Rachel C. Skvirsky

Department of Biology University of Massachusetts-Boston 100 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA 02125 Phone: (617) 287-6617 Fax: (617) 287-6650 E-mail: rachel.skvirsky@umb.edu

Education

Oberlin College, A.B., 1974
Harvard University, Ph.D., 1982

Current Position

Associate Professor
University of Massachusetts Boston

Teaching Interests

I am interested in teaching all aspects of genetics and molecular biology. At the undergraduate level, I teach Genetics, a course that includes classical, bacterial, and molecular genetics. I also teach a course for non-science majors entitled Biology of Human Disease. In the past, I have taught molecular biology, plant physiology, and general biology. I am interested in innovation and reform of undergraduate science education for both science majors and non majors. At the graduate level, I teach a course in Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and direct graduate research.

Research Interests

Microbiology and molecular genetics. My laboratory is investigating processes of extracellular secretion, using molecular biology and molecular genetics methodologies. Specifically, we are utilizing a bacterial model system to study a family of highly conserved genes involved in secretion in diverse organisms. Members of this family include the human gene associated with cystic fibrosis, the gene that causes human tumor cells to become resistant to chemotherapy drugs, and genes involved in exporting an array of molecules from cells of diverse species. Our current research focuses on one member of this family, an E. coli gene that mediates export of a protein antibiotic. We are examining this bacterial export pathway as a means to analyze protein translocation across membranes, and to understand functions that are shared by other transport systems in the same family.

Current Grant Support

1998-01 NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award, "Investigation of an ABC Protein Export System in E. coli." R. Skvirsky, P.I.

1998-01 NSF Grant, "Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Ecology and Conservation Biology." R. Skvirsky, P.I.

Representative Publications

Skvirsky, R.C., M.L. Greenberg, P.L. Myers, H. Greer. 1986. A new negative control gene for amino acid biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Current Genetics 10: 495-501.

Greenberg, M.L., P.L. Myers, R.C. Skvirsky, H. Greer. 1986. New positive and negative regulators for general control of amino acid biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Molecular and Cellular Biology 6: 1820-1829.

Myers, P.L., R.C. Skvirsky, M.L. Greenberg. H. Greer. 1986. Negative regulatory gene for general control of amino acid biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Molecular and Cellular Biology 6: 3150-3155.

Skvirsky, R.C., L. Gilson, R. Kolter. 1991. Signal sequence-independent protein secretion in Gram-negative bacteria: Colicin V and Microcin B17. In Methods in Cell Biology, Vol. 34, Vectorial transport of proteins into and across membranes. A.M. Tartakoff, ed., pp. 205-221.

Fath, M.J., R.C. Skvirsky, R. Kolter. 1991. Functional complementation between bacterial MDR-like export systems: Colicin V, Alpha- hemolysin, and Erwinia protease. Journal of Bacteriology. 173: 7549-7556.

Fath, M.J., R.C. Skvirsky, L. Gilson, H.K. Mahanty, R. Kolter. 1992. The secretion of Colicin V. In Bacteriocins, Microcins, and Lantibiotics. R. James, C. Lazdunski, F. Pattus, eds. NATO Advanced Science Institute Series H - Cell Biology. Springer-Verlag. Heidelberg. Vol. 65: pp. 331-348.

Skvirsky, R.C., S. Reginald, X. Shen. 1995. Topology analysis of the colicin V export protein CvaA in Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology. 177: 6153-6159.

Skvirsky, R.C., X. Shen, S. Reginald. 1996. Is the CvaA* protein, encoded within the colicin V export gene cvaA, required for colicin V transport? Federation for European Mirobiological Societies (FEMS) Microbiology Letters. 138: 201-206.

Skvirsky, R.C. 1998. “Devising a model for the growth of bacteria..” Exploration 8.1 in Explorations in College Algebra, L. Kime and J. Clark. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 301-304.