Frontier s - University of Minnesota · All-star teams are giving the ... 111647 Frontiers Winter 02 12/19/01 2:09 PM Page 1. ... ships with a number of Minnesota compa-

FrontiersWinter 2002

M A G A Z I N E O F T H E C O L L E G E O F B I O L O G I C A L S C I E N C E SM A G A Z I N E O F T H E C O L L E G E O F B I O L O G I C A L S C I E N C E S

DreamTeamsAll-star teams

are giving the

College a com-

petitive edge in

emerging areas

of biology. This

team develops

microbial systems

that produce

earth friendly

biochemicals for

industrial use

and environ-

mental clean-up. Biocatalysis and healthyecosystems

page 9

South of the border biology page 12

Inside

111647 Frontiers Winter 02 12/19/01 2:09 PM Page 1

Team work has long been a buzzword in the business world. But it wasn’t long

ago that scientists worked in relative isolation. When the word interdisciplinary

first came into use at universities, many researchers were skeptical. Increas-

ingly, however, we are recognizing the value of collaboration. In fact, scientists

are seeing that discoveries are often made at the boundaries between disci-

plines. And funding agencies are rewarding interdisciplinary efforts.

At the College of Biological Sciences, ourstrategy for recruiting faculty is based onthe value of collaboration. We are forming“Dream Teams” in growth areas by identi-fying our strengths and recruiting talentedyoung faculty with skills and knowledgethat complement those of other teammembers. Some of these teams are featuredin this issue of Frontiers.

The next step is collaboration betweenacademia and industry. Many universitiesalready have taken this step and realizedscientific and economic benefits of thesepartnerships. In many cases, industrieshave grown around universities to bettertake advantage of their resources. Stan-ford, UC Berkeley, MIT, and Duke Uni-versity are examples.

The article “Biocatalysis and HealthyEcosystems” demonstrates some of thispotential in Minnesota. A Novemberforum presented by CBS and the Instituteof Technology explored how using bio-catalysis to create new products fromrenewable resources such as corn can begood for Minnesota’s economy as well as

Fromthe dean

Dean Robert Elde

its ecosystems. There are many otheropportunities for a strong biotechnologyindustry here.

While the University has valued partner-ships with a number of Minnesota compa-nies, the potential for much more collabo-ration exists. In fact, compared to manystates Minnesota is behind the curve. Weneed to recognize and seize opportunitiesto catch up. The planned BiotechnologyPrecinct is a step in the right direction, butmany other steps must be taken.

When people work together they canalways accomplish much more than byworking alone. It’s a simple but very trueidea that the University and Minnesotacompanies need to take to heart.

Robert EldeDean, College of Biological Sciences

John

Nol

tner

Collaboration drives growth in science and business


2 From the dean

4 Dream teamsCBS is building all-star teams in hot areas of biology.

7 Global ecosystem changeThis “dream team” is looking at how humans are altering the Earth’s life

support systems.

9 Biocatalysis and healthy ecosystemsWho says entrepeneurs and ecologists can’t be friends? Biocatalysis is good for

the environment and the economy.

10 No rest for Sleeping Beauty“Sleeping Beauty,” a novel technology for transferring

genes, is keeping busy.

11 South of the border biologyPlant biologists take field trips to Latin America.

14 CBS newsU Legislative request includes $18.7 million for greenhouses.

15 Upcoming eventsYou’re invited to a variety of events at CBS.

16 Alumni profileRebecca Goldburg honored for environmental advocacy.

17 Student profileAdrienne Kari keeps alumni connected to CBS.

18 Alumni NewsDavid Parmelee remembered at Itasca dedication.

19 CBS Career CenterThe center helps students and alumni find jobs in biotechnology and other fields.

20 Help WantedSearch firm seeks CBS alumni for executive posts in Minnesota’s growing

biotech industry.

Contents FrontiersWinter 2002Volume 4 Number 3

Dean

Robert EldeEditor

Peggy RinardAdvisers

Janene Connelly, Director of Development and External RelationsJudd Sheridan, Associate Dean Kathleen Peterson, Director, Office ofStudent ServicesPaul Germscheid, Development CoordinatorEmily Johnston, Alumni RelationsCoordinatorIssue Design and Layout

Shawn Welch, U of M Printing ServicesOriginal Design

Elizabeth Longhurst

Frontiers is published three times a yearby the University of Minnesota Collegeof Biological Sciences for alumni, faculty,staff, and friends of the college. It isavailable in alternative formats uponrequest; please call 612-624-0774 or fax612-624-2785.

Address correspondence to:Frontiers Editor College of Biological Sciences 123 Snyder Hall, 1475 Gortner Ave. St. Paul, MN 55108 e-mail: [email protected]

For information on College of BiologicalSciences programs and services, visit ourWeb site at www.cbs.umn.edu.

The University of Minnesota is committedto the policy that all persons shall haveequal access to its programs, facilities, andemployment without regard to race, color,creed, religion, national origin, sex, age,marital status, disability, public assistancestatus, veteran status, or sexual orientation.

Printed on elementally chlorine-free recycled paper containing 20 percent post-consumer waste.

F RO N T I E R S WI NTE R 2002 3Cover photo: Front: Larry Wacket, team leader; middle row, Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, Arkady Khodursky, and Michael Sadowsky; back row, Michael Flickenger, David Sherman, and Janet Schottel


Dream

OVE OVER MAGIC JOHN-son, Michael Jordan, andLarry Bird?Since the term “dream team”

was coined in the 1992 Olympics, whenbasketball’s finest formed the first profes-sional team to compete in the games, ithas been used widely in popular culture.Now, it’s moving into the scientific com-munity.

Traditionally the University of Min-nesota, like most large, public research uni-versities, has recruited faculty to cover thebreadth of disciplines. But in biology par-ticularly, where boundaries are rapidlyexpanding, focus has shifted to depth inareas of strength and growth potential.

By using state funds for molecular andcellular biology and reallocating otherresources, the College of Biological Sci-ences, in collaboration with other schools,is forming “dream teams” in key areas suchas biocatalysis and biodegradation, devel-opmental biology, molecular biology ofplants, and global ecosystem change.

“It’s a novel strategy,” says MichaelO’Connor, “captain” of the developmentalbiology dream team, who came here fromthe University of California, Irvine a fewyears ago to build a team.

“There are lots of good developmentalbiologists at places like Stanford and Har-vard, but they aren’t integrated as teams.There’s a synergy on our team that you justdon’t find elsewhere,” he says. Because ofthis, he adds, he believes his group is on itsway to becoming one of the top programsof its kind in the country.

O’Connor, a Howard Hughes Insti-tute scholar and Ordway Professor of

Developmental Biology, was an importantcatch for the College, says Robert Elde,dean. The “dream team” approach hasdrawn other talented young faculty, such asClaudia Schmidt-Dannert, a molecularbiologist recruited from California Insti-tute of Technology, named a rising star byU.S. News and World Report, and featuredin Nature Biotechnology and ChemicalEngineering News. Arkady Khodursky,recruited from Stanford, is another exam-ple. Khodursky, a mathematician withexpertise in DNA microarray technology,was courted by research universities aroundthe country before choosing the College ofBiological Sciences.

Thanks to President Mark Yudof ’sinvestment in biological sciences, the Col-lege has the resources to hire these andother talented new faculty. Not long afterhe arrived in 1997, Yudof announced theMolecular and Cellular Biology Initiative, aplan to position the University and thestate as leaders in biological sciences andbiotechnology. Yudof recently told theBoard of Regents that the University hasinvested $865 million in biology and med-icine over the past few years.

The plan and investments are payingoff, says Elde. About half of the 41 facultypositions created by the initiative are filled.The Molecular and Cellular Biology Build-ing will be completed this summer, andconstruction has begun on the Microbialand Plant Genomics Building, funded inpart by a $10 million gift from Cargill.Regents approved plans for a Biotechnolo-gy Precinct on the St. Paul campus, whichwill include several research and develop-ment buildings. And there’s growing col-laboration among biologists across the Uni-versity as well as in industry.

Members of the biocatalysis and biodegradation team take time out at Williams Arena.

From left to right are Janet Schottel, David Sherman, Michael Sadowsky, Claudia Schmidt-

Dannert, Larry Wackett, Arkady Khodursky, and Michael Flickenger.

