Susan Dutcher
Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology and Physiology
- Email: dutcher@nospam.wustl.edu
As a graduate student at the University of Washington, Dutcher worked on the role of cell division cycle (CDC) genes in spindle pole body duplication with Dr. Lee Hartwell. While a postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University, she began to work on cilia and centrioles in the unicellular eukaryotic alga, Chlamydomonas. The lab investigates the assembly and function of basal bodies/centrioles and cilia using genetics, biochemistry, light and electon microscopy, and computational biology in Chlamydomonas as well as human tissue culture cells. The key questions include how these microtubule-based structures are assembled and how they function and influence cellular biology, development, and human health. Stemming from comparative genomics approaches in the lab, the discovery of many cilia/basal body based diseases has helped to illustrate the incredible breath of roles that these organelles play in human health. The conservation of ciliary and centriolar proteins has provided us with a model organism to understand a variety of human diseases that range from polycystic kidney disease to respiratory infections to microcephaly to obesity. In her spare time, she loves to travel to places around the world for great food and interesting walks. She has visited six continents.
Mathieu Bottier
Postdoc
- Email: bottier@wustl.edu
Mathieu Bottier is a postdoctoral research associate at Washington University since January 2017. His primary lab is the Bayly lab in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He works in the Dutcher lab on a joined NSF grant about the measurement and modelling of waves and oscillations in cilia and flagella. Mathieu records the flagella motion of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, both wild type and mutants, through high-speed video-microscopy. He then analyzes the videos to apply a mathematical model and extract parameters to describe the flagella beating. During Mathieu’s education, he developed an interest for both medicine and engineering. He has a License and a Master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Rouen (France). Mathieu obtained my Ph.D. thesis in engineering sciences from the Paris-Est University (France) in the team of “Biomechanics & respiratory system: a multi-scale approach” (Inserm U955 Team 13, CNRS ERL 7240).
Huawen Lin
Instructor
- Email: huawen.lin@wustl.edu
Huawen Lin studied sex determination in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas and earned a Ph.D. degree in Plant Physiology from Washington University. She joined the Dutcher lab as a postdoc and worked on Chlamydomonas flagella, nicotinamide metabolism, and sex determination. Currently Huawen is an instructor in the lab. Her research focuses on developing new methods based on next generation sequencing to identify causative mutations from multiple flagellar and basal body mutants and performing functional characterization of these mutants.
Manishi Pandey
Graduate Student
- Email: mpandey@wustl.edu
Manishi Pandey is a DBBS graduate student in the Computational and System Biology program at Washington University in St. Louis. She is co-mentored by Prof. Susan Dutcher and Prof. Gary Stormo. Manishi is interested in understanding the role of spliceosome proteins in splice site recognition. More specifically, her work examines non-core splicing factors and their role in defining the global splicing pattern in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
Gervette Penny
Postdoc
- Email: gervettepenny@wustl.edu
Gervette is from the warm, sunny (and sometimes rainy), Caribbean island of Grenada where she completed a B.S. in Life Sciences at St. George’s University (SGU). After graduation, Gervette was employed at SGU as a Faculty Supplemental Learning Demonstrator for molecular biology and microbiology. She conducted weekly, collaborative review groups for pre-med, pre-vet and undergraduate students, incorporating videos, games, group activities and all things interesting. One of the most exciting things about her job was that she got to meet students from all over the world every semester.
As a MGG (molecular genetics and genomics) graduate student at Wash U, Gervette is interested in the genetics of rare inherited disorders and how this relates to phenotype. In the Dutcher Lab, she has the opportunity to study all things ciliary, and learn about one of the most amazing organelles on the planet.
Gervette enjoys all things outdoors including hiking, biking and camping. She also loves to play the piano, try new things, and enjoy a beautiful sunset.
1. Hunter, E.L., Penny, G. M., and Dutcher, S.K. (2020). Algal ciliary motility. Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. John Wiley. http://www.els.net/.
2. Payne, Z. Penny, G., Turner, T. and Dutcher, S.K. (2022). A gap-free genome assembly of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and detection of translocations induced by CRISPR-mediated mutagenesis. Plant Communicaions. v 17:100493. doi: 10.1016/j.xplc.2022.100493. PMID: 36397679.
3. Penny, G and Dutcher, S.K. Second site noncomplementation provides new insights insights to the dynein assembly factors, in preparation
Mihaela Stoyanova
Research Technician
- Email: m.stoyanova@wustl.edu
Mihaela Stoyanova joined the Dutcher Lab in February 2017 as a research tech. In the lab, she works on characterizing insertional mutants and performing various assays to learn more about flagellar function. Aside from Mihaela’s role in the lab, she is also a student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis where she is pursuing a B.S./M.S. in Biochemistry and Biotechnology. Mihaela enjoys learning about genetics and applying her knowledge in both classwork and research. She looks forward to learning more.
