NSF Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship for FY 2009

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This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009 and is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to John M. Jones is "Characterizing chemokine receptors and their signaling complexes." The host institution for this research is the University of California San Diego under the sponsorship of Dr. Tracy Handel. Chemokines are small proteins that direct the movement of cells within the mammalian body by binding to chemokine receptors. Due to their biological importance, chemokine receptors and other related receptors are highly valued targets for biotechnology as well as in basic research. However, progress in understanding how chemokines work has been limited by difficulties in producing receptor in the laboratory. This project seek to overcome this difficulty by producing chemokine receptors in bacteria, which are commonly used to produce proteins. Being able to produce sufficient quantities of receptor will allow the pursuit of a variety of scientific experiments that otherwise would not be possible. This project is also studying how these receptors interact with other proteins within the cell, called a signaling complex, by using very sensitive techniques to determine what proteins are associating with the receptor in response to chemokine binding.Training objectives include mentoring and teaching the next generation of scientists. The complexity of this biological system promises a fruitful research area for years to come and provides for the involvement of undergraduate and graduate students who are attracted to research with practical and societal benefits.