4 F RO N T I E R S WI NTE R 2002

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The University of Minnesota is

organizing all-star teams of

scientists in areas of biology

with strong growth potential.

M

teams


F RO N T I E R S WI NTE R 2002 5

“We’re building a critical mass ofexpertise to create the synergy we need tomove up to the top,” Elde says. “Dreamteams are an important part of that.”

Following are a few examples of dreamteams. Others will be featured in futureissues of Frontiers.

Biocatalysis and

Biodegradation

In an era when pollution and dwin-dling fossil fuel supplies are serious con-cerns, there aren’t many frontiers of scienceas promising as biocatalysis, the use of bio-logical processes and renewable resourcesto create environmentally friendly prod-ucts. Its counterpart, biodegradation—bacterial metabolism of environmental pol-lutants—is equally appealing.

When the College was identifyingareas of strength and potential growth forinvestment, this one topped the list.

“It’s very compatible with other Col-lege strengths and it’s a good fit for the statebecause we live in an agricultural area,” saysDavid Bernlohr, head of the Departmentof Biochemistry, Molecular Biology andBiophysics, where the team is based.

Team members are all in the depart-ment’s Microbial Biochemistry andBiotechnology Division, headed by LarryWackett. Simply put, the group developsmicrobial systems that create products orclean up chemical contamination, saysWackett.

Wackett himself turns microbes intoclean-up crews. Working with soil scien-tist Michael Sadowsky, he engineeredbacteria that consume spills of atrazine, apesticide, in soil. David Sherman usesbacteria from soil and the ocean to pro-duce biochemicals active against cancer,viruses, fungi, and other bacteria.Michael Flickenger and Janet Schottelengineer bacteria, then encapsulate themin plastic film to create biosensors that

detect contaminants in soil and water. New members Claudia Schmidt-

Dannert and Arkady Khodursky are basicscientists who bring new tools and knowl-edge. Schmidt-Dannert “shuffles” micro-bial genes in test tubes to alter their activi-ty. In essence, she is speeding up evolutionto achieve a desired outcome, Wackettsays. Khodursky, who has a math degreefrom Moscow State University and a bio-physics degree from UC Berkeley, didpostdoctoral research in the laboratorywhere microarray screening, a key technol-ogy for genomics research, wasdeveloped. He uses microarraysto evaluate genome expressionpatterns in bacteria.

Bernlohr says the group isunique. “There’s no other uni-versity I know of with the facultyhorsepower we have in biocataly-sis and biodegradation.”

Developmental Biology

Now that genomes ofmany organisms have beensequenced, developmental biol-ogists are turning their atten-tion to how genes interact as anorganism develops, saysMichael O’Connor, leader ofthe developmental biologyteam, which is based in theDepartment of Genetics, CellBiology, and Development.

Complementary roles ofmembers give the team anadvantage. O’Connor’s interestis in signal transduction – howcells communicate with eachother – while Jeff Simon studies tran-scription, which is cued by signaling.Tom Hays focuses on cellular motors thattransport proteins. Tom Neufeld identi-fies genes that regulate cell size and organshape and Catherine Kirkpatrick looks at

genes regulating protein turnover. Theoverlap between these areas creates astrong synergy, O’Connor says.

The group works with a family ofgene products that relay information dur-ing development. Called BMPs for bonemorphogenetic proteins, they were origi-nally derived from cow bones. BMPs nowinclude proteins involved in the forma-tion of heart, eyes, and skin as well asbones, and they function the same infruit flies, the group’s primary modelorganism, as in vertebrates. While the

group’s focus is understanding develop-ment, some of the proteins have potentialfor treating cancer and other diseases.

[Other members of the developmentalbiology group focus on C. elegans and onzebrafish. A story on the zebrafish teamappears on page 10.]

Developmental biology team members include Mike

O’Connor, Tom Hays, Catherine Kirkpatrick, and Tom

Neufeld.

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Arabidopsis Genomics

If you walked by an Arabidopsisthaliana, you probably wouldn’t look at ittwice, let alone recognize its significance inagriculture. This small, plain plant is amodel for biologists to better understandand ultimately improve key crop plants

Although it’s not a crop plant itself,Arabidopsis, a member of the mustardfamily, was selected because it’s small, easyto grow, goes from seed to seed in sixweeks, and has a small genome. Since itwas adopted as a model plant in the 1980s,it has since risen from obscurity to promi-nence. It was the first higher plant to haveits genome sequenced.

“It’s a powerful tool for studying ques-tions in other green crop plants,” says NeilOlszewski, professor and team spokesper-son. Members of his team, based in the

Department of Plant Biology, all use ara-bidopsis in their research.

Olszewski, who studies plant hor-mones, looks for genetic mutants thatcause growth defects. Potentially, genesidentified and knowledge gained in this

model system can be used to improvecrops. The “green revolution” was launchedwith a mutant gene for dwarfism thatmakes wheat more productive. Bill Graystudies auxin, another plant hormone.Other group members look at a variety ofquestions, such as how plants perceive light(Min Ni), how hairs grow on leaves (DavidMarks), how proteins are transported(John Ward) and how plants survive with-in their ecosystems (Cynthia Weinig).

“Although we’re all addressing differ-ent questions, there’s a strong convergenceamong our interests.”

Global Ecosystem Change

“We identified global ecosystemchange as a top priority when we wereconsidering areas for recruiting new fac-ulty,” says Robert Sterner, head of the

Department of Ecology, Evolution, andBehavior. “It's a highly integrative subjectthat includes genetic adaptations, howorganisms respond to environmentalchanges, effects of reduced biodiversity,and other topics. We’re fortunate to have

a very strong mixture of senior leadershipand new expertise.”

EEB has a long history in the field.Margaret Davis and Eville Gorham, nowemeritus professors, studied how livingthings respond to atmosphere and climatechanges. Evolutionary biologist Ruth Shawis carrying on that work, looking at howplants may or may not adapt to predictedenvironmental changes. David Tilman,holder of the McKnight Presidential Chairin Ecology, is internationally known for hiswork on the value of biodiversity. SarahHobbie and new member Joe McFaddenstudy the effect of global warming onfrozen tundra and snow cover in the arctic.Jennifer King, also a new member, studiesthe impact of carbon dioxide and ultravio-let radiation on plants and ecosystems. AndJim Cotner looks at effects of ultravioletlight on aquatic ecosystems. [See story onthis team, page 7]

“Increasingly, society will be lookingto scientists to provide information onhow humans are changing the environ-ment, what effects those changes willhave on humans and the planet, and onhow to mitigate those changes,” Sterneradds. “I look to EEB and the Universityof Minnesota to be among the key gener-ators of this critical new knowledge.”

—Peggy Rinard


Min Ni, Pete Snustad, John Ward, Neil Olszewski, and William Gray use Arabidopsis as a

model to study genomics of higher plants.

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“There are lots of good

developmental biologists

at places like Stanford and

Harvard, but they aren’t

integrated as teams.

There’s a synergy on our

team that you just don’t

find elsewhere.”


—Michael O’Connor


HINGS JUST HAVEN’T BEEN

the same since humans showedup on this planet. That in itself is no huge sur-

prise: after all, every organism reshapesits environment. What is startling is theextent to which we are doing so. Thanksto our ubiquity and our brains, ourspecies is now altering Earth’s life sup-port system on a global scale.

What exactly are we doing? Whatare the implications? And how can andshould we alter our course? Those ques-tions are hot topics in the Departmentof Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior(EEB), where global ecosystem change isa growing focus.

“It’s a terribly important issue fac-ing society, and one sure to continue toincrease in public and scientific aware-ness,” says EEB head Robert Sterner.“It’s also a very broad topic, so it allowsfor a lot of diverse scholarship.”

When most people think of globalchange they think of global climatechange due to fossil-fuel-burninginduced increases in atmospheric carbondioxide. Groundwork was laid in thisarea years ago by now-emeritus profes-sors Margaret Davis and Eville Gorham.Gorham looked at the impact of humanalterations to the atmosphere on livingthings. Davis used records left by pollento explore how plant communitiesresponded to prehistoric climate shifts.

