Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle):
Meyskens, Frank L.
5P30CA062203-17
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Provide the following information for the Senior/key personnel and other significant contributors.
Follow this format for each person. DO NOT EXCEED FOUR PAGES.
NAME
POSITION TITLE
Sandmeyer, Suzanne B.
Professor of Biological Chemistry
eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login)
SUZANNESANDMEYER
EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, include postdoctoral training and
residency training if applicable.)
DEGREE
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION
MM/YY
FIELD OF STUDY
(if applicable)
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Washington University, St. Louis, MO
BA
PhD
Postdoc
05/73
05/80
12/83
Biology
Biochemistry
Genetics
A. Personal statement
My laboratory discovered the Ty3 element in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and has studied it for many years.
It is one of the better characterized of the major class of long terminal repeat retrotransposons known as
gypsy-Ty3 type elements which resemble retroviruses in structure and function. Although we have focused on
a single retrotransposons, this has led us into many areas of investigation using the S. cerevisiae model. We
discovered the interaction between retrotransposons and transcription factors that can target integration,
identified numerous host factors that support retrotransposition, described capsid domain functions, identified
nucleoporins involved in Ty3 nuclear entry, and most recently have identified associations between Ty3
structural proteins and RNA processing body proteins that implicate them in the transition from translation to
assembly. In addition to our general use of genomics as a yeast laboratory, we have specifically used Illumina
sequencing to characterize Ty3 insertions into Pol III-transcribed genes in the yeast genome. My laboratory
has recently initiated a metabolomics project using yeast as a model system and funded through a NSF
Engineering Center. In that project we are using Affymetrix microarrays and Illumina next generation
sequencing (DNA- and RNA-seq) to characterize RNA expression profiles of yeast mutants and of oleaginous
yeast. Because of the similarities of yeast metabolism to the fermentation (Warburg) pathways active in tumor
cells, there is considerable, albeit informal to date, transfer of interests between this systems project and
research in the Cancer Center. Bioinformatics has been performed in my laboratory by a postdoctoral fellow
who trained in Bioinformatics with Eric Mjolsness, Ph.D., in the Dept. of Computer Science and in collaboration
with the group of Pierre Baldi, Ph.D. also in the Dept. of Computer Science here at UCI.
Among activities outside the university, I served for two years as the Chair of the Senior Editors of Genetics
under Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Jones and worked closely with a group of Senior Editors in order to revitalize
the journal and the editorial process and prepare for online publishing. At UCI I was recruited from the
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics to the Department of Biological Chemistry where I served
as Chair from 1997 to 2005. During that time the department more than doubled and recruited a number of
outstanding scientists. I have served as the founding Director of the UCI Genomics and High Throughput
Facility (GHTF, previously DNA and Protein Microarray Facility) since 1999. In this capacity I work closely with
the Facility Manager, Robert Chadwick, Ph.D., to promote access to new technologies to campus researchers
through a variety of venues. We provide Affymetrix genechip analysis of current types, Illumina HiSeq 2000
next generation sequencing, and will shortly offer Applied Biosystems Ion Torrent third generation sequencing.
I am currently serving as Associate Director of the UCI Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics (Director, P.
Baldi) and in this capacity work with a group of over twenty very talented graduate students that are
participating in interdisciplinary training in the computational and natural sciences supported by a grant from
the National Library of Medicine. We work through the Institute to develop interdisciplinary programs, seminars
and workshops on the campus. My vision for the GHTF is that it serves as a platform for introducing new
technologies to the academic research community of students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty, and in so
doing makes new technology affordable and enables early use of emerging technologies. This has had a
positive impact on Cancer Center researchers over the past ten years.
PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 06/09)
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Biographical Sketch Format Page
Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle):
Meyskens, Frank L.
