BBMB FACULTY FOCUS

Thomas Bobik

Thomas Bobik, professor

On the culture of BBMB

“We have a great culture of cooperation that allows us to solve problems based on our collective interdisciplinary knowledge, which is crucial for modern science.”

On his current research

“We are genetically engineering E. coli for production of renewable chemicals. We also are trying to define the architectural and functional principles of bacterial micro-compartments so they might be developed for  industrial production of chemicals or as drug-delivery vehicles.”

On how his work connects to peoples’ lives

“We are trying to define the functional and design principles of biological systems so we can build purpose-specific systems that are useful in industry or medicine.”

On what’s exciting about his work

“The bacterial micro-compartments we study have unique structural and functional principles. Once we have fully defined these principles, then it will become possible to determine the scope of their importance and implement biotechnology and biomedical applications.”

Desi Gunning, teaching laboratory coordinator and biochemistry undergraduate academic advising coordinator

Desiree Gunning

On the culture of BBMB

“BBMB is large enough to have great faculty and research opportunities and small enough for our students to feel connected and a part of this flourishing community. Students are very focused, dedicated and eager to experience research. When you combine great faculty with highly motivated and talented students, wonderful things happen.”

On undergraduates and research

“Most of our undergraduates want to become involved in research and most do by their sophomore year. We encourage research as a natural extension of their education. Working with faculty mentors and alongside scientists in the lab is very exciting and motivating. Putting all those semesters of math, biology, chemistry and biochemistry to use in research helps them understand just how much they have learned. They transform from students to scientists. The application of their knowledge is what gets them hooked.”

On what’s exciting about working with students

“With such dynamic, capable and motivated students, we need to be on our toes. Our faculty is fantastic and ready to adapt and innovate to provide them with the education, experience and opportunities for excellent outcomes. A strength of our department is the strong sense of community that is greatly valued by students and their families. Our undergraduate program is wonderfully successful at preparing students for a variety of professional careers. Some may start as pre-med, but discover they love research. Our role is very important because we are sending our graduates off to be tomorrow’s leaders as physicians, professors, pharmacists, veterinarians, research scientists and more.”

On the signature BBMB undergraduate research symposium

“It is because of our students that we hold the Stupka Undergraduate Research Symposium each spring. The symposium is dedicated to the memory of Rob Stupka, a biochemistry student who inspired and developed the idea for the event but tragically died in a traffic accident. Now in its eighth year, the symposium is planned and executed by students and grows each year. It features the remarkable accomplishments of our student researchers. It has become a highly regarded professional scientific forum and we refer to it as a jewel in the BBMB crown.”

Scott Nelson

Scott Nelson, assistant professor

On the culture of BBMB

“Everyone is interested in what different labs are working on. Faculty are always willing to help their colleagues and students in an area where they may lack expertise. Research is performed in a very collaborative environment, which definitely moves research forward at a faster pace. Having been a student in the department (PhD ’02), I saw what a benefit it is to have easy access to professors with varying expertise. When I left Iowa State, I assumed the tight-knit, supportive atmosphere that I was part of was normal. But I’ve found the BBMB department is extraordinary in this regard.”

On his current research

“My research focuses on discovering how enzymes carry out various activities and how these activities are regulated at the molecular level. We are currently concentrating on an enzyme complex that plays an important role in the repair of damaged DNA.”

On how his work connects to peoples’ lives

“Fundamental information we are collecting on the enzyme complex may prove useful in efforts to control its activity for the purpose of altering the DNA repair capacity of certain organisms. This could mean increasing the efficiency of DNA repair in plants for agricultural purposes or inhibiting DNA repair in tumor cells to increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments.”

On what’s exciting about his work

“We’ve made a great deal of progress towards identifying the routes of communication that occur within the structure of the enzyme complex. These routes are highlighting areas that may be particularly susceptible to inhibition by small druglike molecules, which could be very helpful to rational, computer-aided drug-design efforts.”

Olga Zabotina, assistant professor

Olga Zabotina

On the culture of BBMB

“Open, friendly and intense. Faculty’s doors are always open for students. Faculty are demanding with students because it exposes them to how demanding their future jobs will be. We try to convince them there’s no time to lose: Learn how to be proactive and productive in the lab.”

On her current research

“We want to understand how plants synthesize polysaccharides, which are major components of cell walls, and important for improving plants for biofuels production and industrial uses. We also are working to understand how changes in cell walls reflect interactions with the environment.

This is important because cell walls are a first line of defense against environmental stresses and pathogens.”

On how her work connects to peoples’ lives

“We’re trying to understand how we can modify plants to produce more useful food, fiber, fuel or other resources. How can we do this without affecting the plant’s growth and development? Can we better understand how plants tolerate environmental stresses and use that information to improve them?”