Recently Davisand evolutionarygeneticist RuthShaw published anarticle in Scienceusing that past topredict the future.They noted thatboth migrationand genetic adap-tation contributedto the persistenceof plant speciesthrough prehistoricclimate change,and will likely bothbe important inthe decades tocome. But can evo-lution keep pacewith anticipatedchange, which isexpected to be anorder of magnitudehigher than prehistoric rates?

If a recent study by Shaw and for-mer graduate student Julie Etterson ofadaptation rate in a common plant, thepartridge pea, is any indication, perhapsnot.

The partridge pea “has ample genet-ic variation in the populations,” Shawsays. “That would suggest plenty ofpotential for the plant to adapt to envi-ronmental change. But the structure ofthat genetic variation indicates that the

rates of evolutionary response are sub-stantially less than the rates of climatechange. So it does raise questions aboutthe viability of wild populations throughthe course of climate change.”

Some global climate changeresearchers focus on how increasedatmospheric carbon dioxide and temper-ature affect plant growth. Assistant pro-fessor Sarah Hobbie is looking at theother side of the coin—how warmingmight alter decomposition. As tundra

T

Sarah Hobbie is learning how decomposition of frozen tundra,

thawed by global warming, could affect the planet.

GlobalWhile most biologists tackle their subjects one mole-

cule at a time, ecologists on the Global Ecosystem

Change team take a broader view – how humans are

altering Earth’s life support systems on a global scale.

ecosystem change


warms, Hobbie expects decompositionof the massive accumulation of organicmaterial currently frozen into its soil toincrease, releasing large amounts of car-bon and nitro-gen—a changewith implicationsfor both plantg r o w t h a n datmospheric car-bon balance.

A n o t h e rchange Hobbieanticipates astundra thaws isthe spread ofshrubby plantsacross the grass-dominated land-scape. Such ashift would be farmore than achange of scenery, says global ecologistJoe McFadden, who will join the EEBfaculty in January.

Using field measurements and com-puter models, McFadden has shownthat invasion of shrubs into Arctic tun-dra alters snow cover, which affectsaquatic and soil ecosystems—in turnsetting the stage for further vegetationmodification.

McFadden hopes to apply lessonslearned in this research to exploringramifications for global ecology ofanother large-scale change—urbaniza-tion.

Why look at development on aglobal scale? McFadden says that, just aswhat appear to be random dots in aclose-up view of a newspaper photoform a recognizable image when seenfrom a distance, a big-picture perspec-tive can produce insights not discernibleat smaller spatial scales.

“It’s really hard to understand theimpact of certain types of land-coverchanges unless we can work at large scales,”he says. “Patterns snap into place at theglobal scale that we can’t see at other scales.”

Urbanization and introduction ofnonnative species have been implicatedin yet another type of global change, lossof diversity within an ecosystem. McK-

night Presidential Profes-sor David Tilman isexploring the relation-ship between the biolog-ical richness of an ecosys-tem and its ability toweather the winds ofchange. As we reducediversity, Tilman hasfound, we are also reduc-ing the ability of ecosys-tems to deal with otherperturbations.

“It’s been an area ofheated debate in the dis-cipline,” Tilman says.“We once thought that itwas which species, not

how many species, that mattered. Ourwork shows both which species and howmany species matter.”

Jennifer King, a biogeochemist whowill begin a joint appointment withEEB and the Department of Soil, Water,and Climate in January, is studying theimpact of both increased carbon dioxideand yet another global change – theincrease in ultraviolet radiation (UV)due to ozone depletion in the upperatmosphere—on plant growth, plantchemistry, and ecosystem nutrientcycling.

King has found that grasslandplants under elevated carbon dioxide notonly are more productive and have lowertissue nitrogen concentrations thanplants under normal conditions, but alsomay decompose more quickly.

Impacts of changes in UV on plantproductivity and decomposition, shesays, will probably be more subtle. Shehas just begun a field study to examinethe effects of altered UV on shortgrasssteppe ecosystem processes.

Large-scale impacts of increased UVare evident, however, in work by Jim


“It’s really hard to

understand the impact

of certain types of land-

cover changes unless

we can work at large

scales,” Joe McFadden

says. “Patterns snap

into place at the global

scale that we can’t see

at other scales.”

David Tilman, McKnight Presidential Chair in Ecology, is a world authority on biodiversity.


HE EARTH’S INCREASING

population and the diminishingcapacity of ecosystems to provideessentials such as clean air, water

and food are on a collision course, accord-ing to David Tilman, McKnight Presiden-tial Professor of Ecology. Tillman says wehave about 50 years to restore ecosystemsand learn to manage them. If we don’t,s o c i e t y w i l li n c u r g r e a tcosts.

The prob-lem, its solu-tions, and thee c o n o m i copportunities itcreates were thesubject of a fallforum jointlysponsored bythe College ofBiological Sci-ences and theInstitute of Technology. Called “Forum ona New Science and a New Industry in Min-nesota: Biocatalysis and its Synergy withHealthy Ecosystems” the event featuredTilman and Pat Gruber, vice president andchief technology officer of Cargill Dow,which is producing a biodegradable alter-native to plastic made from corn. The audi-ence included biotechnology industry lead-ers and government officials.

“The purpose of the forum is to explorehow the University can improve the ecolog-ical and economic health of the state by sup-porting the development of a biocatalysisindustry,” said Robert Elde, dean of CBS.

Tilman, a widely recognized authori-ty on ecology and biodiversity, explained

to attendees that ecosystemswon’t continue to providehumans with basic needs suchas clean air and water, fertilesoil, and removal of carbondioxide from the atmosphereunless they are better managed.

“Humans are using up the biologicalcapital of the world,” he said. Within 50

y e a r s , t h eearth’s popula-tion is expect-ed to growfrom six bil-lion to ninebillion, whichcould seriouslyharm alreadys t r a i n e decosystems.

T h eanswer lies instrategies thatsupport rather

than deplete ecosystems, Tilman said. Hecited a recent decision in New York State torestore an ecosystem that naturally purifiedwater rather than build a water treatmentfacility. He urged government agencies toassess the health of ecosystems and toincorporate knowledge into policy. Thedecision saved money in addition to savingthe environment.

Industry, driven by consumerdemands, has been at least in part toblame for the strain on ecosystems. Butbiocatalysis offers the opportunity forindustry, academia, government, and con-sumers to be part of a win-win solution.

Pat Gruber of Cargill Dow talkedabout how that solution is playing out at

his company. The relatively new organiza-tion was created to develop sustainableproducts from renewable resources.Recently, they opened a plant in Nebras-ka to manufacture their first product,“plastic” pellets made from a polymerderived from lactic acid from corn usingbiocatalysis. So far, other companies haveturned the pellets into disposable plates,cups, bottles, packaging, and wrapping.The pellets can also be used to makefibers for fabrics and carpets. He saidthere is a $10 billion market for PLA, anda need for other biodegradable polymersmade from renewable resources. Gruberhas a Ph.D. in chemistry and an MBAfrom the University of Minnesota. CargillDow is a spinoff company created by par-ent companies Cargill and Dow.

PLA can be recycled back to lacticacid. Gruber showed a photograph of ayogurt cup in compost that decomposedin 47 days. The polymer is made by fer-mentation, he said. It takes less energy toproduce than plastic. There is no chemi-cal or polluting waste. And it isn’t harm-ful to the environment.

“There’s going to be a paradigm shiftfrom using petrochemicals as a basis formaterials to using renewable resourcessuch as corn. It’s inevitable because petro-leum is running out. And it’s good for theenvironment.”

—Peggy Rinard


“There’s going to be a paradigm

shift from using petrochemicals

as a basis for materials to using

renewable resources such as

corn. It’s inevitable because

petroleum is running out. And

it’s good for the environment.”

—Pat Gruber

T

a lysis andy ecosystems

Cargill Dow is producing a biodegradable alternative

to plastic made from corn.


LEEPING BEAUTY TRANSPOSON

SystemTM “awakened” in 1997,when Perry Hacket turned a fishgene dormant for 15 million years

into a vehicle for integrating foreign genesinto human chromo-somes. The tech-nique, not to men-tion the scientistswho support it, hasn’tgotten much restsince then. In July of1999, Hacket andcolleagues won a$2.5 million Tech-nology DevelopmentGrant from theArnold and MabelBeckman Founda-tion to support fur-ther development ofthe system. The teamhas used the funding to add a new technol-ogy to their repertoire and has set up acompany to tackle challenges in genomics.

