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Carl D. Bortner

Flow Cytometry

Carl D. Bortner, Ph.D.
Carl D. Bortner, Ph.D.
Director




Tel (919) 541-7535
Fax (919) 541-1367
bortner@niehs.nih.gov
P.O. Box 12233
Mail Drop F3-07
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
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Biography

Carl Bortner, Ph.D. received his B.S. degree in microbiology from the Pennsylvania State University and his M.S. degree in microbiology from Iowa State University. In 1998, he earned his Ph.D. in physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, working in the laboratory of John Cidlowski, Ph.D. After obtaining his Ph.D., Bortner accepted a Research Fellowship at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and was promoted to the level of Staff Scientist in March 2001.

Bortner directs the Flow Cytometry Center at NIEHS, where he oversees the Institute's specialized flow cytometry instrumentation, and serves as an expert resource for users of the facility. Bortner also maintains a research interest focused on the biochemical and signal transduction pathways involved in apoptosis, specifically on the role that ions and cell shrinkage play during the cell death process. His work has shown that the loss of cell volume associated with apoptosis is a direct result of the loss of intracellular ions, especially potassium. Some of his key findings on the importance of this ion movement during apoptosis include the demonstration that maintenance of a normal intracellular ionic strength represses various apoptotic enzymes including effector caspase activation and apoptotic nuclease activity, and that an early increase in intracellular sodium appears critical for the eventual loss of cell volume during the apoptotic process.

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Last Reviewed: August 24, 2007