On what’s exciting about her work

“Fundamental questions intrigue me. Step by step, we understand more about diverse, complex and dynamic structures in plants and can begin to put the information into the big picture and, in the future, apply it to practical problems. That excites me and that’s why I tell students plants are much more interesting to study than other organisms because of their flexibility.”

ZEBRA FISH OFFER CLEAR VIEW OF LIFE-SAVING KNOWLEDGE

Jeff Essner says the transparent zebrafish are especially suited for his research since their development is easy to observe under a microscope.

By Virginia Zantow

Zebrafish are tiny vertebrates, but if you ask Jeffrey Essner, their significance to genetics research and cancer research is huge.

Essner is an associate professor in genetics, development and cell biology. He says the idea that he can improve human health—especially the idea that he can make a difference to cancer patients—motivates him in his research, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Zebrafish—tiny, seemingly insignificant fish help him work toward that lofty goal. They also inspire him on another level: he enjoys looking at them.

“The embryos are just fascinatingly beautiful,” Essner says.

Their embryos are optically clear, so zebrafish development is easy to observe under a microscope. Also, since fish embryos develop outside of the mother, researchers can manipulate them, and that works well for genetic engineering and identifying genes involved in disease processes. Zebrafish also happen to be prolific breeders (a given female will produce up to 400 embryos in one morning).

“We can generate lots of embryos,” Essner says. “We can look at mutants and get statistical relevance from the numbers of offspring we’re examining.”

Precision is key

Essner has been using zebrafish to study a new method for genomic editing which uses artificial transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs). This method allows researchers to cut DNA at specific sites and modify genetic information.

“We can go into any gene and introduce specific changes to the DNA with incredible precision,” Essner says. “This technology has implications for working with large animals and human gene therapy.”

Since zebrafish embryos develop outside of the mother, and since they are transparent, they are ideal for perfecting the use of TALENs in genomic editing. The embryos are easily accessed for microinjection, and the characteristics expressed by the modified genes are easily observed.

Essner, along with Ying Wang, a postdoctoral research associate in genetics,  development and cell biology, and former ISU professor Dan Voytas, recently published an article in the journal Nature documenting the efficient use of TALENs in zebrafish.

The development of TALENs, an exciting new tool in the field of genetics, has roots at Iowa State. “TAL effector” proteins, which ultimately led to the development of TALENs technology, were discovered by Iowa State University plant pathologists and microbiologists.

“ISU has a great amount of intellectual property in TALENs,” Essner says.

The TALENs technology started with plants, but now it is being applied to animals like zebrafish. The hope is that soon, TALENs technology will be perfected to the point that it can be applied to large animals like pigs, which are much more biologically similar to humans than zebrafish. Genetically engineering pigs to have human diseases like cystic fibrosis or multiple sclerosis would make strides toward the development of therapeutics for those diseases, and even gene therapy, Essner says.

From an agricultural perspective, perfecting genetic engineering technology like TALENs so it can be used on large animals could improve resistance to disease in livestock, meat production, and large animal production in general.

Essner is one of the founders of Recombinetics, the biotech company that holds the licenses to use TALENs on large animals of agricultural importance.

Cancer research: both sides of the coin

While Essner spends a lot of time studying the TALENs technology and applying it to zebrafish, he also uses zebrafish to study cancer with Maura McGrail, his colleague as well as his wife.

“As tumors progress, they always ask for a blood supply,” Essner says. That’s why his take on cancer research focuses in on blood vessel development.

Blood vessels don’t just feed cancer tumors; they also transport them. Metastasis, or the spread of cancer tumors from one part of the body to another, happens through the blood stream. Essner looks for the genes necessary for blood vessel development. He is interested in finding ways to inhibit those genes, which could lead to developments in cancer therapies.

The transparency of zebrafish embryos also aids this research effort, as it allows Essner to clearly see the development of blood vessels.

McGrail, assistant professor in genetics, development and cell biology, looks at cancer from another angle. She seeks to identify the genes that are mutated in the cancer tumors themselves.

“Both of our research programs will continue to provide new insights into understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to tumor onset and progression,” McGrail says.

Offering a closer look

As a third grade child, Essner was taken with the beauty of watching a sea urchin develop under a microscope. The experience was formative in his decision to become a scientist. As Essner is still fascinated with observing life under a microscope, he passes his enthusiasm for biology on to the next generation.

“We provide zebrafish embryos to local schools in order to inspire the next generation of scientists,” Essner says. Essner inspires young scientists at Iowa State as well. He teaches Introduction to Biology as well as Developmental Biology, an upper-level course that provides research experiences to undergraduates.

