Return to: Storey homepage | Carleton University homepage
POSITIONS AVAILABLE IN THE STOREY LAB
Full financial support is available
for qualified graduate students.
Internal salary supplements are guaranteed for NSERC / OGS scholarship winners.
Graduate students can
earn degrees in either the Department
of Biology
or the Department of
Chemistry since I am
cross-appointed in both departments. At the graduate level students are members
of joint programs with University
of Ottawa
Projects in my lab can be
tailored to suit the interests and prior training of students with
undergraduate degrees in Biology, Biochemistry or Chemistry disciplines.
However, there is no graduate program in Biochemistry at Carleton so students
with an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry should discuss their options with me to
determine whether to apply through the Biology or Chemistry programs.
For application
information and to apply online, visit the Faculty
of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs. There you will
find information about programs, admission requirements, and how to apply. To apply, click on the Graduate Programs link
and choose the program of interest (Biology, Chemistry, MSc, PhD) and then click the “Apply Now" button.
In Step One you will request an application account. Once you receive an
application account number from the Ontario
Universities' Application Centre (OUAC), proceed to Step Two and complete the full application.
To find out about
Storey lab graduate studies, link to
"People in the Storey lab "
or “Research Interests” or “Recent Poster presentations”.
You can also read recent papers about our work at New Reviews and Popular Articles or see our full
list of Recent
Publications.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY OF FREEZING SURVIVAL
Positions are
available starting in September for Ph.D. students. Projects may follow one of
two routes. (1) Gene expression studies
identify genes that are turned on during freezing or thawing and that
contribute to the metabolic and structural survival of the frozen animal.
Methods of gene discovery and evaluation include cDNA
array screening, quantitative PCR, and nuclear run-off technologies as well as
transcription factor binding studies, western blotting to evaluate protein
product levels and recombinant protein expression to assess protein action in
freezing survival. A new focus is epigenetics – the
mechanisms of global transcriptional suppression that contribute for metabolic
rate depression while frozen. (2) Biochemical studies evaluate the signaling
mechanisms involved in activating metabolic responses to freezing. Studies
focus on reversible phosphorylation control over the activities of metabolic
enzymes and functional proteins, the roles of protein kinases (e.g. PKA, PKG,
AMPK, Akt, MAPKs), and the regulation of signal transduction pathways that turn
on freeze-responsive genes. Applied studies use the lessons taken from freeze
tolerant vertebrates to improve the cryopreservation of isolated mammalian
cells and organs.
Representative
review articles:
Storey, K.B. and Storey, J.M. 2011. Strategies of
molecular adaptation to climate change: the challenges for amphibians and
reptiles. In: Temperature
Adaptation in a Changing Climate (Storey, K.B. and Tannino,
K., eds), CABI Publishers,
Wallingford, UK. PDF
Storey, K.B.
and Storey, J.M. 2010. Oxygen:
stress and adaptation in cold hardy insects. In: Low Temperature Biology of Insects (Denlinger,
D.L. and Lee, R.E., eds),
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 141-165. PDF
Storey, K.B. and Storey, J.M. 2009. Animal cold
hardiness. In: Pioneer Insects
Open New Fields in Biology. (Furusawa, T. et al., eds.) The Kinugasa-kai
Foundation, Kyoto, Japan. pp. 40-53. PDF (a general discussion of the
biochemistry of winter survival)
Storey, K.B. 2008. Beyond gene chips: transcription factor profiling in freeze tolerance. In: Hypometabolism in Animals:
Hibernation, Torpor and Cryobiology (Lovegrove, B.G.,
and McKechnie, A.E., eds.)
