REU Faculty Research Profile
The Syracuse University Biology REU program focuses on using microscopy to explore form and function across biological scales (MicroFFABS). Faculty mentors study how organisms' structures impact their functions, from molecular to organismal levels, using models like poplar trees, mice, and cell cultures. This unified approach allows students to explore diverse fields while connecting through microscopy. The program aims to attract diverse participants and help students from underrepresented institutions discover new research paths. Through collaboration and hands-on experience, students will engage with cross-cutting concepts in biology, preparing them for future research opportunities.
Please select your top 5 labs from the list of faculty below.
Heather Meyer
Chih-hung Lo
Austin Garner
The Garner Organismal Attachment Lab (GOAL) studies how animals use micro- and nanostructures to attach to surfaces, focusing on form, function, and environment connections. Using geckos, anoles, and sea urchins, they explore topics like variation in attachment systems, environmental impacts on adhesion, and bio-inspired adhesive designs. The REU student will use microscopy techniques, including light and electron microscopy, microcomputed tomography, and x-ray radiography, to analyze attachment system morphology. They will also learn functional morphology and biomechanics skills, such as geometric morphometrics, kinematic analysis, and adhesion/friction measurements, to relate morphological variations to functional performance and environmental factors.
Jamie Lamit
The Lamit lab studies two main themes: 1) the impact of climate change on microbial communities, focusing on peatlands, which store 30% of Earth's soil carbon, and 2) the role of plant identity (genotype, lineage, nativity) in shaping plant-microbial interactions. The research includes investigating mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria in peatlands and their effect on nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Additionally, the lab examines how tree genotype and hybridization affect fungal communities in cottonwoods and how plant lineage influences fungal interactions during woody plant invasions. REU students will work on root-associated fungi using microscopy and other techniques, including fieldwork and DNA analysis.
Sarah Hall
Epigenetic mechanisms control how early-life stress influences gene expression in C. elegans. These nematodes make a crucial developmental decision based on environmental conditions, entering a dauer stage under stress, which affects gene expression and leads to altered adult phenotypes. The Hall lab has found that RNA interference (RNAi) pathways regulate these gene expression changes due to early stress. The REU student will utilize CRISPR/Cas9 to create strains with fluorescent reporters to study neuronal gene expression in RNAi mutants, correlating these with chemotaxis behavior changes. Techniques include molecular cloning, genetic crosses, fluorescence microscopy, and behavioral analysis.
Yasir Ahmed-Braimah
The Ahmed-Braimah lab focuses on genetic mechanisms of species diversification and reproductive trait evolution, using Drosophila virilis as a model. They explore how genes cause reproductive isolation and what evolutionary forces drive gene differentiation. The lab aims to understand molecular and cellular processes affected by these genes and the genetic variation underlying speciation. A key aspect involves using fluorescently tagged proteins to study protein interactions and gametic dynamics. The REU student can choose between bioinformatics (analyzing genomics data) or wet lab research (genetics, transgenics, microscopy) to investigate cellular defects in Drosophila gametogenesis, using microscopy-based techniques.
Jenny Ross
The Ross Lab investigates cellular self-organization, focusing on how microtubules form spindle-like structures without external management. By reconstituting these structures with crosslinkers and proteins like MAP65, they study how environmental factors (e.g., ionic strength, pH) and protein constituents influence organization size, shape, and dynamics. MAP65 enables microtubules to self-organize into consistent spindle-like structures, and future work aims to introduce motor proteins like kinesin to fluidize these formations. REU students will engage in microtubule reconstitution, protein purification, experimental chamber creation, fluorescence imaging, and quantitative image analysis, contributing to all aspects of this research.
Jessica MacDonald
Gene-environment interactions, particularly through nutritional factors like vitamin D and folic acid, significantly influence neuronal development and cognitive function. The MacDonald lab studies how these nutrients modify neuronal development in both typical conditions and neurodevelopmental disorders such as Rett syndrome and autism. The REU students will explore molecular and cellular mechanisms driving these effects using mouse models and neural cell cultures. They will apply techniques such as PCR, qPCR, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and advanced microscopy, including confocal imaging, to analyze structures like perineuronal nets and quantify cilia on neuronal progenitors.
Melissa Pepling
The reproductive lifespan of female mammals is determined at birth by the formation of primordial follicles, which are oocytes surrounded by granulosa cells. During follicle formation, oocyte clusters separate and become enclosed by granulosa cells. Various signaling pathways regulate this process, including steroid hormone, KIT, and PI3K signaling. Estrogen and estrogen-mimicking compounds impact follicle formation, and cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are hypothesized to play a role in oocyte clustering and granulosa cell interactions. The REU student will use immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy to examine the expression and function of E- and N-cadherin during follicle formation in mouse ovaries.
Heidi Hehnly
The Hehnly lab studies how ciliated cells develop into functional polarized organs by investigating how the cytokinetic bridge establishes apical polarity and a lumen. This process begins with cell division and placement of the cytokinetic midbody, marking where the apical membrane forms. Abscission, the separation of daughter cells, enables ciliogenesis, with implications for embryogenesis and cellular diversity. The lab explores how mitotic exit influences cell positioning, centrosome positioning at apical membranes, and mechanisms coordinating lumen and cilia formation. REU students will use mammalian cell culture, zebrafish development, advanced microscopy, optogenetics, and imaging techniques to explore these cellular processes.
Carlos Castañeda
The Castañeda lab explores protein quality control (PQC) mechanisms, focusing on how ubiquitin and polyubiquitin chains regulate the formation and disassembly of biomolecular condensates through phase separation. This process is crucial as many proteins tagged with polyubiquitin are marked for degradation or other cellular pathways. REU students will monitor condensate formation of ubiquitin-binding proteins using microscopy techniques. They will learn to express and purify phase-separating proteins, conduct turbidity assays, and use fluorescence microscopy. Additionally, students will perform single particle tracking and FRAP to quantify protein properties, and carry out live-imaging experiments in mammalian cells.
Heather Coleman
The Coleman lab studies plant cell wall formation and the factors affecting its characteristics, focusing on how it influences plant structure, support, defense, and water transport. This research also explores how humans can utilize plants for materials, food, and fuel. Poplar is used as a model system, with projects including mapping the transcriptional regulation of hemicellulose production, understanding gene duplicates, and studying the impact of mycorrhizal fungi on poplar growth. The REU student will use techniques like plant tissue culture, light microscopy, and molecular biology to analyze secondary cell wall formation, structure, and organization in stem sections, assessing lignin-cellulose ratios.