The four scientists—Hackett, SteveEkker, David Largaespada, and ScottMcIvor—had similar interests to beginwith, but the grant has allowed them tointegrate their efforts and get a biggerreturn on their separate research funding.

“The Beckman grant served as anucleus that drew our four labs together,”Hackett explains.

In October 2000 the four scientists setup Discovery Genomics Inc. (DGI) to bro-

ker collaborations with people and compa-nies interested in finding new genes andusing the discoveries to design therapies fordiseases with a genetic basis. This summerthe company got a $3 million boost from

Techne Corp. ofM i n n e a p o l i s ,bringing its totalinvestment to dateto $3.9 million.

Two technolo-gies form the scien-tific underpinningsof DGI: SleepingBeauty TransposonSystemTM and Mor-phant®. SleepingBeauty is essential-ly an enzyme calleda transposase thatcan move adefined seg-

ment of DNA into chromosomes.When scientists insert genes into aSleeping Beauty Transposon, it fer-ries those genes into the nuclei ofcells and then into chromosomes. Itoriginated as an obsolete fish genethat Hackett’s lab found, “awak-ened” – hence the name – andmodified as an agent for transfer-ring genes. They performed thatwork using cultured human HeLacells and zebrafish, a tiny fish thatmakes an excellent model for genet-ic studies. With Beckman funding,

the group improved Sleeping Beauty’s fre-quency of gene delivery in cultured cells by10 times.

Sleeping Beauty has already been putto work in the search for genes. Largaespa-da, along with scientists in Japan and else-where, has used the system to discover genesin mice. The researchers placed SleepingBeauty in mouse sperm and let it insert intochromosomes at random. The result wasmice with mutated genes whose functionsare being investigated. Largaespada focuseson finding and studying genes that, whendisrupted, cause cancer in humans.

In the future, Sleeping Beauty holdspromise for gene therapy, Hackett andMcIvor’s primary interest. Working withmice, they have achieved longterm expres-sion of genes delivered to lung tissue by theSleeping Beauty Transposon and the trans-


SLike the Sleeping Beauty

Transposon SystemTM,

Morphant can be used to

“knock down” the work-

ings of individual genes.

Then, by noting what goes

wrong in an organism, the

researchers can deduce

what the genes do.

A fluorescent image of a two-day-old zebrafish

with glowing cells that indicate the presence of

Sleeping Beauty transposons.

No rest for

Since the novel gene transfer technology was created four years ago from an ancient fish gene, ‘Sleeping

Beauty’ has won a $2.5 million grant from the Beckman Foundation, attracted $3 million from Techne Cor-

poration to start a new company, and inspired another technology.

‘Sleeping Beaut


posase. McIvor andHackett hope oneday to perfect thesystem to delivergenes to lungs viaan inhalant, as wellas to liver and blood-forming cells of bonemarrow in human patients.

But much remains to be done before theSleeping Beauty Transposon SystemTM can beused in people. The second technology, Mor-phant®, is now on the front burner at DGI.

Morphant® uses DNA analogs thatleave chromosomes intact but block theexpression of genes by interfering with thetranslation of messenger RNA. Like theSleeping Beauty Transposon SystemTM,Morphant® can be used to “knock down”the workings of individual genes. Then, bynoting what goes wrong in an organism, theresearchers can deduce what the genes do.Ekker’s laboratory did much of the ground-breaking work with Morphant® in zebrafish.The system also works in frogs, chickens,sea urchins, and fruit flies, he says.

DGI scientists can use Morphant® intwo ways: first, by serving customers whowant to find the function of a vertebrategene; and second, to discover genes of inter-est to DGI scientists themselves. Such geneswould be any whose functioning con-tributes to a health problem and, therefore,creates a potential target for drugs. With a

healthy second dose of financing, the com-pany can perform further tests on the work-ings of both the gene and candidate drugs tobring a new therapy closer to clinical trials.

DGI is wellpositioned to fulfillthe potential ofboth technologiesin its stable. Thecompany holdsexclusive licensesfrom the Universi-ty of Minnesota todevelop technolo-gies related to“knock-downs” inzebrafish producedby Morphant® andto the use of the Sleeping Beauty Transpo-son SystemTM. The reach of these technolo-gies was extended this summer by an agree-ment that gives Techne Corp. the rights todevelop antibodies and immunoassays forproteins discovered by DGI and an exclu-sive, royalty-free license to sell such prod-ucts in the research market.

The four scientists who began DGI

maintain close ties with the company andeach other. Hackett has taken an indefiniteleave from the University to serve as DGI’schief scientific officer. Ekker, Largaespada,

and McIvor servedon the board ofdirectors, resigningwhen the licenseag re ement w i thTechne was signed.They remain consul-tants to the compa-ny, which countsthem and the Uni-versity among itsstockholders.

“I think therea r e e x c e l l e n t

resources in terms of personnel on the Min-nesota scene,” says Ekker. “We can competebecause we can do things cheaper, betterand faster. Our dream is to grow into alongterm therapeutic-based business, doingbasic research or providing lead compoundsthat are relevant to humans.”

—Deane Morrison


Dave Largaespada, Scott McIvor, Perry Hackett, and Steve Ekker use zebrafish genes to develop gene transfer technolo-

gies.

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uty’

“Our dream is to grow into

a longterm therapeutic-

based business, doing

basic research or provid-

ing lead compounds that

are relevant to humans.”

—Steve Ekker



f the plant life on the St. Paul cam-pus was representative of Earth’sbiodiversity, life would be simplerfor College of Biological Science

plant biology researchers, but much lessexciting.

Luckily, they are sometimes called tothe far corners of the earth to study exot-ic flora. And they count themselves espe-cially lucky if duty calls as Minnesota’stemperatures drop. This fall, for example,David Biesboer and George Weiblen trav-eled to Latin America to advance researcheach has been working on for almost adecade.

Here’s an account of what they sawand did.

Blame it on Rio

Given that David Biesboer, professorof plant biology, lives and works in Min-nesota, it should be no surprise that hisresearch involves plant life around lakes.

But the lakes Biesboer studied thisfall were a continent away and resembleMinnesota lakes only in that they containfresh water. That’s where the obvious sim-ilarities, for the most part, end.

Biesboer was in Rio de Janeiro,

Brazil, partly to continue the research hebegan there in 1993, which involves ecol-ogy and limnology related to these coastallagoons. But he was also there to carry outhis responsibilities as a Fulbright Scholarto Brazil. Much of his time was spent atthe Universidade Federal do Rio deJaneiro, giving seminars and teaching agraduate class.

When he wasn’t sharing his biologi-cal expertise, Biesboer studied Brazilianlakes, which are called coastal lagoons.They’re found along the Atlantic coastand can be hundreds or thousands ofacres in size but are very shallow – aboutthree or four feet on average. Biesboer’sresearch focuses on nitrogen and how itcycles from the atmosphere and soils intothe lagoons’ plants, a very complexprocess.

“The studies are often slow and labo-rious and may take several years to fully

complete,” Biesboer says. “We have pub-lished a few papers about these processes,both in the coastal lagoons and in lakes ofthe Amazon. At the very least, we knowthat these processes are different for thedifferent lagoons (in Brazil) and are dif-ferent for the lakes in the Upper Mid-west.”

The “we” refers to Biesboer and theuniversadade’s Dr. Francisco Esteves, whohas been studying coastal lagoons withBiesboer since 1993. Biesboer’s trips havebeen supported by the Brazilian govern-ment and the National Science Founda-tion and, currently, by the U.S. StateDepartment.

Research in Rio has its perks, as youmight expect. Some of the world’s topbeaches and breathtaking scenery are astart. But when temperatures creep upover 100 during the day, the coastallagoons provide a refreshing retreat for

George Weiblen, CBS, Rebecca Montgomery, University of Wisconsin, and Kyle

Harms, Louisana State University find a comfortable perch in a Latin American rain

forest.

As Minnesota temperatures

drop, plant biologists head

south to study plant life around

the lakes of Brazil, and to

compare ecological similari-

ties and differences of South

American rainforests.

South of the border

I


B i o c a t a l y s i s f o r u m

explores how academia

and industry can work

together to improve the

earth’s ecosystems and

Minnesota’s economy.

