Date:5/4/2010

is known for her research on the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). In recent years, HTLV-1 has become increasingly recognized as an important cause for public health concern throughout the world. Nyborg is a Professor Laureate in the College of Natural Sciences and a recipient of the Oliver P. Pennock award for Outstanding Service and the CNS Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award.

Luger's experiments will focus on a protein that facilitates the assembly and disassembly of the nucleosome on the DNA. She will gain an atomic level understanding of the mechanisms that cause nucleosomes to move off the DNA when genes are turned on. Luger is known for leading an extraordinary scientific breakthrough that solved the three-dimensional structure of the nucleosome in 1997. Nucleosomes, mentioned above, are small, disc-like protein-DNA structures that compact six feet of DNA into an individual cell nucleus. Luger is the first and only Howard Hughes Medical Investigator at Colorado State University in addition to being only one of a dozen University Distinguished Professors.

Stargell, whose specialty is yeast genetics, will study the movement of nucleosomes when genes are turned on in living cells. Although her studies will be performed in yeast, the nucleosomes are evolutionarily conserved, meaning they're the same whether they're in a yeast cell or a human cell. Her work is an essential complement to the test-tube experiments conducted in the Luger and Nyborg laboratories. Stargell's research focuses on the basic mechanisms that govern genes, which is particularly important since many human diseases (including cancer) are caused by abnormal gene regulation. She recently received the CNS Graduate Education and Mentoring Award and the Jack E. Cermak Outstanding Advising Award.

"Each of the three projects will benefit significantly from the contributions of our co-Investigator, Dr. Jeffrey Hansen, the established expert in the f
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Contact: Emily Wilmsen Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu 970-491-2336 Colorado State University Source:Eurekalert

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