Essner and McGrail mentor approximately five to ten undergraduates at any given time in their laboratory. The students take care of the fish and work on their own research projects, taking advantage of the clear view of cellular processes accessible in the zebrafish laboratory.

The Student Experience

The Student Experience Issue features one of two special edition covers, each featuring a different CALS student. Both active in college activities and CALS Ambassadors, Adam Bierbaum (‘12 agronomy) and Kayla Reiter, senior in agricultural business, help illustrate the different aspects of today’s student experience.

Much to cheer about!

Fall 2011 enrollment in agriculture and life sciences hit a 30-year high with 3,584. And we have the best college retention rate on campus with 81% of first year students sticking with CALS. 88% of our students return to Iowa State.

Welcome to the club

95% of CALS students gain hands-on experience and develop leadership in departmental clubs and activities including agronomic and livestock judging teams, competitive national contests and service projects.

Science with practice

CALS students get a solid grounding in science from biology to chemistry to advanced agrisciences. Our “Science with Practice” undergrad research program paid students $250,000 since 2005 to learn and earn in research laboratories, farms and greenhouses in nearly every CALS department.

You’re hired!

98% Placement Rate

73% of new grads stay in Iowa

70% of undergrads complete internships before graduation

CHARTING THE COURSE FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Assistant professor Mike Retallick and Adair Boysen catch up between classes. Boysen, a graduating senior in agricultural education and animal science, participated in Retallick's study abroad course to Australia and credits Retallick for helping her get the most out of her college experience.

Mike Retallick’s door is always open. The assistant professor of agricultural and life sciences education and studies advises more than 80 students annually, in addition to his research and teaching responsibilities. Any number of his advisees could drop by in a given day. And they do.

Retallick (’05 PhD agriculture and life sciences education) is one of 135 faculty advisers in the college. Together with another 13 full-time staff advisers they help agriculture and life sciences students navigate through their ISU experience.

For each advisee Retallick is the person who reviews their course schedule to be sure they are meeting degree requirements. He helps them identify and prepare for their internship and student teaching experiences. He intervenes when students are headed for academic probation and offers congratulations when they make the dean’s list. He processes course substitutions and makes sure his students meet university and departmental deadlines.

Retallick says that when entering college many students aren’t prepared for balancing their newfound independence with coursework. That’s where he comes in. He helps students learn to study and manage their daily lives, but he also encourages them to take their college experience a step further.

“I challenge them to get the most complete experience while at Iowa State. Our grads are highly sought after, but a degree on a wall should not be their end goal,” Retallick says. “Students should get the most out of each opportunity and differentiate themselves through clubs, leadership roles, internships, study abroad. It is the entire package that sets our students apart.”

Another major role Retallick and other advisers play is helping students handle the challenges life throws at them while they work on their degree. He connects students with campus resources such as student counseling, student health, financial aid and the academic success center.

“It is key as an adviser to be upfront, honest and frank with your advisees,” he says. “It helps them to know what to expect and makes their time on campus less scary.”

According to his advisees Retallick does just that. Transfer student Rachael Emig considers Retallick as the most influential person in her college experience.

“Dr. Retallick is always available to answer any question I have quickly and clearly, and I feel like I could ask him any question,” she says. “He helped me solidify my decision to major in agricultural education and have the smoothest possible transition to Iowa State.”

The toughest part of his job, Retallick says, is there are no easy answers.

“My first answer to many questions is ‘it depends,’” he says. “Every situation and every student is unique and policies and procedures can be interpreted differently.”

He admits it can also be difficult to balance his research and teaching load with the number of advisees he currently carries. But, that challenge is also what drives him.

“These students are what recharge my batteries. I enjoy the one-on-one teachable moments that come with advising,” he says. “You just don’t find that in the classroom.”

Advising the Advisers

The college launched the Louis Thompson Advising Academy in 2011. The academy, named in honor of the late agronomy professor and associate dean known for advising excellence, promotes the professional, individual and academic development of students through a mentoring relationship with an academic adviser.

Retallick is among the 25 faculty members of the academy who earned acceptance by receiving at least one college or university advising award.

David Acker, associate dean for academic and global programs, says the academy will help the college make further strides in becoming the best student advising program on campus.

“At its core the academy is about helping students reach their potential and maximize success inside and outside the classroom,” Acker says.

The academy was created based on recommendations from the college’s Future of Academic Programs Task Force and Academic Affairs Committee with support from the Iowa State University Agricultural Endowment Board.

“It takes time, it takes patience and it takes a caring attitude to serve students in this capacity,” Acker says. “This highly experienced group will provide excellent guidance and counsel on how to maintain and improve our tradition of excellence in advising.”