EIGER FELLOW SINCE JANUARY, 2007

Working with Project Esperanza,
Dominican Republic, July 2007

EDUCATION

James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
B.S., Integrated Science and Technology, January 2005 

ADVISOR

Professor Brenda Winkel, Department of Biological Sciences

EIGER INTERNSHIP

August 2009
University of California, San Diego Biophysics Instrumentation Facility
I worked with Dr. Betsy Komives, who runs the Biophysics facility and is an expert in protein-protein interactions. We used Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometery (HDX-MS) to look for interfaces on protein surfaces that are involved in protein-protein interaction.

CURRENT RESEARCH

My work centers on structural analysis of the flavonoid multienzyme complex in Arabidopsis thaliana. I am interested in understanding the role of protein-protein interactions in metabolism.  In particular, I am interested in learning about the dynamic nature of these interactions and how they are regulated.  I am utilizing several techniques, such as chemical crosslinking, TAP tagging, and isothermal titration calorimetry to further my understanding about these interactions.  In the future, I plan on using biophysical techniques to derive information about the overall structure of the flavonoid biosynthetic machinery.

CONTACT INFORMATION

bowermpa@vt.edu

Page last updated 11/10/09