Biocatahealthy


Biesboer. Who says science labs can’t beenjoyable?

Nature’s Nursery

Assistant Professor George Weiblenhas a piece of advice for anyone lookingfor biodiversity: Visit a rainforest.

Take Panama’s rainforest, for exam-ple. Panama is about the size of New YorkState but has more species of trees than allof North America. It’s no wonderWeiblen’s fascinated by the biodiversity hefinds in rainforests. In fact, he has studiedrainforest plant life – specifically, figs –the past nine years in Papua, New Guinea.

But this fall, Weiblen and a group ofjunior faculty and post-doctoral associatestoured the rainforests in Costa Rica, Pana-ma, Peru, and Brazil to conduct individ-ual and group research to better under-

stand the ecological similarities and differ-ences among rainforests in Latin America.

Weiblen’s research involved the diver-sity and distribution of hemiepiphtyes,plants that begin life by growing on treesin the forest canopy but ultimately sendroots to the ground. As he did in PapuaNew Guinea, Weiblen focused his atten-tion on strangling figs, which attack theirhost trees and eventually replace them inthe forest.

Weiblen collected specimens ofhemiepiphyte species, classified them andstudied their evolutionary relationshipsusing DNA sequences. These collections,and others Weiblen has accumulated, willbe added to permanent research collec-tions in Minnesota and around the world.

In documenting the diversity,Weiblen was assisted by a team of scien-

tists from the United States,Argentina, Costa Rica,France, Holland, Brazil andMexico. They were sup-ported by the U.S. - basedOrganization for TropicalStudies, which received agrant from the MellonFoundation to carry outrainforest comparisons.

So, you might be won-dering, how do you siftthrough all that biodiversi-ty to focus on hemiepi-phytes? According toWeiblen, it’s as easy as tak-ing a walk through therainforest. That’s what he

did every day; he walked through the for-est, surveyed the trees and collected smallbranches using a pruner that extended 40feet.

“In Panama, I used a research canopycrane, which provided a spectacular viewof life above the forest floor,” Weiblensays.

One of his most exciting finds inPanama was Cecropia trees, which partic-ipate in mutualism with Azteca ants. Theants live in the hollow stem of the tree andfeed on special food bodies that it pro-duces. In return for shelter and food, theants defend the tree against leaf-chewinginsects.

Weiblen sums up his experience best:“The rainforest is such a complex envi-ronment that you can walk the same trailevery day and see completely new things,and much that is new to science. That’swhy I was there.”

—Geoff Gorvin

Dav

id B

iesb

oer

In Brazil, David Biesboer studied coastal lagoons

(above) and the vegetation that grows around them,

such as the tropical flower above right.

Dav

id B

iesb

oer

biologyflaps 12/19/01 1:55 PM Page 2

Cotner, occupant of the Moos Chair inLimnology. Cotner is studying effects ofUV in aquatic ecosystems. He has foundthat increased UV—due not only to ozonedepletion but also to human-induced lossesin organic matter, which acts as a sort ofsunscreen—could deplete the food supplyof bacteria.

“UV essentially ‘burns up’ dissolvedorganic carbon, making it unavailable tomicrobes growing in the sea and in ourlakes,” Cotner says. In addition, the loss ofthe natural sunscreen makes organismsthemselves more vulnerable to the harmfuleffects of UV. These effects, he says, arelikely to have repercussions for the entirebalance of nature in the world’s waters.

—Mary K. Hoff

Jim Cotner (right) samples water in Lake

Michigan to understand how UV radiation

affects aquatic ecosystems.

“We once thought that it

was which species, not

how many species, that

mattered. Our work shows

both which species and

how many species matter.”

—David Tilman


University of Minnesota at theLegislature

New facilities for plant growth

are at the top of the University’s

The University will ask the Legisla-

ture to approve funds for 12 renovation

and construction projects when the ses-

sion opens January 29, 2002. Total

amount of the capital request, paid

through bonds, is $239.8 million. The

state would pay two-thirds of that

amount, or $186.5 million.

The largest portion of the request,

$80 million, is for HEAPR (Higher Educa-

tion Asset Preservation and Replace-

ment) funds to support approximately 85

safety, building code, and renewal pro-

jects. Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological

Station is among the facilities that will be

improved by these funds.

The request includes $18.7 million

for upgrading plant growth facilities on

the St. Paul campus. Outdated facilities,

including the Northwest Greenhouses,

would be replaced and others renovated

to meet research standards and comply

with state laws.

Ecology professor Ruth Shaw, who

has been involved in planning, says she

hopes the Legislature will recognize how

urgent the need is this time. In 2000, the

Legislature funded only a third of the

amount. The greenhouses aren’t reliable

for research because temperature, light,

and carbon dioxide levels can’t be con-

trolled, Shaw says. Recently, a large

experiment was abandoned because of

temperature and light variations within a

greenhouse.

“The University can’t maintain its

leadership in agricultural and plant

research with these greenhouses,” she

says, adding that the facilities won’t sup-

port plant genomics research, studies of

native prairie plants, or evaluation of

genetically modified crop plants, all areas

she believes are important to Min-

nesotans.

CBS Alumni are encouraged to sup-

port the request by contacting their leg-

islators. For contact information, go to

http://districtfinder.urbanplanet.com/.

The University can’t maintain its leadership in agriculture and plant research unless the

greenhouses are upgraded. Control of temperature, light, and C02 levels is not adequate for

research.

David Sherman, microbiology andthe Biotechnology Institute, is one ofthree researchers sharing a $2.5 millionfederal grant to develop a drug againstsmallpox. They are using a techniqueSherman developed to genetically engi-neer molecules that target an enzyme thevirus needs in order to reproduce.

Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, bio-chemistry, molecular biology and bio-

physics, received a 2001 Packard Fellow-ship for Science and Engineering, whichcarries a grant of $625,000 over five yearsThe program, established by the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, recognizesthe nation’s most promising young scien-tists and engineers.

Karen Oberhauser, ecology, evolu-tion and behavior, published a study inthe September 18 issue of Proceedings of

the National Academy of Science reportingthat milkweed growing in cornfieldssometimes supports monarch butterflylarvae at the same time the corn is shed-ding pollen. The overlap implies thatmonarchs feeding next to corn geneticallyengineered to contain the insecticideBacillus thuringiensis, (Bt) toxin, could beexposed to the toxin.

CBS News

flaps 12/19/01 1:53 PM Page 1

list of capital projects

Capital Request Briefing for AlumniJanuary 22, 2002, Memorial Hall, McNamara Alumni Center, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Learn howyou can help promote the U’s Legislative request. Displays, briefing by President MarkYudof, buffet dinner, free parking. Refer to www.umaa.umn.edu for details.

David Tilman Lecture—Alumni InvitedFebruary 21, 2002, Bell Museum, 3:30 p.m., reception at 5:00 p.m. David Tilman will pre-sent a special lecture to celebrate his appointment as McKnight Presidential EndowedChair in Ecology. His topic is managing ecosystem services.

James Page Brewery Alumni TourFebruary 28, 2002, 6:30 p.m., James Page Brewery, 1300 Quincy Ave. NE. Alumni net-working event—includes tour, food, music, socializing with other U of M alums. Cost is$12. Call Karla Hoff at 612-625-9195 to make a reservation.

CBS Career and Internship FairMarch 1, 2002, Memorial Hall, McNamara Alumni Center, 11:00 am to 3:00 p.m. Studentsand alumni are invited to meet employers, learn about internships and careers. Fordetails, contact Maggie or Traci, [email protected]

CBS Alumni Networking EventMarch 2, 2002, 3:00 p.m., Minnesota Commons Room, St. Paul Student Center. “Bio-weapons: How to See Through the Hype.” Discussion on how to interpret media sen-sationalism with Martin Dworkin, professor of microbiology. RSVP to Lija Greenseid, 612-625-7705 or [email protected].

Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium May 1, 2002, Earle Brown Center, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Undergraduate students will showcase theircontributions to life sciences research. For more information, call 612-624-3481.

60th Anniversary of Cedar CreekSeptember 21, 2002. Alumni gathering and celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Cedar CreekNatural History Area. Details in spring issue.

