Maureen Brandon, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
branmaur@isu.edu
208-282-3207
Business Administration Building, Room 248
Teaching areas: Honors Biololgy I, Developmental Biology
Research areas: gene expression during development; radiation-induced cell signaling mechanisms in Dictyostelium discoideum
Education
B.S. Microbiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
M.S. Biochemistry, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
PhD. Biochemistry, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Postdoctoral Fellow, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Brandon joined the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences in 1998. She has been researching the genes that allow cell communication during development since her postdoctoral days at Johns Hopkins University. Recently, she began collaborative projects with Dr. Linda DeVeaux to understand cell communication mechanisms that are induced by radiation exposure. Her research organism is Dictyostelium discoideum, a eukaryotic soil microorganism with a unique multicellular stage to its life cycle. The development of the Dictyostelium multicellular stage is dependent on cell communication mechanisms that are remarkably similar to hormone signaling in animals. Currently, the students in Dr. Brandon’s research group are using a technique called Serial Analysis of Gene Expression to identify all of the genes that are expressed in Dictyostelium during different developmental and environmental conditions. Through this technique, they expect to be able to predict which genes are necessary for cell communication during different developmental stages or radiation exposures, and then use this information to begin to understand cell communication in animal cells under similar conditions. Dr. Brandon and the graduate students in her research group welcome undergraduate students who are interested in participating in a research project to join their group.
In addition to her scientific interests, Dr. Brandon is the co-principle investigator for a National Science Foundation ADVANCE award that provides programming and small grants to women faculty in the science, social science, mathematics, technology and engineering disciplines designed to enhance their academic career advancement.
If you can’t find Dr. Brandon in her lab, you can look for her camping in the National Parks, or hiking, biking, or cross-country skiing the trails around Pocatello.
Teaching
BIOL 101, Biology I, BIOL 101H, Honors Biology I, BIOL 324 and 324L, Developmental Biology I and laboratory
Publications
Refereed Articles:
Brandon, M.A., Voglmaier, S. and Siddiqi, A.A. (1997). Molecular characterization of a Dictyostelium G-protein required for development. Gene 200, 99-105.
Brandon, M.A. and Podgorski, G.J. (1997). Ga3 regulates expression of the cAMP signaling system in Dictyostelium. Mol. Biol. Cell. 8, 1677-1685.
Brandon, M.A., Mahadeo, D.C., and Podgorski, G.J. (2002) Ga3 and PKA represent cross-talking pathways for gene expression in Dictyostelium. Development, Growth and Differentiation 44: 457 - 465.
Bowers, N., Brandon, M., and Hill, C.D. (2005) The use of a knowledge survey as an indicator of student learning in an introductory biology course. Cell Biology Education 4: 311 - 322.
Gamblin, K.E., Campbell, M., Melvin, R., Bingham, J., Comin, J., Wolff, S., Asper, N., Liedtke, E., and Brandon, M. Functional evidence for multiple PKA catalytic subunit genes in Dictyostelium. (in preparation).
Whitney, T.J., Mott, M., and Brandon, M. Genetic definition of a Dictyostelium amoeba determined by Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) (in preparation).
Professional Development Articles:
Brandon, M. and Amero, S. (1998) Identifying scientific careers. The ASCB Newsletter 21(10): 24 – 26.
Shafer, W.S. and Brandon, M. (2000) AXXS’99, Achieving excellence in science. The ASCB Newsletter 23(1): 38 – 40.
Brandon, M. and Allen, V. (2000) Communicating effectively in departmental meetings. The ASCB Newsletter 23(4): 19 – 20.
Gamblin, K.E., Smith, A., and Brandon, M. (2000) Undergraduate research: Why bother? The ASCB Newsletter 23(12): 18 – 19.
Kane, C. and Brandon, M. (2001) Unwritten rules for advancing your career. The ASCB Newsletter 24(2): 13 – 14.
Brandon, M. and Hill, C.D. (2001) Professional rejection: Action is the best response. The ASCB Newsletter 24(12): 6 – 7.