Goddard Lab Research

Goddard Lab @ Hunter College

Hunter North 1233

RESEARCH (Home)

The Genetic Code
		Is the code optimized?
		Biology is fret with examples of specialized mechanisms and systems. A notable exception is the near universiality of the genetic code. Although the code possesses both degeneracy and redundancy, the origin of its architecture is unclear. Because variants of the code exist, a natural question that arises is whether the universal code is optimized. We test this optimization by altering the genetic code of E.coli and measuring how different errors effect the cell. We hope to use the error spectrum to then understand the basic structure of the code.

Eukaryotic Gene Regulation
		Understanding switch architecture
		When a cell is exposed to an environmental stimulus, its first proactive step in its response is often the transcription of genes. In the model eukaryote S.cerevisiae, there are more than 200 transcription factors that can be found in innumerable combinations to regulate the expression of genes. We use synthetic biology to construct libraries of these regulatory regions (or switches) to test models of their architeture in the organism. Also, we have developed high throughput screening protocols to examine the behavior of collections of strains that are derived of sexual recombination or selective evolution across a broad variety of conditions.

Population Dynamics
		How can mutators persist in a population?
		Organisms must balance their need for flexible response in chaging environments against the fidelity of inheritance between generations. Frequently, spontaneous arising mutations are often neutral or deleterious, implying that the mutation rate has evolved to be low. This has been challenged by the recent findings that hypermutating members of bacterial populations actually exist at levels of ~1% - independent of the origin of isolate. We use a theoretically based approach to investigate the limits of Fisher's theory of natural selection in space and time, to try to understand fixation of hypermutating subpopulations.

Forensic, Clinical, & Envirnomental Sampling

Selective Capture & Enrichment

As the potential for synthetic/engineered emergent biological threats increases, so too, does the necessity for better detection technologies. The low-level detection of aerosol and blood borne pathogens is key to early warning and prevention strategies. Similar concerns are true for the clinical environment where the increase in noscomial infections in the last 20 years is alarming. However, due to the excessive nonspecific target DNA in both environments, traditional PCR(polymerase chain reaction) and sequencing based identification techniques are limited in sensitivity. Our lab addresses this limitation by developing enrichment technologies to separate the target from its background. We also have active efforts in reducing the background in downstream analysis technologies.

Bioenergy
		Diverting Carbon Metabolism in Algae
		Given the exhaustive amount of media attention devoted to the propmotion of biofuels, it is ironic that few accounts really provide a realistic cost analysis of alternative fuel solutions. Although the energy from the sun is "free", photosynthetic organisms are generally inefficient light collectors. Furthermore, even if your organism makes refined gasoline, it requires cost in harvesting. This cost is especially nontrivial when terrestrial plants are involved. Many of the structural proteins (e.g. lignands) that provide shape to the plant, greatly inhibit downstream access to fermentable sugars or utilitarian hydrocarbons. Although many efforts are devoted to solving this problem in corn and switch grass, we propose to burn algae in your tank. The tools to genetically engineer algae to produce heterologous natural product chemistry is just beginning. We are developing ways to divert the carbon flux away from the chloroplast and into useful products. We are also intersted in understanding how mixed populations in the environment share light and resource utility.