NEWSLETTER - WINTER, 2003

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
By way of introduction as the new Director of the Center for Organogenesis, Deb and Greg (who will continue to co-Direct [i.e. lead] the Center for the immediate future) have asked me to update all of you on some recent events and planned activities. Below, you will find the details for each of the short announcements mentioned here. By now, hopefully you have seen advance notices for the Fifth International Symposium on Organogenesis, scheduled for May 16 & 17, 2003. This appears to be another in the growing list of spectacular CFO symposia; as you already know, Lewis Wolpert, Gail Martin, Joan Massague, Cynthia Kenyon, Elaine Fuchs and Andy McMahon have all agreed to participate. Early registration materials are available on the CFO website, so don't miss out - this one looks like a sellout!

The CFO Morphology Core is also growing. As part of my agreement to join the UM, the Dean generously provided new resources for this core. To date, we have purchased a new quantitative PCR machine, and two new microscopes. We are presently developing protocol sheets and recharge data, and plan to open these instruments to general Center use by early February. As always, please let us know if you believe that other new technologies should be added.

The third piece of important news is that Sue O’Shea (CDB) and Michael Long (Peds) have agreed to co-PI a P20 application that will establish a human ES cell (hESC) core under the aegis of the CFO. We anticipate that the Stem Cell Program will be a focal point for the Center, and that many of you will participate and benefit both directly and indirectly. The consequences of acquiring this award would be enormously beneficial: to the participants who receive seed funding for projects examining the properties of hESC; for promoting cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural interactions between departments and disciplines; and finally, for establishing another high quality CFO-sponsored program. Each building block added to CFO successes will increase the probability of attracting further national funding to the Center, so we applaud the efforts of all involved!


Doug Engel, Ph.D.
Professor & Chair, Cell & Developmental Biology
Director, Center for Organogenesis

5th International Symposium on Organogenesis is Being Planned
The 5th International Symposium on Organogenesis will be held on May 16 & 17, 2003. Mark your calendars!!! Friday night's keynote address will be held at the Alumni Center and the Symposium will continue on Saturday morning at the Towsley Center's Dow Auditorium. The primary topic of the symposium will be Development and Disease and will focus on the molecular etiology of organ pathology. And, we will again hold our annual poster session. Awards of $200 and $100 will be given for first and second place pre- and postdoctoral posters.

Also, don't forget to submit your artwork for a possible symposium t-shirt design. If your design is picked, you'll be awarded $250.00 and your name will be listed in the symposium program as the artist of this year's t-shirt design. All designs need to be turned in to Becky by March 31, 2003.

Registration materials and abstract instructions are available on the Organogenesis website, so send in your registrations early!!!! We hope that all of you can attend, and we promise to provide an exciting series of lectures!


Welcome New Training Grant Fellows
We would like to welcome our new pre- and postdoctoral fellows who submitted outstanding applications during 2002. The following individuals were chosen and awarded fellowships in Organogenesis:

Matthew Veldman, Predoctoral Fellow, works in the laboratory of Dr. Dan Goldman, Neuroscience Program. Matt's research project is entitled "Mechanisms Underlying CNS Development and Regeneration". Matt's co-mentor is Dr. Pamela Raymond, Department of Cell & Developmental Biology.

David Parker, Predoctoral Fellow, works in the laboratory of Dr. Ken Cadigan, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. David's research project is entitled "Genetic and Biochemical Characterization of Pygopus, a PHD-domain Containing Protein Required for Wingless Signaling". David's co-mentor is Dr. Ormond MacDougald, Department of Physiology.

Victor Chen, Predoctoral Fellow, Department of Biomedical Engineering, works primarily with Dr. Peter Ma, Department of Biologic & Materials Sciences. Victor's research project is entitled "Tailoring Architectural and Material Properties of Nano-Fibrous Poly (L-Lactic Acid) Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering". Victor's co-mentor is Dr. Renny Franceschi from the Dental School's Department of Periodontics, Prevention & Geriatrics.

Marc Prindle, Predoctoral Fellow, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology. Marc works in the laboratory of Greg Dressler, Department of Pathology. Marc's research project is entitled "The Role of PTIP in DNA Damage Repair and Cell Cycle Control". Marc's co-mentor is Dr. Dennis Thiele, Department of Biological Chemistry.

Lisa Bank, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. Lisa works under the direction of Rolf Bodmer, also in MCDB. Lisa's research project is entitled "Genetic Analysis of Cardiac Function During Aging in the Fly Model". Lisa's co-mentor is Joe Metzger, Department of Physiology.

