Emory Gives Out Golden Tickets

Ok, so my name is not Charlie, and I am not going to a chocolate factory. It only feels like I unwrapped a candy bar and found the fabled free ticket. You can call me Shawn. I, along with five other Emory students, have been given the opportunity to travel overseas to conduct research for the summer through the IRES program. My destination is the University of Marburg, and in particular the lab of Professor Marahiel (http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb15/ag-marahiel/index_html?set_language=en). The focus of my summer research will be bacterial lasso peptides, crazy molecules with antibiotic and other capabilities that are literally shaped like lassos. Honestly, Charlie can have his golden ticket I bet Wonka Bars have nothing on good old German Schokolade anyway.

But enough about Charlie. Let me tell you about myself.

I was originally drawn to Emory because of its research. After striving for a semester, with guidance from the SIRE program, to become involved in the groundbreaking scientific community here, I joined the lab of Dr. Weinert. So far, the accomplishment of which I am most proud of is obtaining a SIRE independent research grant this semester for a project of my own design (Emory is tossing out research grants like they’re tomatoes on la Tomatina, If you’ve ever thought about applying for a grant, get on that! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Tomatina). I’m interested in characterizing a new effector for a common second messenger in bacteria called c-di-GMP. It’s medically relevant because c-di-GMP controls biofilm formation, which confers antibiotic resistance, and a better understanding of how c-di-GMP binds its effectors could be essential in developing a drug to combat this problem.

I’m hoping that my current project in the Weinert lab will prepare me for this summer. Mutagenesis is one method in which I’ve gained experience, and I’ve recently expressed and purified the protein that I’ve been working with. I should use both of these tools this summer in exploring the differences in thermal stability between caulosegnins II and III, two recently discovered lasso peptides. Although they are very similar, caulosegnin II shows high stability even when subjected to extremely high temperatures, while caulosegnin III… kind of melts like butter. Nobody knows why, but it wouldn’t be research otherwise!

In short, I’m very excited.

Also, I know I said I was done with Charlie, but I just can’t resist. Did you know “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” was filmed in Germany? Coincidence? Maybe.

           

Maybe not.