The Barbar Group: Dynein, Protein Structure and Dynamics, NMR

Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
ALS 2011, Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331-7305
541-737-4143(ph), 541-737-0481(fax), barbare@science.oregonstate.edu

Positions Available

The Barbar lab has positions open for talented and highly motivated graduate students and postdoctoral researchers for conducting NIH and NSF funded studies on the assembly, structure, and function of large protein complexes. In particular, we focus on the role of protein disorder in the regulation and assembly of the molecular motor dynein and in nuclear pore complexes. We use a combination of NMR, X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry, circular dichroism, fluorescence, surface plasmon resonance, and mass spectrometry for structural characterization. In addition, a large part of our research is focused on developing and utilizing methods for production of difficult to express and purify protein complexes, and for conducting in vivo assays. This research program will therefore offer an exciting opportunity for candidates who seek a career at the interface of structural biology and cell biology. Inquiries may be directed to Elisar Barbar (barbare@science.oregonstate.edu).

Invited Talks

Current Lab News

Feb 7th, 2013, Elisar gave a talk at the University of Pennsylvania to Erika Holzbaur's group and associates.
Feb 2nd, 2013. Elisar gave a talk at the Intrinsically Disordered Protein Subgroup of The 57th Annual Biophysical Society Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, February 2-6.
Dec 12th, 2012, Undergraduate student Zachariah Duell joins the lab, Welcome Zachariah!
Dec 8th, 2012, Afua and Yujuan's paper on Nup159 is in press in J. Biol. Chem.
Dec 1st, 2012, Elisar is on the editorial board of the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Journal.
Dec 6th, 2012, Jing passed her preliminary oral exam for the doctoral degree. Congratulations Jing!
Nov 5th, 2012, Antoine arrives in Corvallis. Welcome Antoine!
Oct 30th, 2012, Elisar's review in the Biochemical Society Transactions is in print.
Oct 23rd, 2102, undergraduate student Meghan Vandewettering joins the lab. Welcome Meghan!
Oct 15th, 2012, Antoine Gruet joins the lab. Antoine comes from the Architecture and Functions of Biological Macromolecules lab of the French National Center for Scientific Research, Marseille, France. Antoine will spend three weeks at EMBL Grenoble in the lab of Imre Berger before moving to Corvallis.
Sep 22, 2012, Elisar attended and gave a talk at The 26th Annual Gibbs Conference on Biothermodynamics, Protein Structure and Function session. Carbondale, IL.
Sep 21st, 2012, Elisar gave a talk at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.
July 30th, 2012, Elisar gave a talk at The FMP Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology, Berlin, Germany.
July 24th, 2012, Elisar gave a talk to the NMR group at The Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris.
July 23rd, 2012, Elisar gave a talk at The Institut Curie, University Paris Sud.
July 21st, 2012, Afua's JBC paper was highlighted in a press release by Health Canal.com.
July 17th, 2012, Elisar gave a talk at BZH, Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center.
June 22nd, 2012, Elisar presented Virtues of Protein Disorder in the Assembly and Regulation of Cytoplasmic Dynein, at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry Gottingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences, Germany.
June 5th, 2012, Afua and Yujuan's paper on NudE is in press in J. Biol. Chem.
May 23, 2012, Elisar attended and presented a poster at the Microtubules: Structure, Regulation and Functions. EMBO Conference, EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Wednesday 23 May - Saturday 26 May 2012.
May 16, 2012, Elisar presented Structural Biology of Nup159/Dyn2 Interaction to Ed Hurt's group, Heidelberg University.
Apr 12, 2012 -- Elisar gave a talk at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona, Spain.
Mar 27, 2012 -- Elisar gave a talk at the Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Conference of the Biochemical Society Meeting in York, UK.
Mar 23, 2012 -- Elisar travelled to Marseille to serve as "rapporteur" for the PhD defense of Johnny HABCHI at the University d'Aix-Marseille, Marseille, France.
Mar 19, 2012 -- Elisar attended and presented a poster at the Production and Characterization of Macromolecular Complexes workshop, March 19-21, 2012, Strasbourg, France.
Mar 12, 2012 -- Elisar gave a talk at the National Centre for Biomolecular Research in Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Mar 11, 2012 -- Elisar travelled to the National Centre for Biomolecular Research in Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, to conduct research in the excellent NMR facility there.
March 1st, 2012 --Afua Nyarko was promoted to a research assistant professor
Feb 25, 2012 -- Afua Nyarko's talk at the IDP subgroup of the Biophysical Society selected for a postdoctoral award.
Feb 24, 2012 -- Graduate student Jessica Morgan presented her third year departmental seminar.
Feb 6, 2012 -- Elisar presented a talk at the University of Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France.
Feb 2, 2012 -- Elisar chaired a session in the "Women in Structural Biology" Symposium held at the Institute of Structural Biology in Grenoble.
Dec 9, 2011 -- Elisar presented a talk at the Conseil Scientifique at the University of Joseph Fourier.
Nov 30, 2011 -- Afua Nyarko's "Assembly and Regulation of Dynein Light Chains" is in print in The Handbook of Dynein.
Nov 28, 2011 -- Graduate student Jessica Morgan passed her oral exam and advanced to candidacy. Congratulations Jessica.
Nov 24, 2011 -- Elisar gave an invited talk at the Centre de Biochimie Structurale, Montpellier, France.
Nov 11, 2011 -- Afua Nyarko gave her departmental promotion talk: "Intrinsic Disorder in the Assembly and Regulation of Protein Complexes: Insights from Dynein IC".
Nov 11, 2011 -- Jessica's paper "Structural dynamics and multiregion interactions in dynein-dynactin recognition" is in print in J Biol Chem.
Nov 8, 2011 -- Congratulations to former lab member Greg Benison, proud father of a new baby girl, Hazel Greathouse. Effie, Greg, and Hazel are all doing well.
Nov 7, 2011 -- Elisar presented a seminar at the Architecture et Fonction des Macromolecules Biologiques (AFMB) lab in Marseille, France
Nov 3, 2011 -- Elisar presented a talk at the Journee Recherche en Biologie in Grenoble.
Nov 1, 2011 -- Afua's paper "Conformational dynamics promote binding diversity of dynein light chain LC8" is in print in Biophysical Chemistry.
Oct 25, 2011 -- Roslyn Bell Hall was born to former lab members Andrea and Justin Hall. The three are doing great. Justin is still with Pfizer and has been invited to present his work at the Biomolecular Interactions Gordon Conference.
Oct 24, 2011 -- Elisar gave a seminar at the American University of Beirut , Lebanon. It was an amazing experience to be back after all these years and to give a talk at the University I graduated from!

