Spiegelman Lab - Principal Investigator
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George Spiegelman
Professor
B.Sc., (Hons.) University of Illinois (1966); Ph.D., University of Wisconsin (1972); Postdoctoral, University of Washington (1972-1978)
Email: spie[at]interchange.ubc.ca
Office Telephone: 604-822-2036
Fax: 604-822-6041
Address:
Room 2506
2350 Health Sciences Mall
Life Sciences Centre
Vancouver, BC
Canada
V6T 1Z3
Research Interests
My interests center on the problem of how environmental signals are transmitted to the transcription apparatus to regulate synthesis of new gene products. We are investigating several systems to understand aspects of the information transmission pathway.
1. Sporulation in Bacillus is regulated by phosphorylation of the key transcription modulator, Spo0A. We are investigating the molecular details of the interaction of Spo0A with RNA polymerase using genetic and in vitro techniques. We are also interested in how phosphorylation affects Spo0A to activate it.
2. We are interested other transcription regulators. Some of these are repressors that inhibit transcription activation by Spo0A, allowing information input through separate pathways. Other regulators are involved in other systems. One example is the BmrR protein that regulates expression of a gene encoding an efflux pump.
3. In collaboration with Dr. G. Weeks we are investigating the ras gene family of proteins in Dictyostelium. We are particularly interested in ras dependent regulation of decisions such as the initiation of development upon starvation and the regulation of cytokinesis.
