The Columbus laboratory moved to beautiful new space on January 3, 2012. Here are some pictures of the new space.

This semester Jennifer Martin and Ashton Brock joined the laboratory as first-year graduate students. Jen’s research focuses on Opa proteins and Ashton’s research investigates the effects of detergents on the structure and function of membrane proteins. Undergraduate Elleansar Okwei also joined the lab and is working with Dr. Carol price on determining the function of [...]

According to Science Direct, from April to June 2011 Physical Determinants of Beta-Barrel Membrane Protein Folding in Lipid Vesicles Biophysical Journal, Volume 100, Issue 9, May 2011, Pages 2131-2140 Dewald, Alison H.; Hodges, Jacqueline C.; Columbus, L. is 15th in the “Top 25 Hottest Articles” of Biophysical Journal.

On Sunday, May 22, 2011, Ashley Keller and Justin Kim graduated with a B.S. degree in Chemistry with a Biochemistry focus. They both participated in the Chemistry Department’s Distinguished Major Program and graduated with highest honors for their research and academic performances. In addition, Ashley was awarded the Alpha Chi Sigma Chemistry Award and Justin [...]

Brett received one of the 20 Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Dissertation Year Fellowships awarded this year. The fellowship includes a stipend for his final year of study in the laboratory. The awardees were selected first by their department and then by a college committee. Students are selected based on their academic performance, research [...]

Golda Harris (3rd year) and Sarah Elkin (3rd year) received Chemistry Department Bass Scholarships to support their summer research. Golda works on determining the mechanism of a putative glucose-6-phosphate isomerization using NMR spectroscopy and Sarah is focusing on the substrate specificity of a nucleoside kinase.

The new Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Inc. Biomolecular NMR Product Catalog has pieces written by various NMR spectroscopists that utilize their isotopes. Dan adn Linda wrote a piece entitled “The role of deuterated detergents in NMR structure determination of membrane proteins” and is found on page 33.

Jackie (3rd year chemistry major at UVA) received a stipend from the College Science Scholar Program and the nanoSTAR Undergraduate Summer Research Fund to continue her studies on determining the binding interactions between Opa proteins and the human cognate receptors.

This April, Ryan Oliver, Ryan Lo, and Linda attended the Rigaku and UNC Chapel Hill sponsored MidAtlantic BioSAXS Workshop. The day-long workshop focused on the latest developments in BioSAXS technologies and applications.

As part of her inauguration celebration this April, President Sullivan recognized research and scholarship with a Pan-University Poster Competition which highlighted high-impact and innovative growth areas for U.Va. research. Our research poster on Opa-liposomes (a collaboration with the Criss laboratory) was chosen as one of the five finalists in the “Biosciences and Health” category, which [...]

Jackie was one of twenty-four University of Virginia undergraduates that received Harrison Undergraduate Research Awards for independent research this summer. Her research focuses on quantifying the interaction between an Opa protein from Neisseria gonorrhoeae and the human heparan sulfate proteoglycan receptor in vitro using heparin, a known competitive inhibitor of the interaction. Read more…

Nine Columbus Lab members attended the 55th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in Baltimore on March 5 – 9, 2011. Six posters were presented by five graduate and three undergraduate students. On Sunday, Justin Kim and Brett Kroncke presented a poster entitled “Nitroxide Spin Label Side Chain Dynamics of Solvent Exposed Sites on Membrane [...]

Dan presented a poster entitled “NMR Backbone Assignment of Opa I: A mediator of host-Neisseria interactions” and Brett presented a poster entitled “Investigations towards improving solution NMR paramagnetic relaxation enhancement distance restraints for MTSSL labeled α-helical membrane proteins”. Both were invited to orally present poster previews and Dan received a travel award. The meeting was [...]

The Cottrell Scholar Award (awarded by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement) supports the Columbus lab’s research on the structure and dynamics of bacterial outer membrane proteins and their interactions with host receptors. Specifically, the proposal focuses on the outer membrane opacity-associated (Opa) proteins from Neisseria, which induce engulfment of the bacterium in non-phagocytic cells [...]

Brett and Dan presented posters at the 39th Southeastern Magnetic Resonance Conference (SEMRC) which was held at the University of Florida campus on October 22-24, 2010. The focus of the conference is on the exchange of ideas related to NMR-, EPR-, and MRI-based research as well as on the development of these techniques and new [...]

Alison presented a poster entitled “Physical determinants of outer membrane Opacity-associated protein folding in lipid vesicles” this August at the Molecular Biophysics of Cellular Membranes FASEB Summer Research Conference. Alison on a hike in the White Mountains of Vermont. Alison and Linda on the same hike.

UVA nanoSTAR Institute awarded $30,000 to the Columbus and Criss laboratories to facilitate a collaboration aimed at targeting liposomes cell specifically. The nanoSTAR seed projects fund is contributed to by the Office of the Vice President for Research, the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of [...]

APS Science features articles on Advanced Photon Source research and engineering highlights that are written for the interested public as well as the synchrotron x-ray, engineering, and broader scientific communities; potential facility users; and funding agencies. This years report includes the Columbus Lab’s work on mixed micelles and protein-detergent complexes (p. 40).

The UVA Chemistry Bass Scholarship provides $2,000 to chemistry majors performing scientific research with a professor in the department.

Ashley Keller published her work on the expression and purification of IncA in the University of Virginia engineering and science research journal “The Spectrum“.

Brett presented an invited talk entitled “Structural Origins of Nitroxide Side Chain Dynamics on Membrane Protein α‐Helical Sites” at the 14th In Vivo EPR Spectroscopy and Imaging and the 11th International EPR Spin Trapping/Spin Labeling.

The University of Virginia has awarded eight “Double-’Hoo” research awards, which fund pairings of undergraduate and graduate students who collaborate on research projects. Each project is awarded up to $5,000 toward research expenses, as well as an additional $500 for the faculty mentor overseeing the project. Jackie, a second-year chemistry-biochemistry major, and Alison, a fourth-year [...]

Dan Fox received a Student Voted Top Poster in Physical Science and Mathematics for the poster he presented at the 2010 Huskey Research Exhibition. The University of Virginia Graduate School of Arts & Sciences held the 10th Annual Robert J. Huskey Research Exhibition on April 5, 2010. Over 25 different academic programs within the Graduate [...]

On April 1st, the third year chemistry graduate students presented their research at the annual poster event. Each year faculty judges award the top three poster presentations monetary awards. This year, Brett shared 1st place with Isabel Green and Joanna Webb received 2nd place. Brett and Isabel will give an oral presentation to the Department [...]

Alison and Dan present at the Biophysical Society’s 54th Annual Meeting at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California, February 20-24, 2010. Dan presented a poster on the NMR structure determination of OpaI and Alison presented a talk on the molecular determinants of the spontaneous refolding of OpaI in lipid vesicles. UVA Chemistry Colleague [...]

The Harrison Undergraduate Research Awards Program, administered by the Faculty Senate, funds outstanding undergraduate research projects in the spring and/or summer for current second and third-year undergraduate students. Ashley received her award to continue her successful work on Inc proteins (IncA) of Chlamydia trachomatis. Forty awards of up to $3,000 each are granted on a [...]