O'TooleLab

OToole Lab News

June 29, 2012

Two weeks or so ago we had the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth graduation ceremony.  One of my students, Kyle Cady (left) walked, as did Chris Bahl, a student in the lab of our collaborator Dean Madden, a structural biologist in the Biochemistry Department here at the Geisel School.  One advantage of coming to Dartmouth is the very fancy robes and hat you get to wear when you graduate!  Kyle recently started his post-doc at MIT.

June 24, 2012

Some recent papers

We recently published our first microbiome paper, looking at the gut flora of premature infants.  This work was led by our collaborator Juliette Madan (pictured), a neonatologist at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.  "Premies" often have complications from bacterial infections of the gut, and are typically on a variety of antibiotics.  Understanding how the gut microflora develops, and the impact of these microflora on pathogens, may help us develop better treatment regimens.



We also recently published a collaborative set of studies, with our collaborator Holger Sondermann at Cornell.  Holger's study reports the structure of the LapG protease from Legionella, a periplasmic protease that our groups previously is critical for processing the LapA adhesin.  LapA is required for an early step in biofilm formation by Pseudomonas fluorescens.  Our companion study, led by my P.D. student Chelsea Boyd (pictured) and also published in the Journal of Bacteriology, showed that LapG is a Ca-dependent enzyme.  We also used information from the Sondermann lab's structure to identify residues critical for Ca binding - these residues, when mutated, eliminate LapG activity in vitro and in vivo.

June 09, 2012

We just returned from the 12th Annual O'Toole Lab Retreat.  
This year it was held in York, Maine.  At the retreat, each member of the lab presents
for ~2 hrs on their current and planned work.  It is a chance for the whole
lab to really think about all the work in the lab.  We also have some time 
to hang out and enjoy a great spot in Maine.

 Here a couple of views from the retreat house.  It was
a short walk to the water.

The lab sitting down to dinner.

We had a great space for presentations, which are all done as
"chalk talks".  Here, Mike Zegans, an ophthalmologist who is
part of the group, presents his work.

Alicia Ballok is a Ph.D. student in the lab.

Gary Huessler, a 2nd year student, presents his work.

Katie Price is a new post-doc in the lab.

June 07, 2012

Amy Baker just joined the lab as a Ph.D. student.  She is a recipient of an NSF graduate fellowship that will support her studies over the next several years.  Welcome to the group!




June 01, 2012

Two pieces of exciting news today.

First, Dae-Gon Ha, a Ph.D. student in the lab, was awarded the Borrison fellowship for 2012-2013 from the Geisel School of Medicine to support his research.  This award goes to an outstanding junior Ph.D. student.  Congrats!






Second, Laura Filkins, another Ph.D. student in the lab,  just returned from a week-long intensive microscopy course at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory.  She won the outstanding presentation of the work she performed during the course.  Congrats!