Lab Personnel
Editte Gharakhanian, Ph.D Principal Investigator
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, MLSC, Room 231
Contact: eghara@csulb.edu
Christopher Frost
Lifetime Gharakhanian Lab Member.
B.S. Microbiology (CSULB, 2002), B.S. Biology (CSULB, 2002), M.S. Biochemistry (CSULB 2005)
Currently, Chris provides training to incoming lab members. He also assists with various laboratory operations including experiments involving yeast microscopy.
Surya Manandhar
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
General Medicine from Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal; Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Kharkov State University, Kharkov, Ukraine (USSR); M.S. in Biochemistry from Kharkov State University, Kharkov, Ukraine (USSR).
Surya’s research is focused on understanding yeast ENV7p, product of a gene ENV7 that is not yet characterized, but apparently involved in sorting proteins at late endosome-to-vacuolar interface. Using molecular, biochemical and microscopic approaches, Surya intends to characterize this gene/protein in respect to its cellular localization and biological functions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Daniele Esquenazi Ejzykowicz
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Ph.D. in Cellular Biology, B.S. in Microbiology
Daniele is currently studying the Tor1 vacuolar membrane localization in Hygromycin B hypersensitive (hhy) mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its role on vesicular trafficking.
Teli Hsueh
Graduate Research Assistant
Candidate for Master of Science degree in Biology, B.S. in Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology
Teli is currently conducting research on the study of ENV9 including its role in subcellular localization, vacuolar morphology, vesicular trafficking at the endosome-to-vacuole interface, and vacuolar protease processing.
Maribeth Serranilla
Graduate Research Assistant
Candidate for Master of Science degree in Biology, B.S. in Biology
Maribeth’s project involves the characterization of ENV7∆, which is a novel mutant in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Lisa Olivera
Graduate Research Assistant
Candidate for Master of Science degree in Biology, B.A. in Biology, minor in Marine Biology
Lisa is currently working on the cloning and biochemical characterization of the novel genes ENV10 and ENV11, which may be involved in late endosome to vacuole trafficking.
Stephanie Cocca
Graduate Research Assistant
Candidate for Master of Science degree in Microbiology; B.A. in Biology with an option in Education
Stephie is conducting a phylogenetic study of the S. cerevisiae putative serine/threonine kinase, ENV7, and she is also investigating the importance of its consecutive N-terminal cysteine residues via site-directed mutagenesis.
Kristopher Locken
Graduate Research Assistant
Candidate for a Master of Science degree in Microbiology; B.S. in Microbiology
Kris is currently studying the Tor1 vacuolar membrane localization in Hygromycin B hypersensitive (hhy) mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its role on vesicular trafficking.
Julie Smithwick
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Expected graduation Fall 2011 with a B.S. in Business Management, minor in Chemistry
Florante Ricarte
Undergraduate Research Assistant
B.S. in Biology, Option in Cell/Molecular Biology, minor in Chemistry
Florante’s project involves the biochemical and microscopic characterization of a set of genes uncovered from a genome-wide screen performed in this lab. Florante discovered previously undefined gene functions at the late endosome and vacuole interface (ENV) genes and Florante’s work includes the characterization of their corresponding deletion mutants with respect to vacuolar morphology and processing of the vacuolar hydrolase, Carboxypeptidase Y.
