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Lab Alumni

Heidi Arjes

Postdoctoral Scientist, Jointly Advised by KC Huang, Stanford University and Gürol Süel, UCSD
PhD Student 2009-2014
Craftimism

Arjes, H.A., B. Lai, E. R. Emelue, A. Steinbach, and P. A. Levin. (2015) Mutations in the bacterial cell division protein FtsZ highlight the role of GTP binding and longitudinal subunit interactions in assembly and function. BMC Microbiology, 5:209 DOI 10.1186/s12866-015-0544-z..

Arjes, H. A. , A. Kriel, N. A. Sorto, J. T. Shaw, J. D. Wang and P.  A. Levin. (2014) Failsafe mechanisms couple division and DNA replication in bacteria, Current Biology. 24(18): 2149-2155. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.07.055.

Amy Buscher

Forensic Scientist-DNA Analyst, Wisconsin State Crime Lab
Postdoctoral Scientist 2005-2007

Haeusser, D. P., A. C. Garza*, A. Buscher, and P. A. Levin. (2007) The division inhibitor EzrA contains a seven-residue patch required for maintaining the dynamic nature of the medial FtsZ ring, J. Bacteriol., 189: 9001-9010. (Cover image)

P.J. Buske

Director, Empirico Inc
PhD student 2008-2013

Hill, N. S., J. Zuke, P. J. Buske, A-C Chien, and P. A. Levin (2018) A nutrient-dependent division antagonist is regulated post-translationally by the Clp proteases in Bacillus subtilis, BMC Microbiol 18:29-43. PMID: 29625553 doi.org/10.1186/s12866-018-1155-2

Buske, P. J., A. Mittal, R. V. Pappu, and P. A. Levin (2014) An intrinsically disordered linker plays a critical role in bacterial cell division, Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology (In press).

Hill, N. S., P. J. Buske, Y. Shi, and P. A. Levin, (2013) A moonlighting enzyme links Escherichia coli cell size with central metabolism, PLoS Genetics 9(7): e1003663.doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.10036

Buske, P. J. and P. A. Levin. (2013) A flexible C-terminal linker is required for proper FtsZ assembly in vitro and cytokinetic ring formation in vivo, Mol. Microbiol. PMID: 23692518.

Buske, P. J. and P. A. Levin. (2012) The extreme C-terminus of the bacterial cytoskeletal protein FtsZ plays a fundamental role in assembly independent of modulatory proteins, J. Biol. Chem., 287:10945-10957.

An Chun Chien

Special assistant to the President, TECA Engineering Pte. Ltd, Singapore
PhD student 2006-2012

Chien, A-C, S. K. Zareh, Y. M. Wang and P. A. Levin. Changes in the oligomerization potential of the division inhibitor UgtP coordinate Bacillus subtilis cell size with nutrient availability, Mol. Microbiol. 2012 86:594-610. PMID: 22931116

Chien, A-C., N. S. Hill and P. A. Levin. (2012) Cell size control in bacteria, Current Biology, 22(9):R340-9.

Weart, R. B., A. H. Lee, A-C Chien, D. P. Haeusser, N. S. Hill and P. A. Levin. (2007) A metabolic sensor governing cell size in bacteria, Cell, 130:335-347. (Cover image)

Rosemary Emelue

Pharmacy Resident, Children's Hospital St Louis
Undergraduate Researcher 2011-2013
NIH MARC-U-STAR Fellow

Publications

Arjes, H.A., B. Lai, E. R. Emelue, A. Steinbach, and P. A. Levin (2015) Mutations in the bacterial cell division protein FtsZ highlight the role of GTP binding and longitudinal subunit interactions in assembly and function. BMC Microbiology, 5:209 DOI 10.1186/s12866-015-0544-z.  PMID: 26463348

Kate Fee

Medical Student, University of Missouri Kansas City
High School Research Assistant 2014-2015

While in the Levin lab, Kate combined microscopy and high throughput image analysis to determine the length and width of bacteria cultured under different nutrient conditions. Kate is currently attending UMKC's six year BS/MD program and working as a research assistant in Dr. Prachee Avasthi's laboratory at KUMC (http://www.avasthilab.org/).