U P C O M I N G E V E N T SU P C O M I N G E V E N T S


The Board of Regents approved plansfor the University of Minnesota Biotech-nology Precinct on the St. Paul Campus inOctober, 2001. The proposed precinct,which grew out of planning for the Micro-bial and Plant Genomics Building, will belocated on the northeast quadrant of thecampus.

Other components include an incuba-tor for industry collaboration, facilities forresearch and development of biocatalysis,biomaterials, and biosensors, and renova-tion of an historic barn to provide diningservices and meeting space. Constructionon the Microbial and Plant Genomicsbuilding began in October.

The NSF has awarded morethan $6 million for plant genomicsresearch to faculty in the College ofBiological Sciences, the AcademicHealth Center, and the College ofAgricultural, Food and Environmen-tal Sciences. Half, $3,098,136, goesto a multi-college group consisting ofNevin Young, plant pathology andplant biology, Kate VandenBosch,professor and head of plant biology; J. Stephen Gantt, plant biology;Ernest Retzel, Academic Health Cen-ter; Deborah Samac, plant pathology;and Carroll Vance, agronomy andplant genetics. The purpose of thisresearch is to study the genome of themodel legume, Medicago truncatula.The ultimate goal is to characterizeand clone genes involved in valuabletraits such as disease resistance, cropproductivity, and nitrogen fixation—the unique ability of legumes to sup-ply their own nitrogen.

The other half, $3,081,245, goesto Regents’ Professor Ronald Phillipsand USDA-ARS Adjunct ProfessorHoward Rines, agronomy and plantgenetics, to develop a radiation hybridsystem for the physical and geneticmapping of corn. Both awards areover four years, from 2001 to 2005.

Thirty-nine students and alum-ni mentors met each other at theBSAS Student/Alumni Mentor Pro-gram kick-off reception on Nov. 8.Mentors represented careers in phar-macy, medicine, research, veterinarymedicine, ecology, public health, andbusiness. The program seeks tomatch CBS students with alumsworking in their field of interest.Each year, needs for the alumni poolchange in response to interests of stu-dents who apply. Pairs initially meetto get acquainted, then makearrangements to communicatemonthly by phone, e-mail, or in per-son. If you would like informationabout becoming a mentor, contactPaul Germscheid at 612-624-3752 [email protected].

The proposal for the Biotechnology Precinct grew out of plans for the Microbial and Plant

Genomics building, pictured above, which is under construction.


s the nation’s investment in agri-cultural biotechnology grows,policymakers, consumers, and themedia struggle to understand its

far-reaching effects – and they’re turning toRebecca Goldburg for help. As a senior sci-entist at Environmental Defense, Goldburgis one of the nation’s leading experts onhow our methods of food production affecthuman health and the environment.

Goldburg, who holds an A.B. in sta-tistics from Princeton University (1980)and an M.S. in statistics and Ph.D. in ecol-ogy from the University of Minnesota(1985 and 1986), is an advocate for bal-anced, coherent, and scientifically defensi-ble public policy regarding food safety. Shehas been interviewed frequently by journal-ists from the New York Times to CNN and

serves on the USDA’sAdvisory Committee onAgricultural Biotechnolo-gy and on the USDA’sNational Organic Stan-dards Board. She recentlyserved on the NationalAcademy of Science Com-mittee on GeneticallyModified Pest-ProtectedCrops and the U.S. StateDepartment’s ConsultativeForum on Biotechnology.

In her work withEnvironmental Defense,Goldburg has been on thefront line of public policydebates surrounding theconsequences of antibioticuse in farm animals, thepotential environmentalconsequences of bioengi-neered food products, andthe environmental effectsof aquaculture (fish farm-

ing). Environmental Defense is a nationalnonprofit organization that combines sci-ence, economics, and law to find solutionsto environmental problems.

“I find I’m someone who most enjoysworking in several areas and being on theedge of what I know, rather than exploringa narrow subject in great depth,” she says.This Renaissance approach is what led herto work in public policy.

Goldburg was amply prepared forthis role by her graduate work at the Uni-versity where, she says, “I found the grad-uate students in the ecology departmentand elsewhere to be stimulating friendswith a lot of new ideas. I remember grad-uate students whose knowledge of natur-al history and taxonomy was extraordi-nary and inspiring.”

Goldburg herself continues to inspiremany at her alma mater. Professor PatriceMorrow, who was Goldburg’s Ph.D. advi-sor, follows her career like a proud parent.“Becky’s advocacy is built on the best of sci-ence and on solutions that are practical andthat work,” says Morrow.

“It would be difficult to understate herrole in enabling a scientific discussion ofthe environmental risks of genetic engi-neering,” says David Andow, entomology.“Without Rebecca’s efforts, much of thescientific data related to these issues wouldnot have been collected, and most ecologi-cal scientists would have been left on thesidelines.”

In recognition of her outstandingaccomplishments, Goldburg has beenselected to receive an honorary Doctor ofLaw degree from the University. “Theaward brings honor to her and to the uni-versity that helped to prepare her for anexceptional career,” says Morrow.

An award ceremony will be held in fall2002.

—Jennifer Amie


Goldburg honored for public policy roleThe University of Minnesota has selected Rebecca Gold-

burg to receive an honorary Doctor of Law degree for her

advocacy of public policy to promote food safety.

Rebecca Goldburg, Ph.D. 1985, will receive one of the

U’s highest honors.

A L U M N I P R O F I L EA L U M N I P R O F I L E

A

“Without Rebecca’s

efforts, much of the scien-

tific data related to these

issues would not have

been collected, and most

ecological scientists

would have been left on

the sidelines.”

—David Andow


f you had met Adrienne Kari at hersixth grade science fair, you mighthave predicted her future.Assigned to create three-dimen-

sional models of viruses, most of Kari’sclassmates built simple examples thatlooked like diamond-shaped lollipops.But Kari constructed an elaboratespherical model of cytomegalovirusthat cracked open to reveal spiralingDNA inside.

Today, Kari brings the same kind ofenthusiasm to her work as a Universitystudent and president of the BiologicalSciences Student Association.

“I’ve always been interested in sci-ence,” says Kari. “There’s a lot of roomto move and always something new todiscover.”

But for Kari, there’s a lot more toher CBS experience than she finds inclassrooms and labs. She’s also vitallyinterested in discovering new friendsand supporting the social life of thecollege, from networking with studentsto keeping alumni in the loop.

Now a senior majoring in bio-chemistry, Kari joined the BiologicalSciences Student Association as asophomore, hoping to meet people and

find study partners. “It’s been a reallygood way to turn friends from classesinto social friends,” she says. “And I’vegotten a lot of good advice on selectingclasses because stu-dents in every majorbelong to the associ-ation.”

This year, Karihas expanded herrole by serving asstudent representa-tive on the college’salumni board. “I’m aresource for alumniwho would like tounderstand whatCBS is like today,”she says. “Alumniwho graduated 20 or30 years ago are sur-prised to find outhow dramaticallythings have changed.For example, the Col-lege now admits stu-dents as freshmen,there are new build-ings and labs, andeven studying is dif-ferent because of theInternet.”

Many alumni,she says, are curiousabout today’s stu-dent experience.“They’d like to knowif students are get-ting to know eachother better, and if CBS has a small-college feel,” Kari says. To meet alum-ni, Kari also volunteers at events suchas the homecoming picnic andreunions.

As she prepares to graduate, Karialso realizes the importance of prepar-

ing today’s students to be tomorrow’salumni. “Now that we are together forfour years, we’re forming stronger rela-tionships with each other and the col-

lege,” she says. “Because of this, Ithink we’ll be more inclined to comeback to a reunion or to stay in touchafter graduation.”

—Jennifer Amie


S C H O L A R P R O F I L ES C H O L A R P R O F I L E

Adrienne Kari is president of the Biological Sciences Student

Association.

I

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hard

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Adrienne Kari, social scientistAdrienne Kari enjoys the social side of the CBS student experience. She also helps keep alumni in the loop.

"Now that we're together

for four years, we're form-

ing stronger relationships

with each other and the

College. I think we'll be

more inclined to stay in

touch after graduation."



AlumNewsJoin an alumni ‘dream team’

everal years ago, I participated in aCitizen’s League research commit-tee that evaluated the quality ofgraduate education and research at

the University of Minnesota. Our reportwas titled “A Competitive Place in theQuality Race: Putting the University ofMinnesota in the Nation’s Top Five PublicResearch Universities.” We undertook theeffort to support President Yudof ’s goal ofmaking the University of Minnesota one ofthe top five public research universities inthe nation.

