Gloria Borgstahl, Ph.D., is interested in far more than diamonds.
From her 10th floor lab in the Lied Transplant Center, the petite crystallographer
analyzes crystals, typically the size of a grain of sand, to map the structure
of human proteins. Her goal: To better understand the structure and
function of proteins involved in DNA repair and to help other scientists
apply structural biology to their science in order to control and treat
a variety of diseases including cancer.
Its similar to fixing a car, said Dr. Borgstahl, an associate professor
in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases. You
first need to know what the engine looks like. Here, we need to visualize
the molecules.
Crystallography — the study of the atomic structures of proteins by
growing crystals of the protein and then collecting X-ray diffraction data
— has existed for decades. But, Dr. Borgstahl is one of the few X-ray
crystallographers with the background and ability to solve problems relevant
to the interaction of cancer cells with anti-cancer agents.
Its exciting to look at a structure no one has ever seen before,
Dr. Borgstahl said. Its like being an explorer — the discovery process
is most rewarding.
Dr. Borgstahl is a perfect addition to the cancer center and UNMC,
said Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
She adds specific expertise in X-ray crystallography, which is a critical
addition to our structural biology program.
Understanding the structure of key proteins in cancer is essential in
developing specific therapies for each cancer, Dr. Cowan said. UNMC and
the Eppley Cancer Center research effort are definitely strengthened by
the addition of Dr. Borgstahl, he said.
Dr. Borgstahl, who joined the UNMC faculty in August, also is among
a handful of researchers recently recruited through the tobacco settlement
funds that the Nebraska Legislature allocated to the states four biomedical
research institutions — UNMC, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Creighton
University and Boys Town National Research Hospital. In 2001-2002, the
Legislature allocated nearly $5 million to the UNMC Tobacco Settlement
Biomedical Research Development Fund.
This is my ideal job, Dr. Borgstahl said. Its close to home and
research is my first love. This is a perfect fit for me.
A native of Dubuque, Iowa, Dr. Borgstahl attended the University of
Iowa, where she earned degrees in biomedical engineering and biochemistry
and crystallography. She did her post-doctoral work in protein crystallography
at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., and in molecular
biology at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M.
In 1996, Dr. Borgstahl worked at the University of Toledo department
of chemistry, where she studied the macromolecules essential to the maintenance
and replication of DNA.
While there, she began working with NASA as a ground investigator and
had experiments flown to the International Space Stations Destiny laboratory.
The recent return of the shuttle brought back one of Dr. Borgstahls
experiments growing 133 separate crystallization experiments in space.
Crystals grown in microgravity are larger and physically more perfect than
those on the ground, she said. To invoke the crystallization process in
space, Dr. Borgstahl prepared the purified protein and a second formula
of buffers and salts.
The crystals, which will take several months to evaluate, will be photographed
under a microscope and exposed to X-rays in the Lied Transplant Center.
Then, a complete evaluation of crystal quality, compared to Earth-grown
controls, will be done with a synchotron, which provides a brilliant and
adjustable X-ray beam, called the National Synchrotron Light Source or
NSLS at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York.
From the diffraction of the X-ray we can see the proteins structure,
said Dr. Borgstahl, the youngest of seven children. The crystal serves
as an amplifier for the diffraction signal from which the atomic structure
is deduced.
The information, which includes analyzing mathematical equations, helps
Dr. Borgstahl determine the three dimensional layout of the atoms and the
overall shape of the macromolecule.
Outside the lab, she and her husband, Daniel Kramer, enjoy spending
time with their two children, Marguerite and John.