Graciela Piwien-Pilipuk, Ph.D., Non-traditional Postdoctoral Fellow, works in the laboratory of Dr. Jessica Schwartz, in the Department of Physiology. Graciela's research project is entitled "C/EBPb and Heterochromatin in Adipocyte Differentiation". Graciela's co-mentor is Dr. Roland Kwok, Departments of Biological Chemistry and Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Congratulations To All!!!

Completed Organogenesis Fellowships
The following CFO trainees will complete their training grant fellowships in early 2003, and will present research seminars at an upcoming spring seminar and reception, to be announced. The seminar date and titles of trainees' research presentations will be announced at a later date.

Edward Oliver, Predoctoral Fellow
Juan Taboas, Predoctoral Fellow
Jingtong Gao, Postdoctoral Fellow
Mi Hye Song, Postdoctoral Fellow


MORPHOLOGY CORE UPDATES

Stephanie Schmoll joins the Morphology Core as New Manager
We’re happy to welcome Stephanie Schmoll as manager of the Morphology Core. Steph received a BS from the University of Michigan-Flint in biological sciences and a BA in communications from Emerson College. She is responsible for the day-to-day running of the core, responding to requests for sections, RNA, and training for new users of Core equipment. Her email is: sschmoll@umich.edu, and the core phone number is: (734) 647-9021. Please feel free to contact Stephanie if you need assistance with charges, etc.

New Equipment for the Morphology Core
The Morphology Core has recently acquired considerable new equipment! These include a new Wild dissecting microscope equipped for epifluorescence, a Zeiss inverted microscope equipped for epifluorescence, a Nikon Eclipse E800 equipped for epifluorescence with a Spot camera and software for image analysis, a quantitative PCR machine. We also purchased a "Cryojane" attachment for one of the two cryostats in the core. This significantly improves section quality, making them comparable to paraffin embedded material. There is a new paraffin microtome, vacuum oven, embedding station and a Leica tissue processor scheduled to arrive in March. The paraffin equipment is currently housed in room 4735 Med Sci II. Much of the equipment is available for use, but we have not yet completed the (tedious) recharge computation negotiations with the U of M Office of Cost Reimbursement.

Following last summer’s successful "slidewalk sale", Stephanie has been busy replacing the aging embryo sections with new material that has been sealed to better protect the delicate embryonic material. She has also restocked the Core with new RNAs from embryos at sequential stages of development.


Course Announcement
For those of you who were not able to attend last summer’s course, "De-coding the mouse embryo: a guide to understanding early mouse development and organogenesis" that was presented by Dr. Matt Kaufman, we are hoping to present a similar course in 2003. Please email Becky to indicate your interest in attending the course, and preferred dates (rpintar@umich.edu).


FUTURE CFO SEMINARS

February 6, 2003 @ 3:30 PM, 5915 Buhl
"Thyroid Hormone Receptors and the Development of the Auditory and Visual Sensory Systems" presented by Dr. Douglas Forrest, Department of Human Genetics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine (faculty host: Anand Swaroop).

March 6, 2003 @ 3:30 PM, 5915 Buhl
"Cell Death Factors in Melanoma Progression and Chemoresistance", presented by Maria S. Soengas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Melanoma Program, University of Michigan.

March 20, 2003 @ 3:30 PM, 5915 Buhl
"Growth Factor Signaling Specificity in Vertebrate Development", presented by Phillipe Soriano, Program in Developmental Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA (faculty host: Deb Gumucio).

April 3, 2003 @ 3:30 PM, 5915 Buhl
"Drosophila Ether a Go-Go Potassium Channel Mutants: Do They Do More Than Dance?", presented by Gisela F. Wilson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan.

April 17, 2003 @ 3:30 PM, 5915 Buhl
"Molecular Recognition in Neurotrophic Factor Signaling", presented by Carlos F. Ibáñez, Professor of Molecular Neurobiology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm (faculty host: Chris Nosrat).

May 1, 2003 @ 3:30 PM, 5915 Buhl
Anand Swaroop, Ph.D., Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, and Human Genetics, University of Michigan. Topic to be announced.

May 15, 2003 @ 3:30 PM, 5915 Buhl
John B. Lowe, M.D., Professor of Pathology, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan. Topic to be announced.

May 29, 2003 @ 3:30 PM, 5915 Buhl
Steve Wilson, University College in London. Topic to be announced (faculty host: Pam Raymond).