5P30CA062203-17
B. Positions and Honors
Positions and Employment
1980-1982
Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. Genetics, Washington University School of
Medicine, St. Louis, MO, sponsor - Maynard Olson
1982-1983
Research Associate, Department of Genetics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
1984-1990
Assistant Professor, Dept. Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine
1990-1994
Associate Professor, Dept. Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine
1994Professor, Dept. Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Irvine
1997Professor, Dept. Biological Chemistry, University of California, Irvine
1997-2005
Chair, University of California, Irvine, Dept. of Biological Chemistry;
1999Director, UCI Genomics High-Throughput Facility (1999-2009 UCI DNA and Protein MicroArray
Facility)
2008Associate Director, UCI Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics
2009Member, California HIV Research Program Board
Professional Memberships
2002American Association for the Advancement of Science
2002American Society of Microbiology
2002Genetics Society of America
2002American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
National Service (selected)
Study section and review panels
1993-1997
Member, Genetics Study Section, National Institutes of Health
1999
Ad hoc Member, NCI Study section on Molecular Classification of Tumors
1998-2003
Member, National Cancer Institute, Board of Scientific Counselors
2000, 2005
Reviewer, HHMI International Grants to Baltics, Central and Eastern European and Former
Soviet Union
2005
Reviewer, National Technology Centers for Networks and Pathways, Roadmap Initiative
2006
Ad hoc member, NSF Genetics Study Section
2007
Ad hoc member, NIH MGA Study Section
2007
Ad Hoc Reviewer, Israeli Science Foundation
2007
Ad hoc member, NSF Genetics Study Section
2008
Member, review panel, University of Illinois, Chicago, Biology and Biochemistry Programs
2011
Ad Hoc Reviewer NIH Innovation Awards
Editorial boards and reviewer
1994-2001
Member, Editorial Board: Molecular and Cellular Biology
1999-2007
Associate Editor, Genetics
2006-2008
Genetics, Chair, Senior Editors
2009Member, Editorial Board, Mobile DNA
Reviewer: Current Biology; Eukaryotic Cell; Genetics; Genes and Development; Genome
Research; Journal of Biological Chemistry; Journal of Virology; Molecular and Cellular Biology;
Molecular Cell; Nucleic Acids Research; PLoS Genetics; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA;Traffic
Meeting organizer
1995
Co-organizer, West Coast Retrovirus Meeting
1996
Co-organizer, Keystone Symposium on Transposition and Site-Specific Recombination
2003
Co-organizer, Cold Spring Harbor Retrovirus Meeting
2010
Organizer UCI Mobile DNA Mini-symposium
2011
Organizer UCI HTS to P4 Medicine Mini-Symposium
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Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle):
Honors
1992
2003
2007
Meyskens, Frank L.
5P30CA062203-17
UCI School of Medicine Research Associates' Award, $10,000
American Academy of Microbiology (elected Fellow)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (elected Fellow)
C. Publications
Most relevant recent publications
1. Irwin, B., Aye, M., Baldi, P., Beliakova-Bethell, N., Cheng, H., Dou, Y., et al. (2005). Retroviruses and yeast
retrotransposons use overlapping sets of host genes. Genome Res., 15(5):641-54. PMCID: PMC1088292.
2. Kuznetsov, Y.G., Zhang, M., Menees, T.M., McPherson, A., Sandmeyer, S. (2005). Investigation by atomic
force microscopy of the structure of Ty3 retrotransposon particles. J Virol., 79(13):8032-45. PMCID:
PMC1143757.
3. Beliakova-Bethell, N., Beckham, C., Giddings, T.H. Jr., Winey, M., Parker, R., Sandmeyer, S. (2006).
Virus-like particles of the Ty3 retrotransposon assemble in association with P-body components. RNA,
12(1):94-101. PMCID: PMC1370889.
4. Larsen, L.S., Beliakova-Bethell, N., Bilanchone, V., Zhang, M., Lamsa, A., Dasilva, R., et al. (2008). Ty3
nucleocapsid controls localization of particle assembly. J Virol., 82(5):2501-14. PMCID: PMC2258933.
5. Sandmeyer, S.B. and Clemens, K.A.C. (2010). Function of nucleocapsid in yeast Ty3 retrotransposition,
Special Issue on RNA Chaperones and Helicases, RNA Biology, 7:642-654.
*Contributed equally.
Additional recent publications relevant to the field (in chronological order)
1. Hansen, L.J., Chalker, D.L., Sandmeyer, S.B. (1988). Ty3, a yeast retrotransposon associated with tRNA
genes, has homology to animal retroviruses. Mol Cell Biol., 8(12):5245-56. PMCID: PMC365627.
2. Hansen, L.J., Chalker, D.L., Orlinsky, K.J., Sandmeyer, S.B. (1992). Ty3 GAG3 and POL3 genes encode
the components of intracellular particles. J Virol., 66(3):1414-24. PMCID: PMC240865.
3. Chalker, D.L., Sandmeyer, S.B. (1992). Ty3 integrates within the region of RNA polymerase III transcription
initiation. Genes Dev., 6(1):117-28.
4. Kinsey, P.T., Sandmeyer, S.B. (1995). Ty3 transposes in mating populations of yeast: a novel transposition
assay for Ty3. Genetics., 139(1):81-94. PMCID: PMC1206350.
