2015-2016 Sanctuary Series - May 4, 2016

Watch video of the performance here.https://spiral.lynn.edu/sanctuary_series/1002/thumbnail.jp

Instructional Teacher Leadership Roles in New York City Public Elementary Schools: Theory Into Practice

Abstract not availabl

Tales from the Crypto: Phagolysosomal Phenomena Featuring Fungi

Host-pathogen interactions are a cornerstone of microbiology and medicinal research. Many incredible cellular mechanisms evolved from arms races between pathogens and host defenses. Studying these mechanisms leads to significant advances in molecular biology (ex. CRISPR/Cas) and medicine (ex. Penicillin). By understanding the delicate balance of the damage-response framework of microbial disease and studying how microbes and host cells outmaneuver each other, we can better understand pathogenesis to develop therapeutic strategies against debilitating disease. I study the host-pathogen interactions of Cryptococcus neoformans and macrophages, sites of various cellular phenomena with far reaching implications in fields ranging from immunology to bioremediation. I begin by describing phagolysosome acidification dynamics as a bet hedging strategy which macrophages employ to maximize fitness considering the variety of encounterable pathogens. Understanding this initial, broadly effective defense gives a frame of reference for downstream host-pathogen interactions. Phagolysosomal pH is an important aspect of this initial defense but is largely overlooked and undervalued. Next, I focus on the mechanism of C. neoformans macrophage-to-macrophage transfer. The existence of this phenomenon has been previously reported, but its mechanism is undiscovered. Using fluorescent microscopy with reporters specific to cellular compartments, antibody blockades for surface receptors, and live cell microscopy to follow infection outcomes I focus on understanding the circumstances of this phenomenon and place its mechanism within known cellular processes. Finally, I present work in progress toward understanding the interplay of C. neoformans and macrophages in the context of Dragotcytosis. Using transcriptomics, fluorescence microscopy, and simulations I outline how phagolysosome acidification and Dragotcytosis are linked and provide evidence suggesting Dragotcytosis is a survival mechanism to escape hostile phagolysosomes. These data bring new understanding to several facets of C. neoformans pathogenesis and suggest mechanisms which may be common to other human pathogens. Written under the advisory of Arturo Casadevall, Monica Mugnier, Dennis Wirtz, and Valeria Culotta

Estimating the size of fields in biomedical sciences

ABSTRACTScientific research output has increased exponentially over the past few decades, but not equally across all fields of study, and we lack clear methods for estimating the size of any given field of research. Understanding how fields grow, change, and are organized is essential to understanding how human resources are allocated to the investigation of scientific problems. In this study, we estimated the size of certain biomedical fields from the number of unique author names appearing in field-relevant publications in the PubMed database. Focusing on microbiology, where the size of fields is often associated with those who work on a particular microbe, we find large differences in the size of its subfields. We found that plotting the number of unique investigators as a function of time can show changes consistent with growing or shrinking fields. In general, the number of unique author names associated with a particular microbe correlated with the number of disease cases attributed to that microbe, suggesting that the microbiology field workforce is deployed in a manner consistent with the medical importance of the microbe in question. We propose that unique author counts can be used to measure the size of the workforce in any given field, analyze the overlap of the workforce between fields, and compare how the workforce correlates to available research funds and the public health burden of a field.IMPORTANCEScience and its individual fields are growing at spectacular rates along with the number of papers being generated each year. However, we lack methods to investigate the size of these fields, many times relying on anecdotal knowledge on which fields are “hot topics” or oversaturated. Thus, we developed a bibliometric method analyzing authorship information from PubMed to estimate the size of fields based on unique author counts. Our major findings are that unique author counts serve as an efficient measurement of the size of a given field. Additionally, the size of a biomedical science field correlates to its public health burden when compared to case numbers. This method allows us to compare growth rates, workforce distribution, and the allocation of resources between fields to understand how scientific fields self-regulate. These insights can, in turn, help guide policymaking, for example, in funding allocation, to ensure fields are not neglected