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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. 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.
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. (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.
Storey, K.B. 2006. Reptile freeze tolerance: metabolism and gene expression. Cryobiology
52, 1-16.
Storey, K.B. 2004. Strategies for exploration of freeze responsive gene expression:
advances in vertebrate freeze tolerance. Cryobiology 48, 134-145.
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.
Storey, K.B. and Storey, J.M. 2010. Metabolic rate
depression: the biochemistry of mammalian hibernation. Adv. Clinical Chem. 52,
77-108.
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.
Storey, K.B. and
Storey, J.M. 2007. Putting life on 'pause' – molecular regulation of
hypometabolism. J. Exp. Biol. 210, 1700-1714.
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.
Biggar, K.K. and Storey, K.B. 2009. Perspectives in cell
cycle regulation: Lessons from an anoxic vertebrate. Curr. Genom. 10, 573-584.
Larade, K. and Storey, K.B. 2009. Living
without oxygen: anoxia-responsive gene
expression and regulation. Curr. Genom.
10, 76-85.
Storey, K.B. 2007. Anoxia tolerance in turtles: metabolic
regulation and gene expression. Comp. Biochem. Physiol.
147, 263-276.
See
pictures and read more about the anoxia-tolerant species studied
in the Storey lab.