Oct 18, 2011 -- Elisar gave a talk to the NMR group at the Institute of Structural Biology in Grenoble, France.
Sep 22, 2011 -- Elisar gave a talk at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, where she is spending her sabbatical as an invited professor.
Sep 12, 2011 -- Elisar gave a talk in the protein dynamics group at the Institute of Structural Biology in Grenoble, France.
Aug 27, 2011 -- Last day for Elisar in the lab before she embarks on her new adventure to spend a sabbatical in France. Elisar will of course be accompanied by her husband Mike and daughters Mary and Wendy.
Aug 23, 2011 -- Ariam Kidane and Jie Jing, two new graduate students in the lab presented their research plans to their committees in a back to back presentation.
December 2009 Newsletter (pdf)
December 16, 2009 -- After almost 5 extremely productive years, Greg Benison is ready to move on. We are very sad to see him go but wish all the best. Goodbye party photos are here.
November 24, 2009 -- Postdoc Greg Benison has a new paper in Biochemistry: "Structural, Thermodynamic, and Kinetic Effects of a Phosphomimetic Mutation in Dynein Light Chain LC8".
November 16, 2009 -- Justin Hall's paper, "Multivalency in the assembly of intrinsically disordered dynein intermediate chain" is in print in JBC.
September 14, 2009 -- 5 year NIH R01 grant awarded!
June 12, 2009 -- Congratulations to Justin Hall for being awarded a predoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association with a stellar 0.6th percentile ranking!!
May 28, 2009 -- Andrea Hall's paper "Redox Dependent Dynamics of a Dual Thioredoxin-Fold Protein: Evolution of Specialized Folds." is in print in Biochemistry.
March 23, 2009 -- Grad students Andrea and Justin are in the Gazette-Times.
March 18, 2009 -- Postdoc Greg Benison has published a Methods in Enzymology paper: "NMR analysis of dynein light chain dimerization and interactions with diverse ligands".
March 13, 2009 -- Grad student Justin Hall has won the Nellie Buck Yerex Graduate Fellowship. This fellowship is given to outstanding graduate students who are pursuing study in a scientific or technological field.
March 13, 2009 -- Grad student Andrea Hall has won the Bayley Graduate Fellowship. The fellowship is awarded on the basis of academic performance and promise for the future.
January 25, 2009 -- Undergraduate researcher Christine Schneider has won the Janet Richens Wiesner University Honors College Scholarship for Women in Science. -- Press Release (pdf)
December 2008 Newsletter (pdf)