Effective Mentoring of
Undergraduate and Graduate
Students
Carla Mattos
Department of Molecular and Structural
Biochemistry
North Carolina State University
Outline
• Mentoring in the science – intellectual
freedom with guidance
• Mentoring in networking and people skills
1) Create a supportive and collaborative
lab environment – trust
2) Managing life at the interface with
science - happy and fulfilled students
will be the most productive in their
research and learning.
Get the students involved
• Take research project into the classroom
• Take the classroom into the laboratory
• Pair up postdocs and graduate students with the
undergraduates.
• Encourage students to begin research their
freshman year.
• Take students to regional and national meetings
to present their work.
Create a team environment
• Treat the students as important and serious
contributors to the research program
• Make sure the students feel “ownership” of
the project: they are involved in it for
themselves, not for the PI
• Keep the task at a level where the students
can succeed given a genuine effort
• Provide individual support either directly by
the PI or by involving graduate students and
post-docs
Minimize barriers between different
stages in the academic ladder
• Make sure that the people involved in
mentoring are motivated and excited by the
research project.
• Share the “big picture” with the students.
• Have project group meetings including all
members of the team: PI, post-docs,
graduates students and undergraduates
CAREER: Probing protein
surfaces using multiple solvent
crystal structures
Carla Mattos
North Carolina State University
The Multiple Solvent Crystal
Structures Method: MSCS
Uses organic solvents to:
• Locate and characterize protein
binding sites.
• Probe plasticity in protein
structure.
• Study hydration patterns
MSCS
• Solve crystal structure of protein in aqueous
solution.
• Crosslink native crystals with gluteraldehyde:
solve the structure of the crosslinked protein.
• Soak crosslinked crystals in organic solvents:
solve structure of protein in different solvents.
• Superimpose the crystal structures and analyze
the results.
Mattos & Ringe, Nature Biotechnology 14, pp 595-599 (1996)
Multiple Solvent Crystal Structures of Elastase
Mattos et al., Journal of Molecular Biology (2005)
The five model proteins
Protein
Source
Ras
Human,
expressed
in E. coli
Lysozyme
Hen egg
white,
Sigma
Chemical,
Co.
Calmoduli
n
Human,
expressed
in E. coli
RNAse A
Bovine,
Sigma
Chemical,
Co.
Chymotryp
sin
Worthingto
n
Biochemic
als, Co.
Resoluti
onin
aqueous
solution
Crystal
s
Mattos
lab
Data for
crosslinked
crystals
X-ray data
on at least
one solvent
1.5 A
Yes
Yes
Yes
1.3 A
Yes
Yes
Yes
1.2 A
Yes
Not tested
Not tested
1.5 A
Not
tested
Not tested
Not tested
Not tested
Yes,
Yennawar
et al, 1994
1.6 A
Not
tested
Year of
funding
Spring
Summer
Fall
0 (2002)
Proteins and
Molecular
Mechanisms:
develop new course
Data collection for
MSCS of Ras
Data collection for MSCS
of Ras
1 (2003)
Macromolecular
Modeling:
refinement of the
MSCS of Ras
Write paper on MSCS
of Ras. Data collection
for MSCS of
Lysozyme
Submit Ras paper for
publication. Data
collection for MSCS of
Lysozyme
2 (2004)
Proteins and
Molecular
Mechanisms:
refinement of the
MSCS of Lysozyme
Write paper on MSCS
of Lysozyme. Data
collection for MSCS
of calmodulin
Submit Lysozyme paper
for publication. Data
collection for MSCS of
calmodulin
3 (2005)
Macromolecular
Modeling:
refinement of the
MSCS of calmodulin
Write paper on MSCS
of calmodulin. Data
collection for MSCS
of RNAse A
Submit calmodulin paper
for publication. Data
collection for MSCS of
RNAse A
4 (2006)
Proteins and
Molecular
Mechanisms:
refinement of the
MSCS of RNAse A
Write paper on the
MSCS of RNAse A.
Data collection for
MSCS of
chymotrypsin.
Submit RNase A paper for
publication. Data
collection for MSCS of
chymotrypsin.
5 (2007)
Macromolecular
Modeling:
refinement of the
MSCS of
chymotrypsin
Write paper on the
MSCS of
chymotrypsin and a
review of binding
surfaces of proteins
studied by MSCS and
other methods.
Submit papers and finish
the proposed project.
Prepare one or more data
sets from one of the lab
projects to continue
research in the classroom.
Organic solvents
N
OH 1
H
CF3
O 2
3
H
OH
HO
5
4
OH
H
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
6
O
O
H
7
O
O
H
Two additional conditions: aqueous mother liquor and
cross-linked, making a total of 10 crystal structures for
each protein.
8
MSCS of Ras – data sets collected at SER-CAT
Organic Solvent / Resolution
Neat hexane
1.3 Å
Neat cyclopentanol
1.4 Å
50 % isopropanol
1.7 Å
50 % dimethylformamide 1.7 Å
50 % 2,2,2 trifluroethanol 1.9 Å
60 % 1,6 hexanediol
1.7 Å
70 % Glycerol
1.6 Å
90 % R,S,R bisfuran alcohol 1.5Å
20% S,R,S bisfuran alcohol 1.6Å
Crosslinked in aqueous sol 1.7 Å
Ras in neat hexane
People Skills – unspoken undercurrents
- Preach by example – you are a role model for your students
- Genuine enthusiasm is contagious
- Understand cultural background and differences between lab
members – encourage communication
- Be sensitive and knowledgeable about issues of gender,
class, race – set high expectation for everyone but reach out to
each student in the particular way that is needed in order for
the individual to succeed.
- Recognition is one of the most powerful stimulators of
ambition and drive for success – give positive feedback as
often as opportunity warrants, including along with
constructive criticism; acknowledge your students publicly for
their contribution.
References
1) The End of Education: Redefining the value of school –
Neil Postman (1995)
2) Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of
Freedom – bell hooks (1994)
3) This fine place so far from home: voices of academics
from the working class – CL Barney Dews and Carolyn
Leste Law (Edts) (1995)
4) Necessary Dreams: Ambition in Women’s Changing
Lives – Anna Fells (2004)
Mattos group meeting 2004