University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, pp. 101-108. PDF
Storey, K.B. 2006. Reptile freeze tolerance: metabolism and gene expression. Cryobiology
52, 1-16. PDF
Storey, K.B. 2004. Strategies for exploration of freeze responsive gene expression:
advances in vertebrate freeze tolerance. Cryobiology 48, 134-145. PDF
See pictures and read more about the freeze tolerant frogs and turtles and cold hardy invertebrates
studied in the Storey lab.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY OF TORPOR: HIBERNATION & ESTIVATION
Positions are
available starting next September for Ph.D. students. Research focuses on the
biochemistry of metabolic arrest, in particular the mechanisms that regulate
and coordinate the depression of all cell functions in concert to permit long
term homeostasis in the torpid state. Molecular studies include identification
of genes that are up-regulated at different stages of the mammalian
hibernation-arousal cycle and analysis of the actions of new proteins that
induce metabolic depression or preserve life in the torpid state. Signal
transduction pathways are characterized and transcription factors that control
hibernation-responsive genes are analyzed. Our newest interest is epigenetic mechanisms
as the means of global suppression of transcription during torpor. Biochemical
approaches include studies of stress-activated protein kinase cascades and
reversible protein phosphorylation control of the activities of metabolic
enzymes and functional proteins to coordinate global metabolic suppression and
ensure long term cell survival over weeks of torpor. The ultimate aim of our
research is to integrate strategies from natural hibernation into medical organ
transplant technology. Comparable studies are also exploring another form of
natural torpor called estivation that is typically
triggered by hot arid conditions.
Representative
review articles:
Storey, K.B. 2010. Out cold: biochemical regulation of
mammalian hibernation. Gerontology 56, 220-230. PDF
Storey, K.B.
and Storey, J.M. 2010. Metabolic
rate depression: the biochemistry of mammalian hibernation. Adv. Clinical Chem.
52, 77-108. PDF
Storey, K.B.
and Storey, J.M. 2010. Metabolic regulation and gene expression during aestivation.
In: Aestivation: Molecular and
Physiological Aspects (
Morin, P. and Storey, K.B. 2009. Mammalian hibernation: differential
gene expression and novel application of epigenetic controls. Int. J. Devel. Biol. 53, 433-442.
PDF
Storey, K.B. and Storey, J.M. 2007. Putting life on 'pause' – molecular regulation of hypometabolism.
J. Exp. Biol. 210, 1700-1714. PDF
See pictures and read more about the hibernators and estivators studied in the Storey lab.
MOLECULAR REGULATION OF ANOXIA TOLERANCE
Positions are available
starting in September for Ph.D. students to study the regulatory mechanisms
that allow selected organisms to survive for extended times without oxygen.
Projects may follow one of two routes. (1) Gene expression studies identify
genes that are up-regulated in response so hypoxia/anoxia and also evaluate the
activity status of specific transcription factors and the suite of genes under
their control in order to determine how anoxia tolerant systems respond when
oxygen is withdrawn. Methods of gene discovery and evaluation include cDNA array screening, quantitative PCR, and nuclear run-off
technologies, transcription factor profiling, as well as western blotting to
evaluate individual protein products with the use of phospho-specific
antibodies to analyze relative amounts of active and inactive transcription
factors. (2) Biochemical studies evaluate adaptations of enzyme kinetic and
regulatory properties that support enzyme/pathway function under anoxia and
identify the protein kinases (e.g. PKA, PKG, AMPK and the MAPKs) involved in
regulating metabolic responses to low oxygen. A variety of model animals can be
used including turtles, frogs, crayfish, mollusks and insects. The research has
medical applications for understanding and improving survival of conditions
that impose hypoxia or ischemia (e.g. heart attack, stroke) and extending
viability of isolated organs removed for transplant.
Representative
reviews:
Krivoruchko, A. and Storey, K.B. 2010. Forever young: mechanisms of anoxia
tolerance in turtles and possible links to longevity. Oxid. Med. Cell. Longevity
3(3), 186-198. PDF
Biggar, K.K. and Storey, K.B. 2009. Perspectives in cell cycle regulation:
Lessons from an anoxic vertebrate. Curr. Genom. 10, 573-584. PDF
Larade, K. and Storey, K.B. 2009. Living
without oxygen: anoxia-responsive gene
expression and regulation. Curr. Genom.
10, 76-85. PDF
Storey, K.B. 2007. Anoxia
tolerance in turtles: metabolic regulation and gene expression. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 147, 263-276. PDF
See pictures and read more about the anoxia-tolerant species studied
in the Storey lab.