The ORD sponsors seminars covering a broad variety of disciplines. Seminar lecturers are recruited from selected institutions all over the country to present research information in their field of expertise that is relevant to the ASU research faculty members.






Have you noticed that children are more sensitive to pests and pesticides than before? According to a report from the National Research Council, children’s bodies, behaviors, and size all make them both different and more vulnerable than adults to pests and the pesticides that are commonly used in pest control. From conception to adolescence, they are in a dynamic, often sensitive state of growth as their immature tissues, organs and systems develop. Children spend 35h or more per week (about 180 days/year) in school. Younger children play on floors and lawns/grounds where pesticides are routinely applied and put unwashed hands in their mouths after touching contaminated surfaces or objects. These actions increase their likelihood of being inadvertently exposed to pesticide residues. For this reason, pesticides should not be sprayed routinely in schools. Although we know this, studies show that more than 50% of the school districts in the country use pesticides routinely whether pests are present or not. This should not be the case. In this presentation you will find how school districts across the country can reduce pesticide use and still achieve safer, effective, and economical pest control results using the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach.





Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium must successfully transition the broad fluctuations in oxygen concentrations encountered in the host. In Escherichia coli, FNR is one of the main regulatory proteins involved in O2 sensing. To assess the role of FNR in serovar Typhimurium, we constructed an isogenic fnr mutant in the virulent wild-type strain (ATCC 14028s) and compared their transcriptional profiles and pathogenicities in mice. Genes/operons involved in aerobic metabolism, NO• detoxification, flagellar biosynthesis, motility, chemotaxis, and anaerobic carbon utilization are regulated by FNR in a fashion similar to that in E. coli. However, genes/operons existing in E. coli but regulated by FNR only in serovar Typhimurium include those coding for ethanolamine utilization, a universal stress protein, a ferritin-like protein, and a phosphotransacetylase. Interestingly, Salmonella-specific genes/operons regulated by FNR include numerous virulence genes within Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1), newly identified flagellar genes (mcpAC, cheV), and the virulence operon (srfABC).






Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in all women; however, incidence rates as well as mortality rates are significantly different between women of specific ethnic groups. Not only are relatively younger African American women ~20% more likely to develop breast cancer, but these women are 50% more likely to die from the disease. Historically, differences in health outcomes (i.e. lower survival rates) tend to correlate with lower socioeconomic status and inequities in health care access or treatment options within the communities of these affected populations. Several findings suggest there are biological differences in these ethnic groups that are extremely important factors cultivating the disparities we see in age of incidence and mortality rates. Specifically, these disparities of negative outcomes can also be correlated with ‘high-grade’ or aggressive tumor types at initial presentation. Given all of its forms and features, breast cancer can be described as a “complex disease” with a wide range of biological diversity that ultimately results in significantly unique behaviors and outcomes between and even within specific patient groups. Current methods of cancer/treatment research are useful, but organisms are not self contained entities, in the sense that the surrounding environment and the ‘perception’ of that environment feed into physiological responses. More research addressing social factors that influence physiological c hanges, resulting in dynamic susceptibility would help neutralize breast cancer disparities, and would inherently build upon our depth of knowledge concerning the myriad of mechanisms (molecular and environmental) that influence cancer progression. This study will utilize genomics techniques to directly link the dynamics of epigenetic mechanisms with social stress factors that may affect physiology and clinical outcomes.

My research program is designed to give the project an all inclusive perspective of the multifaceted factors, cultural and biological, that contribute to the onset of breast cancer and how these factors also may impede successful treatment of the disease. Specifically, I utilize functional genomics approaches to investigate genetic associations with both tumor biology and ancestral origin that may influence risk of cancer incidence or progression. Subsequently, we investigate behavioral and cultural factors that may also correlate with the tumor biology and clinical outcomes. The medical research community has been challenged to cultivate individualized medicine schemes that will allow patients to have a therapeutic application tailored specifically to their biological/genetic makeup. Translational studies akin to mine will enhance the applications of scientific advancements, inherently making them more accessible to diverse populations as they directly participate in the research. Ultimately these studies will enable clinicians to make in depth prognoses, making treatments more dynamic and ‘individualized’ for the ‘diversified’ population.






Olfaction is one of the oldest senses and provides information from distal and proximal sources in real time. Olfactory information or chemical signals are used by both invertebrate and vertebrate species to detect and evaluate potential prey, kinship, reproductive biology, and disease states.


Investigations of Moose (Alces alces gigas)

Olfactory communication and associated scent-marking activities play a major role in the behavioral ecology of many mammals. During the mating season (rut), scent marking associated with urine of male cervids is an important chemical signal to relay information to conspecifics. Specifically, adult male moose (Alces alces) dig rutting pits in which they urinate and females respond strongly to urine deposited in pits.


Evidence will be presented that the urine from adult male moose during the rut provides chemical signals that may be important in the reproductive biology of female moose.


Investigations of Humans (Homo sapiens)

Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) is a metabolic disorder characterized by the inability of individuals to oxidize and convert trimethylamine (TMA) to trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in the liver. This disorder results from a spectrum of changes in the gene that codes for the flavin-containing monooxygenase enzyme 3 (FMO3). Malodorous TMA is formed in the gut by bacterial metabolism. In normal individuals, TMA is converted/oxidized to TMAO at >95% efficiency. TMAO is non-odorous and readily excreted in the urine. Individuals suffering from TMAU have a reduced capacity to oxidize TMA to TMAO. The inability to efficiently oxidize TMA results in the sporadic production of a body odor that is perceived as foul, unpleasant, and in its most extreme cases fish-like. This odor is caused by excess, unoxidized TMA present in the circulatory system that is excreted in urine, sweat, breath, and saliva.


TMAU-positive individuals produce an odor caused by excess free TMA. The levels of this compound in urine or saliva may be used as a chemical signal to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of TMAU.









Serratia marcescens is an environmental bacterium known primarily for its bright red pigmentation. A variety of functions for the pigment has been proposed, including roles as an antibiotic and as an anti-tumor agent with killing activity against cancer cells. However, none of these functions addresses a role for the pigment in the biology of the producing cell. Such a role is likely, given that the pigment remains cell-associated and is not secreted into the cellular growth medium. Research in my lab addresses the biological function of prodigiosin pigment for the producing cell.


Prodigiosin is known to accumulate in bacteria growing at high cell density. We have developed a kinetic (rate) model of prodigiosin expression during growth at low density which relates pigment per cell levels to the growth rate. Subsequent experiments have shown that pigment per cell levels correlate with cellular concentrations of ATP, suggesting a role for the pigment in ATP synthesis. This seminar will address these concepts as well as provide the necessary background information appropriate for a general biology audience.