished Service Award. Society of LatinAmerican Biophysicists. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 
• 1997 - Distinguished Service Award. Provena Saint Therese Medical Center. Waukegan, IL. Medical Education for the Hispanic Community. 
• 1998 - Distinguished Service Award. Mexican Society. Waukegan, IL. 
• 1999 - Who's Who in Science and Engineering. New Providence, NJ. 
• 1999 - International Who's Who of Professionals. Jacksonville, NC. 
• 1999 - Outstanding Scientists of the 20th Century. International Biographical Centre. Cambridge, England 
• 2000 - Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare. New Providence, NJ. 
• 2000 - Dictionary of International Biography. Intl. Biographical Ctr. Cambridge, 
• 2000 - Who's Who in the World. New Providence, NJ. 

Contact information: Tel: 516-444-3071; Fax: 516-444-3432; E-mail: suzanne@physiology.pnb.sunysb.edu; 
WWW: http://physiology.pnb.sunysb.edu/faculty/scarlatta/scarlata.html

Audience: Middle School, High School, General audiences, Seminar at college or university 

Topics: Signal Transduction, Spectroscopy 

Description of presentations: We have two research areas: one explores how different signals that the body releases make cells divide and grow. The other area looks at how HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, replicates in immune cells. 

Biographical information: (see web page) 
 

Contact information: Tel: 215-898-4769; Fax: 215-573-2050; E-mail: tanaka@athens.dental.upenn.edu; 
WWW: http://athens.dental.upenn.edu

Audience: Middle School, High School, General audiences, Seminar at college or university 

Topics: Ion channel structure and function, Science careers, Sensory biophysics.

Description of presentations: I am happy to speak with young audiences and develop a hands-on presentation aimed at getting them imvolved in science activities. I've done this as part of the Brain Awareness Week and have some activities to use for young students. 

Biographical information: I attended a small, private college and majored in biology/education. I taught high school in Chicago briefly and then attended University of Illinois in Urbana where I got a PhD in physiology in 1981. I came to the University of Pennsylvania after my PhD and have been here since then, first as a postodoctoral fellow and later as a faculty member. In November, I will move to the Biology Department of Temple University. 
 
 

Contact information: Tel: (919) 541-1407; Fax: (919) 541-1898; E-mail: yakel@niehs.nih.gov; 
WWW: http://dir.niehs.nih.gov/dirlst/yakel.htm

Audience: Middle School, High School, General audiences, Seminar at college or university 
Topics: Ion channel structure and function 

Description of presentations: The molecular structure, function, and regulation of nicotinic ACh and serotonin 5-HT3 receptor channels in the brain. 

Biographical information: See URL site listed above for current research and papers. 
1988 Ph.D. UCLA Dept. of Biology; 1988-1991 Postdoc in Paris, France with H. Gerschenfeld; 1991-1993 Postdoc at Vollum Institute, Portland, Oregon, with R.A. North then T. Soderling; 1993-present Principal Investigator, NIH Intramural Pro