Elba Serrano

RESEARCH SYNOPSIS

CDP Research Summary
Organ Decision Processes: Mechanoreception Systems for the Senses of Hearing and Balance

Neuroscientists have long appreciated the exquisite membranous labyrinth of the inner ear because it is a marvel of natural engineering. Pressure reception, signal processing, and frequency discrimination are achieved by structural (biopolymers) and functional (transduction channels) features of the inner ear’s remarkable mechanosensory hair cells as well as its tridimensional organization and biomaterial composition. However, the underlying mechanisms that give rise to this complex mechanoreceptor structure with its uniquely patterned auditory and vestibular endorgans are not well understood. This organ system has intrigued our laboratory for over a dozen years as we have endeavored to understand the anatomical, genetic, and physiological events that define the emergence of the adult Xenopus inner ear from its origins as an otic vesicle in embryonic specimens. Xenopus is an attractive organism for these investigations because unlike Homo sapiens, Xenopus can regenerate and replace sensory cells in response to damage. Furthermore, the sequencing of the Xenopus tropicalis genome has accelerated genetic research and we have extended our experimental approach to include comparative studies with this species as well as Xenopus laevis.

Our laboratory has been especially interested in the development and sensorineural patterning of the eight endorgans of the inner ear from embryonic through adult life. However, the small size and inaccessibility of the sensory epithelia of the inner ear pose challenges for biochemical investigations and tissue manipulation. Consequently we have faced many technical barriers, and we gradually have developed numerous strategies to circumvent methodological impediments. We use a broad range of methods, including molecular biology, histology, informatics, biophotonics, tissue culture, and electrophysiology. Our studies of the elaborate structural organization of the inner ear have been furthered by integration of data acquired with different bioimaging techniques (SEM, TEM, brightfield, epifluorescence confocal, multiphoton, optical coherence tomography). Because of our interest in hair cell signal transduction, we have cloned inner ear genes such as those for ion channels, and have established heterologous gene expression systems to further genetic analysis. These investigations are undertaken with the ultimate hope of contributing to the design of therapies and interventions that can assuage what is presently a global epidemic in hearing loss. More information about the NMSU lab can be accessed at: http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/serrano/neurolab/neurolab.html

My faculty sabbatical is motivated by the expectation that systems approaches used by CDP Center scientists can be used to query and model cell decision processes during hair cell differentiation and regeneration. We also aim to extend the cell systems approach to organ level system studies of inner ear development, regeneration, and toxicology. At MIT we have initiated collaborative projects with Dr. Charlie Whittaker of the Cancer Center (microarrays), Dr. James Evans and Paul Matsudaira of the Whitehead Bioimaging Center (image analysis, TEM) and Dr. Peter Sorger (systems analysis).

This research is supported by NIH awards (S06GM008136, R01DC003292, P50GM068762).

CDP Education and Outreach Summary

Engaging a Diverse Community in Systems Biology Research

The outreach activities of the CDP Center offer a novel strategy for diversifying the biomedical workforce and increasing the representation of women and underrepresented minority faculty and students in systems research. For example, I have participated and assisted MIT faculty and programs in their efforts to enhance diversity at MIT (Biology Postdoctoral Association, HHMI Undergraduate Program, CONVERGE, Minority Summer Research Program). Collaborative proposals with Dr. Nika Stoop (Hands-On Bioinformatics Workshop for Postdoctoral Researchers and Advanced Graduate Students) and Drs. Carlos Rios-Velazquez and Bruce Tidor (Multidisciplinary Approaches to Biological and Computational Systems Research) have been accepted by the SACNAS conference committee for the 2006 program.

As a faculty member at a Hispanic serving minority institution in a department where faculty are expected to dedicate equal time to teaching and research, the CDP sabbatical experience has provided outstanding educational and outreach opportunities. For example, the ability to observe how faculty have developed courses in areas that overlap my research specialties (Optical Microscopy and Spectroscopy for Biology and Medicine, Singapore-MIT Alliance, Dr. Peter So, Dr. Colin Shephard; Computational and Systems Biology, Dr. Amy Keating, Dr. Michael Yaffe, Dr. Chris Burge; Tools for Biological Function, Dr. Forrest White, Dr. Barbara Imperiali) will allow me to expand undergraduate and graduate offerings at NMSU. The CDP Center has provided the opportunity for NMSU postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate scientists who are in my laboratory to participate in research seminars, training and conferences, and has facilitated access to core facilities for our research.

