Author: Susan M Staurovsky

Cowan & collaborators publish work on sporulation in B. subtilis

03-01-2023. Congratulations to Ann Cowan, Peter Setlow, and other collaborators for their work on Bacillus subtilis. The article, entitled Expression of the 2Duf protein in wild-type Bacillus subtilis spores stabilizes inner membrane proteins and increases spore resistance to wet heat and hydrogen peroxide looks at sporulation in B. subtilis and used VCell modeling to analyze the characteristics of the spore membrane in cells with mutations in genes related to germination.

Publication for Corey Acker working with Imperial College London

11-11-22. Congratulations to Corey on his recent collaborative publication, Voltage imaging reveals the dynamic electrical signatures of human breast cancer cells Commun Biol. 2022 Nov 11;5(1):1178. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-04077-2. Peter Quicke, Yilin Sun, Mar Arias-Garcia, Melina Beykou, Corey D Acker, Mustafa Djamgoz, Chris Bakal, Amanda J Foust. Recent studies at the Imperial College London and The Institute of Cancer Research, London uncovered large voltage fluctuations in breast cancer cells. Remarkably, these voltage fluctuations resemble very slow, upside-down versions of action potentials, which are electrical signals inherent in brain and heart cells. Voltage-sensitive dyes were provided by UConn’s start-up company Potentiometric Probes and Dr. Acker assisted with imaging methods, including ratiometric voltage imaging, to detect the voltage fluctuations reliably. The underlying mechanisms and role that these fluctuations might play in cells transitioning to being cancerous are intriguing open questions and avenues of future research.

Please read Imperial College London’s article on this new discovery, “Scientists uncover potential ‘electrical language’ of breast cancer cells“.

Ann Cowan has new publication using FCS

12-06-22. Congratulations to Ann on her recent publication, Liu, Y., E.M. Bafaro, A.E. Cowan, and R.E. Dempski. 2022. The transmembrane domains mediate oligomerization of the human ZIP4 transporter in vivo. Sci Rep. 12:21083. The work used Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS), performed in CCAM,  to determine the oligomerization state of wild-type or mutant zinc transporter protein ZIP4 in the plasma membrane.

Paola Wins Worldwide Interstellar Initiative Alumni Program

05-18-22 Congratulations to Paola Vera-Licona for winning the competitive Worldwide Interstellar Initiative Alumni Program. Paola, along with her collaborators, won the award from the New York Academy of Sciences and Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development. This collaborative program brings international scientists together, early in their careers, as a means of fostering scientific achievements. See UConn Today for the complete article.