U of M: Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development

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	Robin Wright, Ph.D. Associate Dean
	Areas of Research: Research Techniques: Research Interests: Selected Publications: Related Links

Mailing Address: University of Minnesota Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development 6-160 Jackson 321 Church St. SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA		Education: Ph.D., Genetics and Cell Biology, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA, 1984
Office: 6-142 MCB P: 612-625-1183 F: 612-625-5476 Email: wrightr@umn.edu	Lab: 6-162 MCB P: 612-625-5476

Areas of Research Strength:

Cell biology, with emphasis on regulation of organelle biogenesis
Membrane structure and dynamics
Sterol metabolism
Protein targeting and localization
Genetic and genomic approaches to organelle biogenesis
Microscopic analysis of cell structure
Undergraduate education

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Research Techniques:

Microscopy, including electron microscopy
Classical genetics
Molecular genetics
Genomics
Biochemical analyses
Assessment strategies for undergraduate classes

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Research Interests:

The story of life on Earth is likely to be a story of cold. The first organic molecules
and cells may have arisen on Earth in icy conditions, providing an evolutionary
“cold start” to life. As recently as 500 million years ago, all life has had to survive
through global glaciations. Even today, Earth’s biosphere is largely cold, with as
much as 80% having an average temperature of less than 5^oC. Clearly, understanding
how organisms adapt to cold temperature is important for a variety of disciplines,
from the evolution of life to the ecology of arctic environments to cellular biology
and physiology. However, surprisingly large gaps exist in our exploration of the
biology of cold adaptation. Most notably, investigations of cold adaptation are
nearly non-existent in fungi, one of the five classical kingdoms of life. In addition,
the roles of sterol metabolism in cold adaptation in any organism are similarly
unexplored. Current research in my lab focuses on laying the foundations for deep
exploration of the genetics, molecular and cellular biology, and physiology of cold
adaptation in yeast, a unicellular fungus. It is likely that results of these studies will
have relevance to other fungi, and perhaps to other kingdoms of life.

In a search for genes required for ER biogenesis in the yeast Saccharomyces
cerevisiae, the Wright lab discovered that mutations in a subset of genes involved
in ER-associated degradation (ERAD) result in cold sensitivity. In collaboration
with co-PI Martin Bard (IUPUI), they also discovered that these genes are required
for proper regulation of sterol metabolism. These observations lead to the foundational
hypothesis that they explore: ERAD regulates key aspects of sterol metabolism in yeast
and this regulation is required for cold adaptation. To test this hypothesis, they use
genetic, biochemical, and cell biological approaches to determine both the molecular
mechanisms by which ERAD regulates sterol metabolism and also whether this regulation
underlies the role of ERAD itself in cold adaptation. To examine the ecological and
evolutionary relevance of sterol metabolism in cold adaptation, experiments in S. cerevisiae
will be coordinated with analyses of sterols in psychrophilic yeast species isolated in
Antarctic environments. In addition, the genes in S. cerevisiae that are necessary for
cold adaptation have been identified using global genetic screens and are being analyzed
using genomics approaches. The results of these studies will provide specific insights into
the role of sterol metabolism and ERAD in cold adaptation, as well as create a framework
for long-term investigations of cold adaptation in yeast.

Education Interests

At the core, I see myself as both a teacher and a researcher. Consistent with this vision, undergraduate education is inextricably woven into essentially all of my activities. For example, all of my research has involved undergraduates, some of whom presented their work national meetings and/or co-authored research papers. In addition, I spend considerable effort on activities that promote innovation and improvement of undergraduate education. Based on experiences in the classroom, national discussions, and workshops, what I do in the classroom has been transformed over the years from a traditional teacher-centered model of “lecture-and-test” to a learner-centered model that promotes building of life-long skills. This transformation has been accompanied by the realization that sharing teaching innovations and solutions is important. As a result, I have participated in a variety of workshops and seminars and published several papers that deal with teaching issues. Students interested in gaining significant teaching experiences and learning how to effectively integrate teaching and research would be very welcome in my lab.

Selected Publications:

Parrish, M., E. Cadera, L. Larson, C. Cho, P. Garrett-Engele, C. Armour, P.Y. Lum, D. D. Shoemaker, and R. Wright. 2003. Parallel analysis of tagged deletion mutants efficiently identifies genes involved in endoplasmic reticulum biogenesis. Yeast (in press).

Larson, L.L., M.L. Parrish, A.J. Koning, and R. Wright. 2002. Proliferation of the endoplasmic reticulum occurs normally in cells that lack a functional unfolded protein response. Yeast 19:373-393.

Koning, A.J., L.L. Larson, E. J. Cadera, M.L. Parrish, and R. Wright. 2002. Mutations that affect vacuole biogenesis inhibit proliferation of the endoplasmic reticulum in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 160:1335-1352.

Profant, D., C. Roberts, and R. Wright. 2000. Mutational analysis of the karmellae-inducing signal in Hmg1p, a yeast HMG-CoA reductase isozyme. Yeast 16:811-827.

Profant, D. A., C. J. Roberts, A. J. Koning, and R. Wright. 1999. The role of the HMG-CoA reductase cytosolic domain in karmellae biogenesis. Mol. Biol. Cell 10:3409-3423.

Articles about Teaching
Wright, R. 2006. “Dear Abbot” article on teaching mitosis and meiosis, in Genetics Newsletter.

Robin L. Wright, Aaron Charlson, and Carrie F. Olson

A 15-Year Study of 63 Teachers at 24 Institutions Reveals: "What the Best College Teachers Do"

Cell Biology Education 2005 4: 279-280.

Robin L. Wright

Points of View: Content versus Process: Is This a Fair Choice?: Undergraduate Biology

Courses for Nonscientists: Toward a Lived Curriculum

Cell Biol Education 2005 4: 189-196.

Wright, R. and J. Boggs. 2002. Learning cell biology as a team: a project-based approach to upper-division cell biology. Cell Biology Education 1:145-153.

Wright, R. 2001. The Art of Teaching, Session 1: Reading the Audience. Science’s Next Wave.

http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2001/04/11/7

Wright, R. 2001. The Art of Teaching, Session 2: Using portfolios to improve and evaluate teaching. Science’s Next Wave.

http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2001/05/24/20

To view these and other publications visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed
search menu should say PubMed
type Wright R in the avaliable line. Note: There are serveral people who use "Wright R"

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