Anna Cristina Garza

Resident in Preliminary Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Dermatology/Harvard Combined at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
MD-PhD Harvard University 2017
Undergraduate Researcher 2006-2007

Publications

Haeusser, D. P., A. C. Garza, A. Buscher, and P. A. Levin. (2007) The division inhibitor EzrA contains a seven-residue patch required for maintaining the dynamic nature of the medial FtsZ ring, J. Bacteriol., 189: 9001-9010. (Cover image)

Steven Grigsby

MD-PhD Student, Phillips Lab, Washington University School of Medicine
Undergraduate Researcher 2013-2015
ASM Undergraduate Research Fellow

Current Research

Steven is determining the role of a flexible linker domain in the assembly and function of the highly conserved, tubulin-like, cell division protein FtsZ. This work is conducted in collaboration with Rohit Pappu's lab in the Washington University School of Engineering. (http://pappulab.wustl.edu)

Bruce Grossman

Associate Account Manager at Northern Trust Wealth Management
Media Master 2015-2017

Bruce is in charge of making sure the bacteria are fed, the buffers are made, and the glassware is clean. (AKA indispensable!).

Daniel Haeusser

Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Canisius College, Buffalo NY
PhD student 2002-2008

Haeusser, D. P. and P. A. Levin (2019) Keeping replication on par with division, Mol Microbiol, in press. 

Haeusser, D. P., A. H. Lee, R. B., Weart and P. A. Levin. (2009) ClpX inhibits FtsZ assembly in a manner that does not require its ATP hydrolysis-dependent chaperone activity, J.Bacteriol., 191:1986-1991.

Haeusser, D. P. and  P. A. Levin. (2008) The Great Divide: Coordinating cell cycle events during bacterial growth and division, Current Opinion in Microbiology, 11:94–99.

Haeusser, D. P., A. C. Garza*, A. Buscher, and P. A. Levin. (2007) The division inhibitor EzrA contains a seven-residue patch required for maintaining the dynamic nature of the medial FtsZ ring, J. Bacteriol., 189: 9001-9010. (Cover image)

Weart, R. B., A. H. Lee, A-C Chien, D. P. Haeusser, N. S. Hill and P. A. Levin. (2007) A metabolic sensor governing cell size in bacteria, Cell, 130:335-347. (Cover image)

Haeusser, D.P., R. L. Schwartz, A. M. Smith, M. E. Oates*, and P.A. Levin. (2004) EzrA prevents aberrant cell division by modulating assembly of the cytoskeletal protein FtsZ, Mol. Microbiol. 52:801-814. 

Bisco Hill

Postdoctoral Scientist, Matt Welch Lab, UC Berkeley
PhD student 2007-2013

Hill, N. S., J. Zuke, P. J. Buske, A-C Chien, and P. A. Levin (2018) A nutrient-dependent division antagonist is regulated post-translationally by the Clp proteases in Bacillus subtilis, BMC Microbiol 18:29-43. PMID: 29625553 doi.org/10.1186/s12866-018-1155-2

Taheri-Araghi, S, S. Bradde, J. T. Sauls, N. S. Hill, P. A. Levin, J. Paulsson, M. Vergassola, and S. Jun. (2015) Cell-size control and homeostasis in bacteria, Current Biology 25 (3), 385-391. PMID: 25544609.

Hill, N. S., P. J. Buske, Y. Shi, and P. A. Levin. (2013) A moonlighting enzyme links Escherichia coli cell size with central metabolism, 9(7): e1003663. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.10036.

Chien, A-C., N. S. Hill and P. A. Levin. (2012) Cell size control in bacteria, Current Biology, 22(9):R340-9.

Hill, N. S., R. Kadoya, D. K. Chattoraj, and P. A. Levin. (2012), Cell size and the initiation of DNA replication in bacteria, PLoS Genet 8(3): e1002549. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002549

Weart, R. B., A. H. Lee, A-C Chien, D. P. Haeusser, N. S. Hill and P. A. Levin. (2007) A metabolic sensor governing cell size in bacteria, Cell, 130:335-347.

Jesse Kao

Medical Student, St. Louis University
Undergraduate Researcher 2013-2015
UStar Summer Scholar, 2015 SURF recipient

Adrian Land

Regulatory Manager, Proctor & Gamble
Postdoctoral Scientist 2011-2014,

Publications

Land, A.D., P. Hogan, S. Fritz and P. A. Levin, (2015) Phenotypic variation is almost entirely independent of the host-pathogen relationship in clinical isolates of S. aureus, PLoS ONE, 10(6):e0129670. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129670. PMID: 26098551

Land, A. D., Q. Luo, and P. A. Levin, (2014) Functional domain analysis of the cell division inhibitor EzrA, PLoS ONE  9(7): e102616. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102616.  

