Faculty at liberal arts colleges often struggle to establish productive research programs, because the high teaching, service, and advising loads at these institutions limit time for research and grant-writing. Isolation and lack of both equipment and graduate students further limits research productivity. Attending the 2015 Mitochondria Biochemistry and Genetics Workshop at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), which was sponsored by Chemistry Workshops, Collaborations, and Communities of Scholars (CCWCS), provided unanticipated benefits for the biochemistry program at Maryville College (MC). As expected, the workshop provided needed curriculum updates for the biochemistry course at MC. The small workshop also provided more time for in-depth conversation with other attendees than is possible at a large conference. The discovery of overlapping research interests and complementary areas of expertise led to a collaborative project between MC and Dr. Washington’s lab at UPR: humanizing an antibody for the platelet protein, TLT-1, which facilitates platelet aggregation and interactions with neutrophils and the endothelium. With guidance and resources from Washington’s lab, a team of students at MC used overlap extension PCR to splice the variable chains from a TLT-1-binding single-chain fragment onto a human IgG<sub>1</sub> construct. Students in Washington’s lab expressed the antibody and confirmed TLT-1 binding. The successful project led to research projects for 11 Maryville students, 4 student research grants, 9 meeting presentations, and co-authorship on a recent publication in a high-impact journal, significantly enhancing the research output from our small liberal arts college. Other benefits included short- and long-term cross-cultural research experiences and major curriculum revisions for an advanced molecular biology course. A faculty workshop on mitochondrial biochemistry and genetics provided the unique setting for developing a collaboration that expanded research opportunities for students at a liberal arts college and is advancing the understanding of hemostasis.

Unexpected benefits of attending a workshop on biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology of mitochondria: Splicing complementary programs to advance hemostasis research

2019 Spring National Meeting

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