This candidate's commitment to basic research in the medical sciences began when she entered the Medical Scientist Training Program in 1974. She has adhered to that commitment as a tenure track faculty member of the GI research unit at Washington University. The GI division is organized such that its research faculty members have reduced clinical duties thus allowing them to pursue basic research. Her research program on protein-membrane interactions in the intestinal mucosa examines both intracellular interactions, using intestinal vitamin A binding proteins as a model system, and luminal interactions, Using E. histolytica surface proteins as a model system. In vitro models of intracellular retinoid flux within the enterocyte will be developed, using fluorescence and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure retinoid flux between recombinant vitamin A binding proteins and liposomes or intestinal microsomes. For this work She has taken advantage of her joint appointment in the Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and has worked closely with members of the Dept. of Chemistry. Her laboratory has recently cloned and expressed a E. histolytica surface antigen, which appears to play a role in amoebic adhesion. The interactions of this protein with receptors on the intestine will be studied using target cells of colonic origin. In carrying out this work she has developed close ties with members of the Infectious Diseases Division and the Dept. of Molecular Microbiology. The RCDA would come at a critical point in her development, in that it would provide her with opportunities to learn and apply new techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, to problems in enteric biology. It would help relieve her of additional clinical responsibilities and allow her to focus on establishing an independent research program.
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