We concluded that the U’s role as aland-grant institution and the state’s highereducation policies impeded this goal. Ourrecommendations to overcome theseimpediments included focusing resourceson fewer emerging research opportunitiesand strengthening their respective depart-ments.

It is gratifying to learn that CBS is

adopting this strategy by forming “dreamteams.” (See story, page 4.) Seeking talentedresearchers and building high-poweredteams will make the College more compet-itive in important areas of biology. Notonly is this exciting from an academicpoint of view, but from an economic pointof view. Dream teams attract great stu-dents and investments in Minnesota busi-nesses.

This is good stuff. As alumni, we toocan create “dream teams” to serve the Col-lege. There are lots of opportunities to helpwith events planning, the Legislative Net-work, the Mentor Program, volunteering atthe CBS State Fair exhibit, and Board par-ticipation. Please reflect on your talentsand how you can use them to serve on oneof these teams. Your involvement will havea big impact on CBS students and thequality and reputation of the college.

I invite alumni to contact me or EmilyJohnston, Alumni Relations Coordinator,at 612-624-4770 or to learn more about

From the president

Sthese dream teams or about the work ofthe Biological Sciences Alumni Society. Ialso encourage you to attend one of ourevents or meetings.

Dick Osgood,President, Biological Sciences Alumni Society

Alumni Weekend at Itasca

About 120 alumni, family, and friendsenjoyed a beautiful fall weekend at LakeItasca Forestry and Biological Station Sept.28-30. In addition to the usual hikes, boatrides, classes, and other activities, there was

a dedication ceremony to rename therecreation field in honor of ProfessorDavid Parmelee, who was station directorfrom 1971 to 1986 and died in 1998. Hiswidow, Jean, who took part in the cere-mony, made a generous gift to upgradethe field. Improvements include a new

baseball diamond, badmintoncourt, playground equipment,and landscaping. Dean Eldespoke about Parmelee’s manycontributions to the Collegeand students, and alumnishared memories of him.

CBS Homecoming

Picnic

Alumni joined students,faculty, and staff on October19 for the First Annual CBS

Homecoming Picnic. The well-attendedevent was held on the front lawn of SnyderHall. Activities included a buffet dinner,hayride, tours of Biodale, drawings forprizes, and a tug-of-war between depart-ments. The Dean’s Office, winner of thetug-of-war, was presented with the covetedGolden Microscope Award. The SpiritAward went to the Department of Ecology,Evolution and Behavior. EEB’s prize was abagel breakfast served by Goldie Gopher.Bob Burgett from the UM Alumni Associ-ation attended to present Dean Elde with aHats Off award for his ability to explaincomplex biological concepts to lay audi-ences. Following the Homecoming Picnic,guests attended the University’s Home-coming bonfire and rally behind the St.Paul Student Center.

Dick Osgood

David Parmelee remembered at Itasca dedication.



Looking for a biotechnology jobin Minnesota? Or a skilled employee tofill a biotech job? Whether you’re a cur-rent student, an alumus, or an employ-er, the CBS Career Center can help.

Following are some of the waysthe Career Center brings job seekersand employers together. Web accessi-ble resources and databases are beingdeveloped or improved to provide bet-ter service.

BSAS Mentor Program

The Alumni Mentor Programmatches CBS students with alumniworking in biotechnology or otherfields of interest. The purpose is tooffer students exposure to a variety ofareas to help them make career deci-sions. The program is open to all CBSstudents and on an individual basis toalumni making career changes. Alum-ni are always needed as mentors. Con-tact Paul Germscheid at 612-624-3752 or [email protected] forfurther information.

Informational interviews and job

shadowing

Talk to a CBS grad at a Minneso-ta biotech company who has a job thatinterests you. Or spend a day jobshadowing to learn even more about acompany and type of job. Contact theAlumni Career Network, [email protected].

University career services

The University also offers careerservices and access to job postings.University of Minnesota Alumni Asso-

ciation (UMAA)Career Connec-tion contractswith nationalcareer and jobposting sites. Tolearn about theirs e r v i c e s a n dview postings,refer to www.umaa.umn.edu. TheCareer Connection is under the head-ing “Get Active.” The College of Con-tinuing Education administers theCareer and Lifework Center, whichprovides a “front door” to the U foradults seeking education to refocusand enrich their careers and lives. Referto www.lifework.umn.edu.

Internships

Gain valuable experience in a fieldof interest while you make connectionsthat could lead to a career opportunity.Or hire an intern to work at your com-pany. R&D Systems will fund eightinternships for CBS students this sum-mer. Amgen recently invited CBS to col-laborate on an internship program. Manyother Minnesota companies offer paidand unpaid experiential opportunities.Contact [email protected].

Resume Filing Service

Submit your resume to this ser-vice, offered as a free resource to Min-nesota employers. Resumes thatmatch job requirements are forwardedto employers. Send your resume [email protected].

Job postings

Listings of jobs are maintained bythe Career Center. For information,contact [email protected] openings are also advertisedvia e-mail newsletters to alumni andstudents.

Career and Internship Fair

Come to the Career and InternshipFair on March 1, 2001 in the McNama-ra Alumni Center. Learn about careersand job opportunities. Meet withprospective employers/employees. Formore information, contact [email protected].

Building relationships withbiotech companies is a top priority ofMaggie Kubak, new Career Centercoordinator. By strengthening con-nections, she hopes to better serveCBS job seekers while helpingbiotechnology companies meet work-force needs.

“Biotechnology is one of thefastest growing job markets for biolo-gy graduates,” says Kubak. “There arenew jobs emerging all the time inhealth care, agriculture, environmen-tal clean-up, and biocatalysis.”

Eric Erickson gets advice from Maggie Kubak, Career

Center coordinator.

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B I OTE C H N O LO GY I N M I N N E S OTA

CBS Career Center and Andcor are working

to find biotechnology jobs for CBS graduates

and meet workforce needs of the state’s

growing biotechnology industry.

CBS Career Center brings employers and

graduates together



Dan Johnson left Minnesota aftergraduation from the University of Min-nesota to find his fortune in Silicon Val-ley. Within ten years he had achievedthat goal as an executive with a softwarecompany.

But by this time Dan’s values hadchanged. He and his wife wanted a dif-ferent kind of environment for raisingtheir three children than Californiacould offer. They realized they had leftanother kind of fortune in Minnesotaand wanted to explore the possibility ofreturning home.

Dan contacted Andcor, a Minneso-ta firm that recruits executives for emerg-ing growth companies. At the time And-cor didn’t have the kind of job Dan waslooking for, but they added him to theirdatabase and about a year later contactedhim about a position with a new compa-ny. The company has grown explosivelysince he joined it a few years ago.

“The reason companies like thisone grow is because of talented peoplelike Dan,” says Jack Hauser, Principaland CFO. “One of our main goals atAndcor is to match the right people withthe right companies and watch themtake off.”

Andcor, which began 30 years agoas a search firm, today offers a widerange of services to help companies besuccessful.

“This can be as broad as securingfinancial resources, forming a board ofdirectors, and building an executivemanagement team, or as narrow as fill-ing one or two key positions,” saysPrincipal Terri Naughtin, who special-izes in organizational design for emerg-ing growth companies.

For thepast 10 years,Andcor hasfocused one m e r g i n ggrowth com-panies basedin Minneso-t a . T h e s etend to beyoung com-panies withexceptionalg r o w t hp o t e n t i a lt h a t a r ecapable ofa t t r a c t i n gventure capi-tal. And lately, many have been biotech-nology and medical companies.

Minnesota has a lot of potential fordeveloping a strong biotechnologyindustry, Naughtin says. In fact, Andcoris working with the University to helpgrow the state’s community of biotechcompanies by focusing on the humancapital component. The University is afertile ground for new product ideas.But, she says, “It takes more than ideas.It takes talented, capable, experiencedpeople. Team is the important thing.”

Hauser and Naughtin believegraduates of the College of BiologicalSciences are just the kind of peoplethey’re looking for. Andcor has begunworking with CBS to build a databaseof talented people with biotechnologyexpertise who want to relocate to Min-nesota. They are particularly interestedin alumni like Dan Johnson, who havemoved away and want to come back for

lifestyle rea-sons.

