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Mission
To apply advanced electron microscopy methods to hearing research and to provide a shared imaging resource to HEI scientists and the research community.
History
Current Projects
- Maintain and develop essential equipment and technologies in electron microscopy. Methods
- Perform independent and collaborative research using the Center facilities. Our work.
- Provide on-site training for preparative technologies and use of imaging equipment. Courses
Related Links
- Cellular and molecular mechanisms of bacterial persistence in recurrent otitis media.
Collaboration with David J. Lim, M.D. House Ear Institute
Otitis media is a common disease of children that can often lead to either hearing loss or systemic complications of the central nervous system. The development of new anti-infective agents to support and, in some instances replace, antibiotics, requires a better understanding of how bacteria cause disease at both the cellular and molecular levels. In recent years new approaches for studying pathogenesis of bacteria have been applied to a selected group of microorganisms to reveal basic strategies of disease causation. These approaches are being used to examine how non-typeable Hemophilus influenzae (NTHi), a causative agent of otitis media, interacts with epithelial cells at a molecular level.
- The formation of autophagic vacuoles
Autophagy, the constitutive process by which cells modulate their protein mass, has been extensively studied. This process involves the identification and sequestration of cytoplasmic components into membrane bound autophagosomes, or autophagic vacuoles (AV’s) for subsequent breakdown in lysosomes. The lack of suitably specific markers for these organelles, as well as the cryptic appearance of their contents, has meant that examination of the very early stages of sequestration into AV’s has not previously been possible. We have developed a model system to examine the polypeptide profiles of the membranes involved in the early stages of autophagic vacuole formation.
- The cell biology of non-viral DNA delivery systems
Collaboration with Professor Mark Davis,
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
California Institute of Technology
The polymer cyclodextran has been used in synthetic packaging of compounds for targeted drug delivery. More recently, it has been used to package DNA to study the feasibility of using it as a delivery system in gene therapy. By using an inert synthetic polymer for this purpose instead of viral particles the problems associated with immunity and pathogenesis are avoided. We plan to examine the structure of the polyplexes at high resolution and examine the intracellular fate of the polyplexes using immunocytochemical methods. Hopefully, this information will help us design polyplexes with specific intracellular targeting.
Staff:
Paul Webster, Ph.D., Facility Director and Scientist II
Kathryn A. Rich, Ph.D., Visiting Scientist
Chelsea Burkett, Student Intern
Siva Wu, Research Assistant
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