Grad Profiles - St. Louis University Biochemistry

Overview
Saint Louis University opened in 1818, three years before Missouri became a state of the Union. It is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River and is the location of the first department of geophysics established in the Western Hemisphere.

The medical school was acquired in 1903 by purchase of the Marion-Sims-Beaumont College of Medicine; the Department of Biochemistry originated in 1923 under the direction of Edward A. Doisy, later Nobel laureate and Distinguished Service Professor of the University. The University is a private, independent, coeducational institution maintained under the auspices of the Jesuit order, which has a record of distinguished achievement in education. The School is administered by a nonsectarian board of trustees, and virtually every religion is represented in the student body and faculty.

Total enrollment at Saint Louis University is approximately 12,000; about 4,000 are in the graduate and professional schools. The University attracts students from all over the world and, particularly in the graduate and professional schools, is truly a national and international institution. Approximately 15 full-time graduate students are enrolled in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This allows the department to provide each student with personalized attention and mentoring in an atmosphere conducive to learning.

The Location and Community
St. Louis, the "Gateway to the West," is proud of the 200-year-old traditions that have made it a city of culture and a center of learning. The French flavor of its origin as a fur-trading post used by Pierre Laclède in 1764 is preserved in the names of streets and places; later German influences are seen in the architectural features of many houses and neighborhoods.

The city has the country's second-oldest symphony orchestra, the largest brewery, and Busch Stadium-the attractive site of the home games of baseball's Cardinals. On the riverfront stands the 630-foot stainless steel Gateway Arch symbolizing the city's role in the development of the West. Near the University is 1,400-acre Forest Park, with the city's art museum; zoo; science center; the Missouri Historical Society; and the nationally recognized outdoor theater, The Muny. There are also facilities for outdoor ice skating, golf, tennis, handball, baseball, and picnics. Outdoor recreational activities, such as fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, biking, spelunking, and camping abound in the area. Special attractions include float trips down the Missouri scenic waterways, biking and hiking on the Katy Trail, one of the longest such trails in the United States, and easy access to the nearby, beautiful Missouri Ozarks. St. Louis is also the home of the St. Louis Blues hockey team, the St. Louis Rams football team, the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, and the St. Louis Ambush soccer team. The city has one of the largest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Midwest, including Monsanto, Sigma Aldrich, Ralston Purina, and Boeing. Combined with other universities in St. Louis, this makes for a dynamic biotech research environment.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Saint Louis University offers graduate study and research in diverse areas of structural, cellular, and molecular biology. Specific areas of interest include protein structure/function, macromolecular interactions, gene regulation, signal transduction, protein trafficking/processing/turnover, genetic disorders, pathogenesis, genomics/proteomics, and chromosome structure/function. Graduate students generally begin their training in a one-year multidisciplinary program administered by the Graduate Programs in Biomedical Sciences. In this first year, students have the opportunity to explore research in as many as five different disciplines and choose from nearly 70 different faculty mentors. Upon choosing a mentor in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ph.D. program, students begin preliminary research studies that form the basis for their dissertation research projects and receive advanced training in biochemistry and molecular biology. This training includes a faculty-guided independent study in contemporary biochemical, cellular, and molecular biology, a scientific writing course, a departmental seminar program, participation in journal clubs, and optional teaching experience. Subsequent years are devoted almost exclusively to original laboratory research leading to the Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology.

Advanced students can apply directly to the department. The department also offers the opportunity for a combined graduate and medical program, leading to the Ph.D. and M.D. In addition, the department offers research opportunities for physician-scientists to obtain postgraduate training in metabolism, enzymology, physical biochemistry, molecular genetics, and clinical investigation of metabolic diseases in man.