Serrano Laboratory Visiting Scientists

V. Bleu Knight, Visiting Master’s Graduate Student
Quantum Dots as Probes for Cell Function

Eduardo Llamas, Visiting Undergraduate Student, NIH RISE
Ototoxic Drug DatabaseDevelopment

Marti Morales, Visiting Doctoral Graduate Student, NIH RISE
Ribbon Synapses in the Xenopus Inner Ear

TuShun Powers, Visiting Postdoctoral Scientist Comparative Microarray Analysis of Organ Systems

Jennifer Sitton, Visiting Doctoral Graduate Student
Sexual Dimorphism, Estrogen, and the Inner Ear.

BIOSKETCH

Education

University of Rochester B.A.,with distinction, Major: Physics; Minor: Chemistry
Stanford University Ph.D., Biology (Neuroscience/Biophysics

Honors and Awards

Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
NMSU Donald C. Roush University Teaching Excellence Award
NMSU Hispanic Student Organization Outstanding Professor Award
AAAS International Lecturer for Women in Science and Engineering
YWCA REACH Award Honoree
NMSU Westhafer Award for Excellence in Teaching, Finalist

Research Specialties and Interests

Neuroscience: Signal Transduction, Development, Neurogenetics
Sensory Systems: Organogenesis, Acoustico-vestibular, Mechanoreception, Plant stomata
Technical Approaches: Biophysics, Bioimaging Science, Ethics, and Society; Gender and Ethnic Equity in Science and Engineering

Selected Invited Keynote Presentations

“Challenges and opportunities for women in the sciences”(2003) AAAS International Lecturer in Women in Science and Engineering Brasilian Society for the Advancement of Science
“Enhancing research competitiveness: “Building inclusive research teams for the 21st century” (2004) Keynote speaker, Society for Advancement of Native Americans and Chicanos in the Sciences
“Biophysics of mechanotransduction by sensory cells”(2006) Joint Annual Conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and the National Society of Hispanic Physicists

Professional Service

NSF ad hoc Panelist: Cell Biology; Committee of Visitors: Graduate Research Traineeship Program; Research in Minority Institutions
NIH ad hoc Panelist: NIDCD; NIGMS-MBRS
AAAS Southwest and Rocky Mountain Region Executive Committee
NIH Study Section regular member, AUD
Health Sciences Advisory Council, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
University of California San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Center/San Francisco State University U56 Partnership, Program Steering Committee

University Research and Service (selected)

Faculty Research Advisor for Science Workforce Diversification Programs
• NASA New Mexico Space Grant Consortium
• NIGMS BRIDGES to Native American students
• NIGMS MBRS (Minority Biomedical Research Support), RISE
• NIGMS MARC (Minority Access to Research Careers)
• NSF AMP (Alliance for Minority Participation)
• NSF NM AGEP (Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate)
• Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program
Chair, Department of Biology Graduate Education Committee
Member, University Graduate Faculty Council
Chair, College of Arts and Sciences Research Affairs Committee
Faculty mentor, NSF ADVANCE Program
Director, Fluorescence Imaging Facility

Teaching Expertise and Interests

Syllabi available at: http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/serrano/courses/index.html
Introductory Biology - undergraduate majors and non-majors, Core courses
Science, Ethics, and Society - undergraduate and graduate level (Bioethics)
Neuroscience - Introductory and Specialized (Ion Channels, Systems, Auditory, Development, Synapses) advanced undergraduate /graduate level
Molecular Biology of the Cell - graduate level, Core course (Graduate Program in Molecular Biology)
Bioimaging: Confocal Microscopy graduate level, with laboratory
Professional Development - graduate level

Selected Recent Publications and Abstracts

Knight V. B and Serrano, E. E. (2006) The accumulation of nontargeted quantum dots in cultured human embryonic kidney cells Proceedings of SPIE in press:

Quick, Q.A. and EE Serrano (2005) Inner ear formation during the early larval development of Xenopus laevis. Developmental Dynamics 234:791-801 (Developmental Neurobiology special issue)

Serrano, E. E. and Knight V. B. (2005) Multiphoton imaging of quantum dot bioconjugates in cultured cells following Nd:YLF laser excitation Proceedings of SPIE 5705: 225-234. Link to: http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/serrano/neurolab/Serrano_Knight_SPIE_2005.pdf

Sultemeier, DR, Knight VB, and EE Serrano. (2005) Transient transfection of Xenopus primary neuron-muscle cocultures and A6 cells for gene expression studies Neurosci Abstr 31: 229.1

Sultemeier, DR, VB Knight, SJ Manuelito, M. Hopkins, and EE Serrano. (2005) Heterologous and homologous expression systems for functional analysis of Xenopus inner ear genes ARO. Abstr. 28:28

Morales M.M., C.Trujillo-Provencio, and E.E.Serrano (2004) Acetylated tubulin expression during developmental innervation of the Xenopus laevis inner ear Neurosci Abstr 30:303.8