Browsing by Author "Gasper, Brittany J."
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Item Characterization of the Mutant ProP Protein in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium(Florida Southern College, 2021-05) Hamcho, Faez Patrick; Gasper, Brittany J.Mechanisms invoked by organisms to combat osmotic stress are ubiquitous. The information gained from analyzing osmotic adaptations can be broadly applied, to creating drought-resistant crops, understanding disease pathologies, and fighting bacterial infections. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (Salmonella typhimurium, hereafter) has a transport protein called ProP that undergoes post-translational modifications that allow it to uptake osmoprotectants in the face of osmotic stress. The nature of these post-translational modifications is not well understood since the protein has not been crystallized. The aim of my study was to further characterize 6 Salmonella typhimurium strains that have a mutant ProP protein that has conformational changes that mimic post-translationally modified wild-type proteins. I did so by running a sequence alignment between Salmonella typhimurium and 22 related species to gain an understanding of the importance of the regions of ProP needed for function and I modeled the mutated amino acid sequences on a related protein to gain a better understanding of how the mutations affect the confirmation of the protein. The regions where the mutations occurred in the mutants were found to play a significant role in ProP’s function based on their conservation among 22 ProP orthologs, and the majority of the mutations could significantly affect ProP’s function in a way that likely mimics the wildtype.Item Rapid Pivot of CURE Wet Lab to Online with the Help of Instructor Communities(American Society for Microbiology, 2022) González-Orta, Enid T.; Tobiason, Deborah; Gasper, Brittany J.; Raja, Aarti; Miller, SarahThe pivot to remote and hybrid learning during the Covid-19 pandemic presented a challenge for many in academia. Most institutions were not prepared to support this rapid change, and instructors were left with the burden of converting a traditional face-to-face course into multiple modalities with very limited preparation time. When institutional support is lacking, we posit that instructor communities of practice can help provide the resources needed to meet the instructional demands. Tiny Earth, a course-based-undergraduate research experience (CURE) and international network of instructors and students, responded to the instructional challenges of the pandemic by leveraging its large community of instructors to create several smaller working groups to form focused communities of practice. Using the pedagogical principles of backward design and scientific teaching, one working group, the Tiny Earth Pivot Group (Pivot Group) generated a course map of remote learning activities and simulated learning resources to fulfill the Tiny Earth learning objectives and maintain the essential tenets of a CURE. Additional working groups were created to disseminate the resources collated and created by the Pivot Group to the greater community. In terms of Tiny Earth, the community structure provided the means for instructors to rapidly pivot their course materials to multiple modalities while upholding the student CURE experience. Harnessing the hallmarks of communities of practice—collective workpower toward common purpose, diversity of perspectives, and ongoing evolution—coupled with high-structured course design allows instructors flexibility and adaptability in meeting the changing modalities of higher education.