Two Wabash College Professors Land $470,000 NSF Grant

Wabash College professors Erika Sorensen-Kamakian and Wally Novak received a nearly $470,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the impacts of protein level control on human development and disease.

This project will engage undergraduate students in year-round interdisciplinary research, improving their creative problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and the ability to communicate with both scientific audiences and the general public. Portions of this research also will be integrated into the molecular genetics and biochemistry courses at the College, enlisting a large number of students in new scientific discovery.

“We are proud of the work that our students accomplish in independent research projects,” said Novak. “This funding will allow us to engage even more students in these exciting research experiences. In addition, we are thrilled to take part in science that will have a large impact on the future of genetic research in C. elegans.”

Sorensen-Kamakian, Assistant Professor of Biology and Principal Investigator, and Novak, Professor of Chemistry and co-Principal Investigator, will lead a three-year effort to develop new methods for controlling protein levels in the roundworm, C. elegans, using the LOCKR (Latching Orthogonal Cage Key pRoteins) method, which could lead to insights into life processes and disease states.

“We are excited to create and develop this new research team that will be led by undergraduate scientists,” said Sorensen-Kamakian. “This work is a fantastic opportunity to show our students how scientists collaborate and leverage each other’s expertise to tackle complex scientific problems. Our long-term goal is that this work will set the stage for use of the LOCKR system in other animal models.”

LOCKR can be programmed to modify gene expression, leading to multiple applications like new therapies for cancer, autoimmune disorders, and other diseases. Using LOCKR in this study gives researchers a reliable protein control method with tissue specificity, and the ability to independently control multiple genes at various time points in development. This project applies computational design, biophysical analysis, and experiments in the roundworm using gene editing (CRISPR-Cas9) to fuse LOCKR to genes of interest.

LOCKR’s flexibility and its ability to control signaling pathways and cellular targeting could support biologists seeking to produce new and lifelike systems. The use of LOCKR in roundworms like C. elegans sets the foundation for its use in other more complex organisms.

The results of this study will be shared by the project team through presentations and publications. C. elegans strains and DNA constructs from the study will be deposited at the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center and Addgene, a scientific non-profit repository that shares research materials, respectively. The NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense.” The NSF is vital because it supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future. With an annual budget of $8.3 billion, the NSF is the funding source for approximately 25 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities