Ph.D. University of Alberta, Edmonton
Lecturer/Instructor Introductory Zoology
My Ph.D. dissertation project was a genetic study of patterns of meiotic recombination. In yeast, where all products of a particular meiosis can be recovered together, one can look inside a recombination event to determine its length, the number of chromatids involved, symmetry, and pattern of DNA mismatch repair.
Postdoctoral training at Oxford University was with Dr. Brian Cox, a yeast geneticist interested in DNA repair pathways. By monitoring changes in the size of DNA molecules synthesized in irradiated cells, one can follow the induction and repair of radiation damage. The differential behavior of repair-deficient mutants allows a glimpse into the sequence of events that occurs when radiation causes alterations in DNA.
At Roswell Park Memorial Institute, we studied a series of plasmids capable of autonomous replication in yeast. It was hypothesized that replication-competence of these plasmids was not dependent on a particular DNA sequence, but on the secondary structure imposed by inverted repeat sequences. Electron microscopy confirmed the presence of stem and loop structures indicative of inverted-repeats.
In addition, I participated in a project cloning androgen-inducible genes in the mouse. Our interest was in understanding the genetic organization and coordinate expression of a family of related serine proteases whose production is modulated by hormone levels. To that end, we generated and isolated a c-DNA clone coding for the gamma subunit of Nerve Growth Factor, and used that in mapping and sequencing studies.
The Edison Animal Biotechnology Center in Athens, Ohio was engaged in work on the Bovine Growth Hormone, a complex protein with several physiological functions. Like most mammalian genes, it is divided into coding segments (exons) interrupted by intervening sequences. The construction of a series of plasmids that retain one or more exons was undertaken and is of interest for both practical and theoretical reasons. One can envision use for a synthetic hormone retaining some functions of the hormone, but not others. Theoretically, the separation of exons into functional units is interesting in light of speculation on the evolutionary origin of complex genes from the assembly of simpler units.
As a research associate in Dr. Ellengene Peterson's laboratory, my work took a totally new direction. This project focused on the morphology and spatial organization of hair cells in the vestibular system. In an effort to understand how information about head movement is detected and encoded by the vestibular sensory epithelium, we described and quantified structural features of hair cells likely to affect their mechanical performance, and determined the distribution of these properties over the surface of the epithelium. Techniques included tissue labeling and preparation, light microscopy (including Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy), and scanning electron microscopy.
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McAndrew, S.J., N.-Y. Chen, P. Wiehl, L. DiCaprio, J. Yun, T.E. Wagner, S. Okada, and J.J. Kopchick 1991 Expression of truncated forms of the bovine growth hormone gene in cultured mouse cells. J. Biol. Chem. 266:20965-20969.
Howles, P.N., D.P. Dickinson, L. DiCaprio, M. Woodworth-Gutai, and K.W. Gross 1984 Use of a cDNA recombinant for the gamma-subunit of mouse nerve growth factor to localize members of this multi-gene family near the TAM-1 locus on chromosome 7. Nucleic Acids Research 12(6):2791-2805.
DiCaprio, Laura and B.S. Cox 1981 DNA synthesis in UV-irradiated yeast. Mutation Research 82:69-85.
DiCaprio, Laura and P.J. Hastings 1976 Gene conversion and intragenic recombination at the SUP6 locus and the surrounding region in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 84:697-721.
DiCaprio, Laura and P.J. Hastings 1976 Postmeiotic segregation in strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae unable to excise pyrimidine dimers. Mutation Research 37:137-140.
Abstracts
DiCaprio, L.L., R.K. Duncan, J.W. Grant and E.H. Peterson 1993 Structure and mechanics of utricular hair cells in a turtle, Pseudemys (Trachemys) scripta. Abstracts for Association for Research in Otolaryngology
DiCaprio,L.L. and E.H. Peterson 1992 Differences in hair bundle size of Type I and Type II ampullary receptors in a turtle, Pseudemys scripta. Abstracts for Association for Research in Otolaryngology, p.24.
DiCaprio,L.L., A.M. Brichta and E.H. Peterson 1990 Structural and spatial diversity of Type I and Type II hair cells from the vestibular epithelium of a turtle, Pseudemys scripta. Soc. Neurosci. Abs. 16:735.
Introductory Biology Labs (Bios 170, 171, 173)
Biology Lecture (Bios 170, 171)
BIOS 170 SERIES - Introduction to Zoology
Since accepting the instructor position at Ohio University in September 1993, I have been teaching introductory biology students full time. The course is designed science majors and students in pre professional programs. Responsibilities include lecture, development of laboratory exercises, and laboratory teaching
BIOS 170 - Introduction to Zoology - lecture and laboratory
Introduction to the chemistry of life, cell structure and function, and principles of inheritance Laboratory exercises for the first segment are written in-house but include many of the classic student exercises, for example: enzyme activity and determination of Vmax , osmosis, observation of prepared slides for the study of cell division, genetic mapping of spore color mutants in the fungus Sordaria
BIOS 171 - Animal Organ Systems - lecture and laboratory
Continuation of the introductory series.
Introduction to multicellular life, organ systems, physiology, and animal development. Lecture concentrates on physiology, including topics of nerve and muscle, gas exchange, internal transport, osmoregulation and excretion, endocrinology, reproduction, immunology and thermoregulation. Emphasis in the laboratory is on anatomy and histology.
BIOS 173 - Introduction to the Animal Kingdom - laboratory
Continuation of the introductory series
Survey of the major phyla of the animal kingdom: their evolutionary relationships, structural and functional characteristics.
BIOS 109 - Readings in Biology - small group seminar reading/writing/oral presentations for first year biology students. Developed and taught this course for 3 years.
BIOS 325 - genetics. Occasional substitute, covering classical genetics and structure/replication of DNA.
171 Irvine Hall
Athens, Ohio 45701-2979
(740)593-2103
(740)593-0300 FAX
dicaprio@ohiou.edu
Last Updated October 6, 2000