Monthly Archives: August 2016

Can You Hear Me Now?

A mutation in the otoferlin gene causes inherited hearing impairment. The otoferlin gene codes for the massive otoferlin protein, which is in the part of the inner ear called the cochlea. Otoferlin is responsible encoding the sound and proposed to act as a calcium sensor for neurotransmission in inner hair cells of the cochlea. Murugesh Padmanarayana, PhD student in Biochemistry and Biophysics here at OSU, has been working on functional characterization of this protein in order to understand how it works and what it does to encode sound faithfully.

A photo of Murugesh in the lab.

Why is it important to know the function of a protein and the functions of all of its parts? Different parts of proteins perform different tasks, and otoferlin’s most important parts are called C2 domains that bind calcium, lipids and other proteins. If there is a mutation in the otoferlin gene that affects the C2 domains, it abolishes neurotransmitter release and no sound will be detected. Murugesh has discovered that it is possible that only two functioning C2 domains are enough to rescue hearing. This is ground breaking because if only two parts are really necessary for hearing than proteins that look and act like otoferlin but are smaller may be able to restore hearing function to a person with inherited hearing impairment. Otoferlin at its complete size with six C2 domains is far too big to be administered through gene therapy. Murugesh hopes that his research may lead to further development of this protein as a potential treatment for inherited hearing impairment.

Murugesh came from a small village called Bagoor in India. There he is one of the few people to have attempted to or succeeded at obtaining a graduate degree, but Murugesh was a good student and he pushed himself to go farther. He graduated with a bachelor’s in Pharmacy from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in India. After college, Murugesh worked at a pharmaceutical company for two years where he decided to pursue a career in medicinal chemistry. Murugesh left India and earned a master’s in Drug Design and Biomedical Science from Edinburgh Napier University in the United Kingdom where he was first involved in research. After working for two years in the protein science department of Agilent Technologies, he decided he wanted to return to graduate school for a PhD.

In his spare time Murugesh loves three antidepressants: nature, reading, and biking.

Murugesh contacted professors from 15 schools, based on their positive reply he applied to 7 schools, and we are fortunate that he chose Oregon State University and the Biochemistry and Biophysics Department where he works with Dr. Colin Johnson. Murugesh will continue working in protein biochemistry or protein engineering after his time here at OSU.

We are so thrilled to have Murugesh on the show this weekend, and we are excited to talk to him about his research with protein otoferlin. Be sure to listen to KBVR Corvallis 88.7 FM at 7 pm on Sunday, August 21 to hear from Murugesh, or stream the show live.

We Answer to the Nucleotide Chain Gang

This week on Inspiration Dissemination our featured guest is our very own Zhian Kamvar aka DJ CATGAG the co-host and co-founder of our weekly broadcast. Before his radio and phytopathological fame, Zhian was an eager biologist and a DJ by a different name! All will unfold during this week’s episode, but I will supply some teasers to get the oospore rolling.

Zhian got interested in biology while in high school in California where he wanted to become a mortician…yes we all were very surprised (but not really) to learn this. Like any aspiring mortician, Zhian used the internet to find out how he should focus his studies and achieve his goal. Anatomy and Physiology were high on the list. Zhian was fascinated with many aspects of human biology particularly respiration and circulatory processes that “just happen.” For example, the human heart pump blood throughout the body 80 times per minute with no conscious intention of the individual. That was only the tip of the iceberg and his enthusiasm continued to grow while in his first genetics course in college at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. This is when everything changed for Zhian and he decided to forgo his dream of becoming a mortician and focus on genetics. After a rough start at scaling the learning curve, Zhian aced Advanced Genetics and began an undergraduate research project investigating the that genes are responsible for making cultivars of corn grow and develop differently. A pivotal and proud moment for Zhian was presenting a poster at a national conference; this was only one of the many conferences that would follow.

Zhian seems very normal and boring, but wait!

