A grant has been awarded to Dr. Lisa Hibbard at Spelman College to fund the acquisition of a circular dichroism (CD) spectropolarimeter to be used for the following purposes: (1) The PIs current project involves a study of the structure and function of the eye lens protein a-crystallin using spectroscopy techniques. (2) The Chemistry Department will perform protein structure determination experiments in the teaching biochemistry laboratory course. (3) It will be used in a spectroscopy laboratory-based course that is proposed as a bridging course between the departments of Chemistry and Physics at the College. (4) There will be occasional use by researchers at Clark-Atlanta University who are collaborators with faculty at Spelman College.
The research project is of significance as there is still a great deal to be learned regarding the relationship between a-crystallin structure and chaperone function. Little information is currently available on the tertiary structure of the protein and no one has studied the effects of the presence of salt in conjunction with exposure to UV radiation on structure and function. In addition, as Spelman College prides itself on producing excellent African-American women scientists, these projects will serve as a training ground for undergraduate students to perform biochemical research. The CD instrument will also be available for use in teaching lab experiments in the Chemistry and Physics Departments at Spelman and by other researchers in the Atlanta area. Students from underrepresented groups will be exposed to new technologies through courses, laboratories, and research projects utilizing this new instrument.
