Jennifer Hood-DeGrenier

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
At Wellesley since 2002


Office: SC 376A, x3313
Lab: SC 311, x3387
E-mail: jhooddeg@wellesley.edu

Education:

B.A., Chemistry, Williams College (1995)
Ph.D., Biological Chemistry & Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard University (2000)
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California - San Francisco

Currently teaching:

BISC 110 - Introductory Cell Biology
BISC 220 - Cellular Physiology
BISC 310 - Advanced Topics in Cellular Regulation

Research Interests:

The principle feature of the eukaryotic cell is the compartmentalization of its various life processes into specialized organelles. This spatial segregation creates a powerful potential for regulation that is not available to prokaryotes. My primary research interest lies in understanding the mechanisms by which proteins are targeted to discrete subcellular locations and the functional consequences of this targeting. One focus of my lab is the process by which proteins are transported between the nucleus and the cytoplasm through specialized channels called nuclear pore complexes. I am also interested in how regulated nuclear transport can be used to control the cell division cycle. Current research in my lab seeks to understand how the localization of a particular cell cycle regulatory protein to several distinct subcellular sites impacts its ability to perform multiple functions related to cell division.

My research utilizes the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a single-celled, genetically tractable model eukaryote. In this organism, the onset of mitosis requires the association of a cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdc28) with a mitotic cyclin called Clb2. In previous studies, I localized the Clb2 protein using a fusion to the green fluorescent protein (GFP). In addition to strong nuclear and weaker, diffuse cytoplasmic localization, Clb2-GFP was also concentrated at the spindle pole bodies and at the yeast bud neck, the eventual site of cell division. I identified signals within Clb2 that are required for its transport between the nucleus and the cytoplasm and obtained evidence for an important role for cytoplasmic Clb2 in controlling cell morphology. In my current research, I hope to learn more about the functional significance of Clb2 nuclear export, to identify the mechanisms that target Clb2 to the bud neck, and to determine its precise function at that site.

Student Projects:

  • Conducting a genetic screen to uncover proteins that are required for cell viability when yeast cells are partially crippled by a Clb2 protein that cannot be exported from the nucleus
  • Using cell biological and biochemical approaches to determine how Clb2 is targeted to the bud neck of dividing cells
  • Localizing two other related yeast cyclins, Clb3 and Clb4, using GFP fusion technology

 

Selected Publications:

Hood-DeGrenier, J.K. (2008). A Western Blot-based Investigation of the Yeast Secretory Pathway Designed for an Intermediate-Level Undergraduate Cell Biology Laboratory. CBE-Life Sci. 7: 107-117. http://www.lifescied.org/cgi/content/full/7/1/107

Hood-DeGrenier, J.K., Boulton, C.N., and Lyo, V. (2007). Cytoplasmic Clb2 is required for timely inactivation of the mitotic inhibitor Swe1 and normal bud morphogenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Curr. Genet. 51: 1-18. http://www.springerlink.com/content/112601t733325465/

Hood, J.K. and Weissman, J.S. (2001). A rogue protein. Lancet Supp. 358:s53.

Hood, J.K., Hwang, W.H., and Silver, P.A. (2001). The Saccharomyces cerevisiae cyclin Clb2p is targeted to multiple subcellular locations by cis- and trans-acting determinants. J. Cell Sci. 114:589-597.

Hood, J.K., Casolari, J.M., and Silver, P.A. (2000). Nup2p Is Located on the Nuclear Side of the Nuclear Pore Complex and Coordinates Srp1p/Importin-alpha; Export. J. Cell Sci. 113:1471-1480.

Hood, J.K. and Silver, P.A. (2000). Diverse Nuclear Transport Pathways Regulate Cell Proliferation and Oncogenesis. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1471:M31-41.

Jones, A.L., Quimby, B.B., Hood, J.K., Ferrigno, P., Keshava, P.H., Silver, P.A., and Corbett, A.H. (2000). SAC3 may link nuclear protein export to cell cycle progression. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 97:3224-3229.

Hood, J.K. and Silver, P.A. (1999). In or Out? Regulating Nuclear Transport. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 11:241-247.

Hood, J.K. and Silver, P.A. (1998). Cse1p Is Required for Export of Srp1p/Importin-alpha from the Nucleus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J. Biol. Chem. 273:35142-35146.


Last updated: February 27, 2009