“There’ssomethingspecial aboutMinnesotathat bringspeople back—the peo-ple, culture,qual ity oflife, econo-my, schools,”says DennisAnder son ,CEO andfounder ofA n d c o r .“You can’t

find a better place to live and raise a fam-ily. We’re especially interested in peoplewho have ties to Minnesota and arelooking for opportunities to return.”

Andcor is looking for people withexceptional skills in all areas of biotech-nology, from research and developmentto sales, marketing, and management,who have an entrepreneurial spirit.

“We’re looking for people who havean interest in working in an entrepre-neurial environment, who want hands-on involvement, and are willing to takerisks in exchange for equity and growthopportunities,” Hauser says.

To learn more about Andcor, referto their web site at www.andcor.com.CBS Alumni are also invited to contactJack Hauser at [email protected],Terri Naughtin at [email protected], or Dennis Anderson [email protected].

Andcor recruits biotech execs

for Minnesota

companies

Dennis Anderson, Terri Naughtin, and Jack

Hauser of Andcor.

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B I OTE C H N O LO GY I N M I N N E S OTA



James March, Ph.D. (B.S. 1964; M.S. 1967)has retired from the Wisconsin Department ofNatural Resources after 31 years. His careerincluded variety of positions from research biolo-gist through administrator.

Vicki Schuman (B.S. 1979) is working in mar-keting communications for technical industries atSchuman and Associates.

Julie Anderson Kirihara (B.S. 1981; Ph.D1988) recently became president of MNBIO, aMinnesota association of biotechnology compa-nies. Kirihara is founder and CEO of ATG Labora-tories, Inc.

Ariana Lindemann, (B.S. 1987) recently joinedthe staff of the Department of Plant Biology,where she is engaged in collaborative work ingenomics with responsibility for overseeing arobotic facility. Lindemann received a number ofawards while she was an undergraduate at CBS,including the Eloise Pittman Scholarship and theBiological Sciences Alumni Society scholarship.

Paula Penning (B.S. 1989) provided emer-gency support services following the Sept. 11destruction of the World Trade Center. Penningworks for 3M’s Occupational Health & Environ-mental Safety Division, which manufacturesoccupational health products including respirato-ry protection. Members of her group went toNew York and Washington, D.C. to provide on-site assistance on respiratory products. Paulawas a member of the emergency response teamlocated in St. Paul.

Beau Liddell (B.S. 1992; M.S. 1997) has beenpromoted to area wildlife supervisor for LittleFalls, Minnesota by the Minnesota Departmentof Natural Resources (DNR). In his new position,he is responsible for directing, promoting, andimplementing DNR wildlife programs and poli-cies in Benton, Morrison, and Todd counties. Pre-viously he was the acting area wildlife managerin Redwood Falls. Beau, his wife, Judy (B.S.1992),

and their daughter, Jamie, moved to the LittleFalls area in November.

Chris Jameson (B.S. 1993) graduated from theUniversity of Michigan with a master’s degree inbiology and is looking for employment in thearea of international conservation. After earninghis B.S. at CBS, Chris worked as a Peace Corpswildlife biologist in Niger, West Africa and hopesto continue to work on African conservation andresource management issues. He would like tohear from alumni working in this field, particular-ly in Washington, D.C. He can be reached [email protected].

Maria Legatt Taft (B.S. 1993) completed amaster of science degree from Midwestern Uni-versity. She works for Park Nicollet Clinic as afamily practice physician assistant.

Melinda Bimberg (B.S. 1994) is workingfor Chiron Corp in the San Francisco BayArea. She invites other alumni interested inworking in northern California to e-mail her [email protected].

Jeff Humbert (B.S. 1995) was featured in aStar Tribune article this fall about the cost ofMedical School. Jeff is a first-year resident inpediatrics at Fairview-University Medical Center.

Robert Wild (B.S. 1995, Ph.D. pharmacology,2000) recently joined the oncology drug discov-ery group at Bristol-Myers-Squibb Pharmaceuti-cal Research Institute in Princeton, New Jersey.He is a research investigator responsible for all invivo pharmacology aspects of oncology drugdevelopment. Previously he was an oncologyresearch scientist at Sugen, Inc., a subsidiary ofPharmacia Corp.

Daniel Liedl (B.S. 1996) is a captain for theU.S. Army Health Care Team based in Blooming-ton, MN, and lives in Apple Valley. He recentlypublished a paper on digital temperatures for theMayo Clinic. Liedl can be reached by e-mail [email protected].

Joe Fong (B.S. 1998) completed an MBA inhealth care management and is currently inAnchorage, Alaska, serving a fellowship withProvidence Health System.

David Watrous McCabe (B.S. 1998) is in hissecond year of the Ph.D. program in biomolecu-lar chemistry at the University of WisconsinSchool of Medicine in Madison. He is working inthe laboratory of Dr. Michael Sheets.

Katherine Himes Lescher (B.S. 1999) com-pleted an MBA at the University of Wisconsin,Madison, where she was named one of two topstudents in her class. She recently began a Ph.Dprogram in neuroscience at the University ofMinnesota.

Malcolm Johns (B.S. 1999) is working in aneurobiology lab at Georgia State University inAtlanta.

Jennifer Johnson (B.S. 1999) recently returnedfrom Gambia, where she served as a PeaceCorps volunteer. Johnson worked on the R.T.Rybak mayoral campaign and plans to remain inthe Twin Cities for a while.

Darren James Baker (B.S. 2000) is working ina cancer research laboratory at Mayo Clinic. Hisgroup published a study in the Nov. 16, 2001issue of Science Baker is applying for medicalschool.

Cassandra Hamilton (B.S. 2000) is inRochester going to nursing school.

David Simmons (B.S. 2000) recently accepteda new position with ATG Laboratories, Inc., aMinnesota biotechnology company founded byJulie Kirihara.

Amy Steffenhagen (B.S. 2000) is a technicalservices specialist for Gentra Systems, Inc., in Ply-mouth. Her position involves lab research andcommunication with customers. She worksclosely with the sales department and often hasthe opportunity to travel.

Christa Van Patten (B.S. 2000) was hired inAugust by DiaSorin.

Wade Anderson (B.S. 2001) is in the Ph.D.program in biochemistry at Stanford University.His e-mail address is [email protected].

Dan Owens (B.S. 2001) is in medical school atthe University of Michigan

Class notes

Goldy Gopher pays a visit to Biodale,

the College’s one-stop shopping cen-

ter for advanced research services.

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The Dean’s Office staff shows off their muscles during the Homecoming tug-of-war.

The team won the coveted Golden Microscope.

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College of Biological SciencesUniversity of Minnesota123 Snyder Hall1475 Gortner AvenueSt. Paul, MN 55108

Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage

P A I DPermit No. 155Minneapolis,Minnesota

Donors and scholarship recipi-ents meet at annual Recognitionand Appreciation Dinner.

It was almost like watching areunion of long-lost friends or rela-tives. Donors who endowed scholar-ship funds and student recipientsmoved through the crowd in Memo-rial Hall, scanning nametags for thespecial person they had come tomeet. The search often ended withsmiles and a hug.

In most cases, this was the first timedonors and students had met eachother. Every year the College awardsapproximately 75 scholarships fund-ed by endowments created by or tohonor faculty, staff, alumni, andfriends. About 300 donors, students,and parents attended this year’sRecognition and Appreciation Din-ner, held for the first time at theMcNamara Alumni Center.

A night to remember

Donors, students, and parents enjoy dinner

and conversation at the Recognition and

Appreciation Dinner.

Robert Elde, CBS dean

Henrietta Miller, with student Jackie

Chan, right, and her parents, left. A

scholarship was established in Miller's

name when she retired from the Bio-

chemistry Department.

Robert Elde, dean, spoke on “Cele-brating Investments” in students.CBS, which has a scholarshipendowment of approximately $1million, hopes to raise that to $10million to remain competitive withother schools and to help studentspay rising tuition costs.

Laura Brunner, Class of 2002 andrecipient of the Harold Paul MorrisScholarship, was student speaker.Brunner, who is from Alaska, talkedabout why she chose Minnesotaand expressed her appreciation todonors for putting their money andfaith in CBS students.

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