Graduate Student
Email: seanpj(at)hawaii.edu

On Campus:
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Department of Oceanography
Marine Science Building
1000 Pope Rd
Honolulu, HI 96822

Off Campus:
Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology
P.O. Box 1346
Kaneohe, HI 96744
808-236-7465

Faculty Advisor:
Dr Michael Rappé

Education: 
2007            B.S., Bacteriology and Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Current Research Activities: 
Right now, I am working on an NSF-funded microbial observatories grant awarded to J. Cowen, M. Rappé, and B. Glazer to study the microbial biosphere of sub-seafloor basement fluids.  In short, we are attempting to characterize this biosphere that may very well occur throughout the world’s ocean basins.

Research Experience: 
Sept 2007 – March 2008         Lucigen Corporation
-Performed high-throughput mutagenesis of the blue fluorescent protein, BfgV, from Vibrio vulnificus in search of intensity and wavelength changes
-Conducted protein purification schemes to test quality of current affinity tags
-Assisted in creating novel expression vectors utilizing T7 promoter for tight transcription regulation conferring plasmid stability for cloning
-Tested the quality of novel thermostable DNA polymerases for use in PCR

Summer 2006 – Spring 2007     Independent Study at University of Wisconsin-Madison (Advisor: Dr Jon Roll)
-Investigated the motility mechanism of Paenibacillus larvae, the agent of American foulbrood Syndrome in honeybees and attempted to determine relationship to virulence

Fall 2004 – Spring 2005   Independent Study at University of Wisconsin-Madison (PI: Dr Hannah Carey)
-Analyzed protein expression in the DNA damage/apoptotic pathway of colon tissue during the various stages of the hibernation cycle of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel Spermophilus tridecemlineatus
-Used microscopy to visually correlate DNA damage/apoptosis to the various stages of the hibernation cycle

Teaching Activities:
Fall 2008      Teaching Assistant, OCN201L, ‘Science of the Sea Laboratory’, University of Hawaii-Manoa

Fall 2006      Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, BACT304, ‘Prokaryotic Microbiology Laboratory’, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Personal Interests:
SCUBA, Travel, Surfing, Hiking, Videogames, Computers, Photography, Laughing