Michael Powell, Ph.D.

Dr. Powell with his first Ph.D. graduate, Lesa Miles, currently a postdoc at Vanderbilt University.

“I feel very strongly that the K22 award was a large part of any success I have had.”

K22:  “Accessory Proteins Involved in Reverse Transcription,” 1999-2001
Current position: Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology/Biochemistry/Immunology, and Director, Proteomics Core Facility, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Research: Our lab currently works on early events in the replication of HIV-1. Recently, the steps that immediately precede reverse transcription have been shown to be an important target for natural resistance to viral infection.  Our K22 funding was crucial in allowing me to establish a lab and obtain essential preliminary data.  To date, our work has resulted in two NIH grants as well as patents for both HIV and cancer therapies.

Paul Wade, Ph.D.

“The K22 award positively influenced my career in two ways.  First, this award served as an indicator to potential university employers that I was able to compete successfully for grant funding.  Second, the funds granted under this award mechanism constituted an important supplement to the start-up funding provided by my new employer, Emory University.” 

K22: 2000-2003, “Histone Deacetylases:  Regulators of Transcription.”
Current position:  Investigator, Unit on Eukaryotic Transcriptional Regulation, Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis, NIEHS, NIH
Research:  The unit is interested in defining gene regulatory mechanisms and identifying key regulatory molecules, with a focus on chromatin modification.  Currently, our studies center on the Mi-2/NuRD complex, a multi-subunit chromatin modification enzyme and its roles in breast cancer progression and B-lymphocyte differentiation.

David Donze, Ph.D.

“Receiving the K22 award was certainly a highlight of my postdoctoral tenure at the NIH, and it undoubtedly was an asset in my subsequent search for a faculty position. The award allowed me to secure a position here at my alma mater, Louisiana State University, which made the award all the more special. Having the award for my first two years as a new faculty member not only allowed me to immediately hire a research associate and purchase additional essential lab equipment, but it allowed me to think more carefully and less hurriedly in applying for additional grant funding. The fact that I have been able to obtain two additional grants within my first three years as a faculty member was considerably aided by having the K22 award in place.”

K22:  “Analysis of Chromosomal Insulator/Boundary Elements,” 2001-2004
Current Position:  Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Biological Sciences; Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Research:  Research in my laboratory is aimed at deciphering mechanisms of gene regulation as governed by chromatin structure. Chromatin boundary elements function to delimit the domains of active and inactive chromatin. A major question in eukaryotic gene regulation is how heterochromatin and euchromatin are physically and functionally separated by chromatin boundaries.  Boundary elements are divided into two classes: insulators are DNA sequences that block enhancer activation of a promoter, preventing inappropriate gene activation. Barriers are sequences that block the propagation of heterochromatin, thereby separating domains of active and inactive chromatin. In both cases, the function is to prevent regulatory regions from a given chromatin domain from inappropriately affecting another region.  Using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system, we have identified several DNA elements that are heterochromatin barriers. One is a unique tRNA gene (tDNA) located downstream from the silenced HMR locus. Current genetic and biochemical studies center on analyzing mechanisms of barrier function, and we have found that bromodomain proteins, which bind to acetyllysine moieties on histones and other proteins, are important for barrier integrity.
 
We are also assessing the potential global role of RNA polymerase III promoters as chromatin boundaries. We have found that other tDNAs in the yeast genome can act as boundary elements, suggesting a more general extra-transcriptional role for RNA polymerase III transcribed genes in sculpting genome architecture and function.

Peter L. Jones, Ph.D.

"I am very positive about the K22, it is a tremendous benefit for postdocs. Without question it helped me get job interviews . . . it was also a beneficial experience in writing an R01-type proposal. The greatest feature is the extramural support, which allowed my start-up package to last much longer."

K22: “Methylation-dependent Transcriptional Repression,” 2002-2004
Current position:  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Assistant Professor, Cell and Structural Biology; Champaign, Illinois
Research: My current research is related to the research supported by the K22 award. My group studies the mechanisms involved in the establishment of transcriptionally silent chromatin structure in vertebrates. We use conventional chromatographic fractionation to identify and characterize novel chromatin modifying machines possessing transcriptionally repressive enzymatic activities. Characterization of these machines moves into the developing animal using Xenopus laevis and X. tropicalis transgenics. Currently there are two related projects ongoing in the laboratory: (1) characterization of the N-CoR and SMRT nuclear hormone receptor repression complexes from Xenopus; and (2) determination of the cis and trans elements required for D4Z4 repeat mediated genome regulation in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) by combining biochemistry and transgenic Xenopus.

Lawrence S. Kirschner, M.D., Ph.D.

“The K22 grant allowed me to negotiate a favorable start-up package and, together, these funding sources and protected time allowed me to develop enough data to compete successfully for two national grants [see below]. . . . Not only has this grant provided me with the means to begin and continue a successful academic research career, but also to achieve significant scientific progress, which has led to publications and continued grant funding.”

K22:  “Role of the CNC Gene in Development and Tumorigenesis,” 2003-2005
Current position:  Associate Professor, Division of Endocrinology and Human Cancer Genetics Program, The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, Columbus, Ohio
Research:  In his laboratory of two postdoctoral fellows, two graduate students, and a technician, Dr. Kirschner is currently working on “Carney Complex:  A Model for PKA-mediated Turmorigenesis,” funded by an R-01 from the NCI (2004-2009), a project which is a continuation of his K22 research.  He also has a one-year Concept Award from the Department of Defense, “Protein Kinase and Its Role as a Mediator of Both NF1 and NF2-associated Schwann Cell Tumorigenesis,” which has led to a further R01 submission.  Other areas of research in his lab include the role of the Prkar1a gene in cardiac and neural crest development and the role of the PTEN gene in the initiation and progression of follicular thyroid cancer.