Zhian poses with a petri dish containing a cultured specimen of the plant destroyer Phytophthora syringae. (Photo Credit: Lindsey Thiessen)

During his time at Truman State University, Zhian stumbled upon and promptly crashed into a gig as a radio DJ for the Truman State College Radio Station-KTRM “The Edge”. Zhian’s shows hosted the metal, vinyl, and classical genres. One of Zhian’s shows was a morning show called “Up Late with a Vampire,” a classical music hour for your morning commute in nowhere Missouri. Thus began our own DJ CATGAG’s life as a radio DJ subjecting us to his diverse musical taste. Zhian is not only a music connoisseur, from the common to the obscure, but also Zhian made and produced some of his own music, OH YES we have samples to play this Sunday! First, Zhian mixed electronic tunes as…wait for it…DJ Poopslice! Then his sound truly took form as Not Jeremy Jones where he explored harsh noise and “poplematic” (problematic pop) music.

Also, worth mentioning that after graduating from Truman State Zhian took a solo trip to Daegu, South Korean where he taught English for 3 years. In South Korea, Zhian did a lot of reading in his free time and decided he really missed participating science and research. He decided it was then time to apply to graduate school.

Zhian demonstrating functionalities of his software package, poppr, to a workshop at the American Phytopathological Society meeting in 2015 (Photo Credit: Sydney Everhart) (From twitter)

Lucky for us, (and I mean that sincerely) he was accepted to Oregon State University Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Zhian is part of the lab of Nik Grünwald where he studies the population genetics of plant destroyers in the genus Phytophthora, specifically Phytophthora syringae and Phytophthora ramorum (this one is the pathogen responsible for Sudden Oak Death). These organisms are fungi-like and usually reproduce asexually, but they do have sex when conditions are good. His dissertation focuses on diversity of Phytophthora populations. Basically, if a population is very diversified than the effect of the pathogen on the plants involved is going to be harder to manage; whereas a population of clones may be taken out uniformly. In addition to interpreting population genetics, Zhian has been working to develop software tools that will help others to analyze data to study the genetics of other organisms. His R package called poppr allows users to analyze and visualize the distribution of genetic diversity in a population. Zhian does very great work, and we are sad to know that soon he will finish his dissertation and leave the Inspiration Dissemination team.

This is an episode you will not want to miss. Tune in at 7 pm on Sunday, August 14 to KBVR Corvallis 88.7FM or stream the show live.

Get out and Play with Friends!

As the Rio Olympics gets underway we are reminded just how far a human being can push their body to shave off ¼ second, or jump the extra inch; we tend to envision exercise for purely physical benefits such as burning calories, bigger muscles, and a stronger heart. Think about how much more enjoyable it is to play basketball with friends or run with a buddy instead of trudging through mile after mile by yourself.

Our guest this evening sees the physical benefits of exercising, but wants to remind us of social bonding and psychological well-being that can be produced from exercising with a group of people. Jafra Thomas is a Ph.D. student in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences focusing on how health should be viewed as a social phenomenon, instead of purely an anatomical process. Not only is Jafra interested in the effects of exercise on the individual, but also how these activities can strengthen the social fabric with our peers, how values can develop from these experiences, and how this can promote a positive personal identity.

Think back to your (probably very awkward) early high school days, some may have been on the dance team, band group, or some other sports team. Your very first practice was really scary because you were not physically ready and you’re surrounded by lots of new people you don’t know! Fast-forward to the end of high school you realize what you learned about team-bonding, inclusion, perseverance, and hopefully developed a life-long personal identity through those long and grueling practices.

Jafra Thomas is currently a PhD student in the College of Health and Human Sciences

While going through his undergraduate degree at the University of Pacific in California, Jafra spearheaded a program to encourage community members of diverse backgrounds to participate on a rowing team. This rowing program helped the participants overcome some of the many barriers that often limit participation in these unique sports. The program made sure to provide equally accessible events and create an inclusive environment so kids can learn more about themselves and others. This is the kind of healthy development we should be promoting in tandem with the physical benefits of exercising.

Jafra has already received some prestigious awards, and in the future plans to become university professor who hopes to strike a balance between research, teaching and service. In the mean time, he’s keeping himself busy by being a part of the Black Graduate Students Association (BGSA), Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching Program (GCCUTP), and recently got back into rowing through the Corvallis Rowing Club.

Tune in Sunday, August 7th at 7PM PDT on KBVR, 88.7 FM or stream live at http://www.orangemedianetwork.com/kbvr_fm/ to hear Jafra’s story.