Facilities & Resources
It has long been recognized in the department that state-of-the-art instrumentation is important to train scientists with skills relevant to the future and maintain competitive research programs. The infrastructure of the department is currently expanding to support research in the rapidly emerging area of proteomics. The present proteomics facilities and equipment include MALDI, GC-MS and LC-MS, mass spectrometers, high-resolution microscale systems for the isolation of macromolecules and macromolecular complexes, automated DNA sequencing, and a molecular graphics facility. Additional facilities include an electronics shop, transgenic mouse facility, peptide synthesis and analysis system, oligonucleotide synthesis, pulse-field electrophoretic system for separating large DNA molecules, and fluorescent spectrophotometry and microscopy. There are also computer facilities with access to scientific databases and software for data analysis. There is 24-hour access to the departmental reading room, which houses thirty-five different journals pertinent to biochemistry, genetics, and cell biology. The nearby Health Sciences Center library houses a collection of more than 100,000 bound volumes and 1,400 current periodical titles.

Financial Aid:
Graduate studies in biochemistry and molecular biology are supported through research assistantships. The stipend is projected to be $24,000 per annum; tuition is remitted, and health insurance is provided. The total value of the support provided is approximately $48,475 per year. Students receive financial support throughout their training, provided they remain in residence and make satisfactory progress toward meeting degree requirements.

Housing/Living Expenses:
Most graduate students attending Saint Louis University live off campus. The majority of students live in nearby apartments, with rent for a one-bedroom apartment typically starting at $350 per month. Shared housing is often a more economical option and one which some students prefer.

How to Apply
Students enter into the program after being admitted to the Saint Louis University Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, satisfactorily completing one year of interdisciplinary course work in this program, and selecting a faculty mentor within the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Students who have already attained a master's degree in biochemistry or a related field can be considered for entry directly into the biochemistry and molecular biology Ph.D. program by submitting an application to the departmental admissions committee. For further information on the program and the department, students should visit the University's Web site listed below.

Who to Contact

Dr. William S. Sly, Chairman
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
1402 South Grand Boulevard
St. Louis, Missouri 63104

314-577-8131

E-mail: biochem@slu.edu

http://biochemweb.slu.edu

The Faculty

• William S. Sly, Alice A. Doisy Professor, Chairman of the Department, and Professor of Pediatrics; M.D., Saint Louis, 1957. Biochemical and molecular genetics and mouse models of human genetic diseases, including mucopolysaccharidosis type VII and carbonic anhydrase deficiencies. Glycosylation-independent targeting enhances enzyme delivery to lysosomes and decreases storage in mucopolysaccharidosis type VII mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101:3083-8, 2004 (with LeBowitz et al.).

• H. James Armbrecht, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Medicine; Ph.D., Rochester, 1974. Mechanisms of hormone action; vitamin D and calcium metabolism; aging. PTH increases 25 (OH) D3-1a-hydroxylase (CYP1a) mRNA but not renal 1, 25 (OH) 2D3 production in adult rats. Am J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 284:F1032-6, 2003 (with Boltz and Hodam).

• Yie-Hwa Chang, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Caltech, 1987. Biological function of methionine aminopeptidases; N-terminal processing in eukaryotic cells; protein processing and angiogenesis; development of new anticancer drugs. Cis-fumagillin, a new methionine aminopeptidase (type 2) inhibitor produced by Penicillium sp. F2757. J. Antibiotics 53:799-806, 2000 (with Kwon et al.).

• John A. Corbett, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Utah State, 1990. Mechanism of β-cell destruction during the development of autoimmune diabetes. Role for c-Jun N-terminal kinase in β-cell recovery from nitric oxide-mediated damage. Endocrinology 144:3415-22, 2003 (with Scarim et al.).

• Carmine J. Coscia, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Fordham, 1962. Opioid function and mechanism of action. Mu-opioid receptor-mediated ERK activation involves calmodulin-dependent epidermal growth factor receptor transactivation. J. Biol. Chem. 276:33847-53, 2001 (with Belcheva et al.).

• Dale Dorsett, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Tennessee-Oak Ridge, 1980. Developmental regulation of gene expression, long-range enhancer-promoter communication and chromosome structure. Chip interacts with diverse homeodomain proteins and potentiates bicoid activity in vivo. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97:2686-91, 2000 (with Torigoi et al.).

