Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY2008

Aleman Elvin A, Detroit MI

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2008. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Elvin Aleman is "New Single-Molecule Fluorescence Assay to Study DNA Base Flipping." The host institution for this research is the Wayne State University and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. David Rueda. DNA is a polymer with a backbone made of sugars and other chemical components. Attached to each sugar is one of four possible molecules called bases, whose sequences along the backbone encodes the genetic information for the synthesis of proteins in the cell in all living organisms. The chemical properties of the DNA bases can be changed when they are exposed to different chemical and non-chemical agents. Such damage can modify the genetic code and result in mutations that can lead to numerous diseases and cell death. Base-flipping is a phenomenon performed by some proteins to repair the mutated bases, but a detailed understanding of this process is lacking, impeding progress toward elucidating the prevention mechanisms that nature has developed to avoid the damage of bases. The project is developing a new single-molecule fluorescence assay to study the mechanisms of base-flipping and DNA protein interaction. The Fellow is being trained in an area of biophysics and single-molecule fluorescence that allows him to develop new measurement techniques and permits him to introduce this expertise to underrepresented research communities in Puerto Rico, where expertise in such techniques is limited. The Fellow serves as a role model for underrepresented minority students interested in pursuing a career in science.