Land AD, Tsui HC, and Winkler ME. Characterizations of Peptidoglycan Synthesis Mutants and the Identification of GpsB, a protein involved in septum formation in Streptococcus pneumoniae. In revision. 

Sham LT, Tsui HC, Land AD, Barendt SM, Winkler, ME, Recent Advances in Pneumococcal Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis Suggests New Vaccine and Antimicrobial Targets. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2012 Jan 24

Land AD and Winkler, ME. Requirement for Pneumococcal MreC and MreD Is Relieved by Deletion of the Gene Encoding PBP1a. J Bacteriol. 2011 Aug;193(16):4166-79.

Barendt SM, Land AD, Sham LT, Ng WL, Tsui HC, Arnold RJ, Winkler ME. Influences of capsule on cell shape and chain formation of wild-type and pcsB mutants of serotype 2 Streptococcus pneumoniae. J Bacteriol. (2009 May);191(9):3024-40.

Amy Lee

Postdoctoral Scientist, Hancock Lab, University of British Columbia
Masters Student 2003-2005

Haeusser, D. P., A. H. Lee, Weart, R. B., and P. A. Levin. (2009) ClpX inhibits FtsZ assembly in a manner that does not require its ATP hydrolysis-dependent chaperone activity, J.Bacteriol., 191:1986-1991.

Weart, R. B., A. H. Lee, A-C Chien, D. P. Haeusser, N. S. Hill and P. A. Levin. (2007) A metabolic sensor governing cell size in bacteria, Cell, 130:335-347. (Cover image)

Qingwei Luo

Scientist IV, Downstream Process Development at Patheon
Postdoctoral Scientist 2007-2011

Land, A. D. Q. Luo, and P. A. Levin, (2014) Functional domain analysis of the cell division inhibitor EzrA, PLoS ONE 9(7): e102616. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102616. 

Teran Mickens

Undergraduate Researcher, uSTAR Scholar 2016-2018
Joint MD-MPH Student at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

Research

While in the lab, Teran employed high-throughput image analysis to dissect the relationship between specific aspects of biosynthetic capacity and cell size

Jeremy Moore

BioMedRap Student from Kenyon College Summer 2017
moorej@kenyon.edu

Brad Weart

Associate Professor of Biology, Grayson College, Denison, TX
PhD student 2001-2007

Haeusser, D. P., A. H. Lee, Weart, R. B., and P. A. Levin. (2009) ClpX inhibits FtsZ assembly in a manner that does not require its ATP hydrolysis-dependent chaperone activity, J.Bacteriol., 191:1986-1991.

Weart, R. B., A. H. Lee, A-C Chien, D. P. Haeusser, N. S. Hill and P. A. Levin. (2007) A metabolic sensor governing cell size in bacteria, Cell, 130:335-347. (Cover image)

Weart, R. B., S, Nakano, B. E. Lane, P. Zuber, and P. A. Levin. (2005) The ClpX chaperone modulates assembly of the tubulin-like protein FtsZ, Mol. Microbiol., 57:238-249.

Weart, R. B. and P.A. Levin. (2003) Growth rate dependent regulation of FtsZ ring formation in Bacillus subtilis, J. Bacteriol. 185: 2826-2834

Zhizhou Yang

Medical Student, Washington University School of Medicine
Undergraduate Researcher 2016-2018
BIOSURF Recipient

Research

While in the lab Zhizhou explored determinants of cell size in the Gram positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis.

Publications

Vadia, S., J. L. Tse, Z. Yang,‡ R. Lucena, D. Kellogg, J. Wang, and P. A. Levin (2017) Fatty acid synthesis sets cell envelope capacity and dictates microbial cell size, Current Biology, in press. http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)30642-5

Vadia, S., J. L. Tse, Z. Yang,‡ R. Lucena, D. Kellogg, J. Wang, and P. A. Levin (2017) Fatty acid synthesis sets cell envelope capacity and dictates microbial cell size, Current Biology, in press. http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)30642-5

 

 

Jason Zuke

Graduate Student, University of Wisconsin Madison
Technician 2016-2018
jasonzuke@wustl.edu

As a Research Technician, Jason investigated the relationship between nutrient availability and physical properties of the bacterial cell surface in addition to keeping the lab well stocked and running smoothly!

Hill, N. S., J. Zuke, P. J. Buske, A-C Chien, and P. A. Levin (2018) A nutrient-dependent division antagonist is regulated post-translationally by the Clp proteases in Bacillus subtilis, BMC Microbiol 18:29-43. PMID: 29625553 doi.org/10.1186/s12866-018-1155-2