5. Kirchner, J., Connolly, C.M., Sandmeyer, S.B. (1995). Requirement of RNA polymerase III transcription
factors for in vitro position-specific integration of a retroviruslike element. Science.267(5203):1488-91.
6. Menees, T.M., Sandmeyer, S.B. (1996). Cellular stress inhibits transposition of the yeast retrovirus-like
element Ty3 by a ubiquitin-dependent block of virus-like particle formation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S
A.93(11):5629-34. PMCID: PMC39299.
7. Yieh, L., Kassavetis, G., Geiduschek, E.P., Sandmeyer, S.B. (2000). The Brf and TATA-binding protein
subunits of the RNA polymerase III transcription factor IIIB mediate position-specific integration of the
gypsy-like element, Ty3. J Biol Chem., 275(38):29800-7.
8. Larsen, L.S., Zhang, M., Beliakova-Bethell, N., Bilanchone, V., Lamsa, A., Nagashima, K., et al. (2007).
Ty3 capsid mutations reveal early and late functions of the amino-terminal domain. J Virol., 81(13):695772. PMCID: PMC1933270.
9. Fang, F., Salmon, K., Shen, M., Aeling, K., Ito, E., Irwin, B., Tran, U., Hatfield, G.W., Da Silva, N.*, and
Sandmeyer, S.* (2011). A combinatorial vector set for metabolic engineering in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Yeast 28:123-136.
10. Christiansen, K., Larsen, L.Z., Zhang, M., Kuznetsov, Y., Bilanchone, V., Beliakova-Bethell, N., Randall,
A., DaSilva, R., Nagashima, K., McPherson, A., Baldi, P. and Sandmeyer, S.B. (2011). Ty3 spacer controls
intracellular condensation and uncoating. J. Virol., (Epub Jan26; PMID: 21270167; doi:10.1128/JVI.0105510).
Patents:
Position-Specific Endonuclease and Method of Using Same
U.S. Serial Numbers 5,292,662 and 5,482,853
PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 06/09)
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Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle):
Meyskens, Frank L.
5P30CA062203-17
D. Research support
Ongoing research support
5P30CA062203-16 Meyskens (PI)
02/01/09-01/31/14
NIH/NCI
University of California Irvine Cancer Center Support Grant Infrastructure and Research award to support
cancer research at UC Irvine and beyond.
Role: Shared Resource Director for UCI Genomics/High-throughput Facility
R01 GM 33281-25
Sandmeyer (PI)
04/01/10-03/31/14
NIH
Ty3 Viruslike particle morphogenesis and host interactions.
This project is to identify host genes that support or antagonize Ty3 replication and to understand the
molecular mechanisms underlying those effects. (The current application is the renewal of this award.) This
has been the major source of support so the accomplishments are summarized in the personal statement.
Role: PI
#813570
Shanks (PI)
09/01/08-08/31/13
Host Institution University of Iowa
Center for Biorenewable Chemicals
This is an interdisciplinary project to use biosynthetic pathways in E. coli and S. cerevisiae to produce
intermediates for industrial applications. The goal of the work in yeast in which the Sandmeyer laboratory is
involved is to develop methods for production of short chain (<16 C) fatty acids in S. cerevisae. This project
has enabled work generally in the laboratory as we have developed reagents for genetic manipulation of yeast
in the course of this work.
Completed research support
Administrative supplement ($125K) for GM33281-24 (see above).
This supplement was to further support accomplishment of the aims of the original grant.
MCB-0450159
03/15/05 - 02/29/09
NSF
tDNA Genes and Genetic Mobility in S. cerevisiae
This project was to investigate the interaction between the Ty3 integrase and preintegration complex and
transcription factors bound to the Ty3 target pol III transcribed genes and to map tRNA gene targets used in
vivo. Accomplishments from this work were finished during an extension and are now being written up.
Among the most exciting were development of a completely recombinant in vitro integration system (integrase
and a single fusion targeting protein) and high throughput sequence analysis of Ty3 integration sites in
collaboration with Johnston and Mitra at Washington University with Baldi lab (UCI) performing bioinformatic
analysis.
CODA-42397
Hatfield (PI)
09/01/07 – 08/31/09
CODA Genomics Inc.
Optomized Heterologous Pathways for Ethanol Production in Yeast
This was a collaborative interdisciplinary program supported by matching corporate and state funds. The goal
of the project was to optimize expression in yeast of genes involved in xylose and arabinose metabolism in
order to develop methodology for production of biofuels.
NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant Sandmeyer (PI)
High Throughput DNA Sequencer
As Director of the UCI Genomics and High Throughput Facility I applied with the help of twenty colleagues for
this grant. The sequencer is operational.
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