• Joel C. Eissenberg, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1982. Molecular genetics of Drosophila; chromatin structure and differential gene expression; heterochromatic position effects. Transcriptional repression of euchromatic genes by Drosophila heterochromatin protein 1 and histone modifiers. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98:11423-7, 2001 (with Hwang and Worman).

• David A. Ford, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Missouri-Columbia, 1984. Biochemical mechanisms of cardiovascular disease; plasmalogen-derived lipidic mediators of ischemic heart disease and atherosclerosis. Myeloperoxidase-derived reactive chlorinating species from human monocytes target plasmalogens in low density lipoprotein. J. Biol. Chem. 278:36365-72, 2003 (with Thukkani et al.).

• Tomasz Heyduk, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Wroclaw Technical (Poland), 1986. Molecular mechanisms of transcription. Sequence determinants for the recognition of the fork junction DNA containing the -10 region of promoter DNA by E. coli RNA polymerase. Biochemistry 39:12274-83, 2000 (with Matlock).

• Jung S. Huang, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., National Taiwan, 1972. Roles of growth factors in normal and transformed cell growth. Cellular growth inhibition by IGFBP-3 and TGF-β1 requires LRP-1. FASEB J. 17:2068-81, 2003 (with Huang et al.).

• Claudette Klein, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., California, San Francisco, 1972. Isoform-specific regulation of adenylyl cyclase. Zinc inhibition of cAMP signaling. J. Biol. Chem. 277:11859-65, 2002 (with Howlett et al.).

• Sergey V. Korolev, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Moscow, 1993. Protein crystallography; structural analysis of DNA repair proteins. Crystal structures of open and closed forms of binary and ternary complexes of the large fragment of Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase I: Structural basis for nucleotide incorporation. EMBO J. 17:7514-25, 1998 (with Li et al.).

• Jennifer K. Lodge, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Washington (St. Louis), 1988. Genetic, genomic, and proteomic approaches to discovering novel antifungal targets and virulence mechanisms of the opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Identification of virulence mutants of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans using signature-tagged mutagenesis. Genetics 157:935-47, 2001 (with Nelson et al.).

• Alireza R. Rezaie, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Boston University, 1989. Molecular basis of coagulation protease specificity. Thrombomodulin allosterically modulates the activity of the anticoagulant thrombin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100:12051-6, 2003 (with Yang).

• Ali Shilatifard, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Associate Director for Basic Sciences, Saint Louis University Cancer Center. Biochemical mechanism of transcriptional regulation by RNA polymerase II and the development of hematological malignancies in human. Brel, an E3 ubiquitin ligase required for recruitment and substrate selection of Rad6 at a promoter. Mol. Cell 11, 2003.

• James D. Shoemaker, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Director, Metabolic Screen Lab; M.D., 1981, Ph.D., 1984, Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Genetic metabolic screening by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; lipids and heart disease. Valproate-induced biochemical abnormalities in pregnancy corrected by vitamins: A case report. Epilepsia 40:512-5, 1999 (with Baggot et al.).

• Dorota Skowyra, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D. Gdansk (Poland), 1991. Cell cycle regulation and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Release of ubiquitin-charged Cdc34-S-Ub from the RING domain is essential for ubiquitination of the SCF(Cdc4)-bound substrate Sic 1. Cell 114:611-22, 2003 (with Deffenbaugh et al.).

• Peggy J. Weidman, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Ph.D., Washington (Seattle), 1986. Biochemical and morphological analysis of protein transport between organelles. In vitro transport on cis and trans sides of the Golgi involves two distinct types of coatomer and ADP-ribosylation factor-independent transport intermediates. J. Biol. Chem. 277:50355-64, 2002 (with Pullikuth).

• Terry Zenser, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Medicine; Ph.D., Missouri-Columbia, 1971. Metabolism and activation of aromatic and heterocyclic amine carcinogens by reactive nitrogen oxygen species. Transformation and activation of benzidine by oxidants of the inflammatory response. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 16:367-74 (with Lakshmi et al.).