 Scott B. Ferguson
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
107A Jewett Hall
SUNY Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14063
E-mail: ferguson@fredonia.edu
Phone: (716)-673-4883
Fax: (716) 673-3493
Education
Postdoctoral Fellow – Molecular Biology
Princeton University / HHMI, Princeton, NJ.
Postdoc Advisor: Trudi Schüpbach
Ph.D. – (Cell and Molecular Biology / Genetics and Gene Regulation)
The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine , Philadelphia, PA.
Doctoral Thesis: “Negative Regulation of the Heat Shock Transcription Factor by PKA in S.cerevisiae.”
Doctoral Advisor: Hillary Nelson
B.S. – (Molecular Biology)
Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA
Honors Thesis: “Roles of Melatonin in Prokaryotes”
Research Advisor: Monika Becker
Courses Taught at Fredonia
Genetics – BIOL 237
Genetics Laboratory – BIOL 238
Genes, Health, & Society – BIOL 375
Molecular Genetics Lab – BIOL 437
Molecular Biology of Disease – BIOL 480 / 580
RNA Biology - BIOL 450 / 550
Research Interests – Developmental Genetics in Drosophila melanogaster
Polarity is ubiquitous in biology from the level of individual cells to entire organisms. This fundamental property is critical for the ability of cells and tissues to perform their biological functions and has profound implications for understanding the mechanisms that drive the formation of cancer, neuronal development, and other aspects of human health. Polarity is often established through careful regulation of the localization and translation of mRNA transcripts that encode polarizing proteins. The Drosophila gurken (grk) gene is the source of one such mRNA that is required for establishing both the anterior/posterior and dorsal/ventral axes of the egg, a body plan that is maintained through embryogenesis. The levels of the Gurken (Grk) protein must be carefully controlled in order to avoid patterning defects. Excess Grk leads to ectopic dorsal fates whereas a reduction in Grk protein levels results in an expansion of ventral fates. This precise regulation and sensitive phenotypic readout make the grk mRNA an exceptional model system in which to study mechanisms of RNA localization and translational control. Furthermore, the Drosophila oocyte is a powerful experimental system that is amenable to genetic manipulation, microscopic examination, and biochemical analysis. It has recently been shown that the control of Grk signaling occurs in part through modulation of translation initiation of the grk mRNA. The regulation of grk translation is complex and many unexpected signaling pathways influence this process. These pathways include a DNA repair checkpoint, hnRNP assembly, and insulin / TOR signaling. The members of these signaling cascades are well conserved in humans and impact susceptibility to cancer as well as diabetes and immune function. The goal of the work in my lab is to address the mechanisms by which these pathways regulate the translation of grk in response to spatial, temporal, and metabolic cues.
Publications
Blundon, MA, *Hindes, DE, Ferguson, SB (in preparation) IRES Activity in gurken Translation.
Ferguson, SB, *Blundon, MA, Klovstad, MS, and Schüpbach, T. (2012). Modulation of Gurken Translation by Insulin and TOR Signaling in Drosophila. J Cell Sci,125, 1407–1419. Pubmed
Clouse, KN, Ferguson, SB, and Schupbach, T. (2008). Squid,Cup, and PABP55B function together to regulate gurken translation inDrosophila. Dev Biol, 313, 713–24. Pubmed
Ferguson, SB, *Anderson, ES, *Harshaw, RB, Thate, T, Craig, NL, and Nelson, HC (2005). Protein kinase A regulates constitutive expression of small heat-shock genes in an Msn2/4p-independent andHsf1p-dependent manner in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics, 169,1203–14. Pubmed
Abstracts
Blundon, MA, *Doyle, CL, *Hindes, DE, and Ferguson, SB. Reduced TOR Activity Promotes Cap-Independent Translation of Gurken During Drosophila Oogenesis (2012) GSA Drosophila Research Conference 53rd Annual Meeting.
Ferguson, SB, *Blundon, MA, *Cronin, SA, and *Schüpbach, T. “Regulation of gurken expression by insulin signaling” (2010) GSA Drosophila Research Conference 51st Annual Meeting.
Ferguson, SB and Schüpbach, T. “Insights into Checkpoint Regulation of Dorsal / Ventral Patterning in Drosophila Oogenesis” (2008) Society for Developmental Biology 67th Annual Meeting.
Ferguson, SB and Nelson, HC “Negative Regulation of the Yeast Hsf1 Transcription Factor By Protein Kinase A”. (Speaker) May 2004 Philadelphia Area Yeast Meeting.
Ferguson, SB and Nelson, HC (2004) “PKA Represses Hsf1p Activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae”. Cold Spring Harbor Molecular Chaperones and the Heat Shock Response Meeting.
Ferguson, SB and Nelson, HC (2003) “A Novel Selection for Regulators of Hsf1p Activity”. Cold Spring Harbor Lab Yeast Cell Biology Meeting.
Ferguson, SB, Powers, EE and Nelson, HC (2000) “A Screen for Extragenic Regulators of Hsf1p Activity”. GSA Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting.
*Undergraduate research students
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