HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY • OFFICE FOR RESEARCH & SPONSORED PROGRAMS
The
SPRING 2017 ISSUE 5
GRANT Seeker
A spotlight on excellence in grant development by a Hofstra University employee
Nathan W. Rigel, PhD
for aiding drug discovery efforts. In this era of antibiotic resistant bacteria, we need to decipher how these organisms work to keep our society healthy.”
By Owen Lewis
“I was on the phone with my sister. She tells me about this guy who goes to the hospital with strep throat,” Dr. Rigel explains. “And he gets his limbs amputated! Why? Because the bacteria were able to grow unchecked and spread throughout his body. Isn’t that amazingly terrifying?”
Dr. Rigel’s love for protein Dr. Nathan Rigel began his journey trafficking was fostered through the to Hofstra during his time as a guidance of Dr. Thomas Silhavy at microbiology graduate student at the Princeton University, starting in 2009. University of North Carolina at Chapel Dr. Silhavy is widely respected in the Hill. “It was the first point I thought seriously about my career. I was a TA in field of molecular biology for significant contributions to the study of protein lab, and I enjoyed being in a classroom. secretion, signal transduction, and Every opportunity I had to be at the front of a classroom, I took it.” His PhD membrane biogenesis. “To come to Princeton, and be mentored by someone advisor, Dr. Miriam Braunstein, who was so accomplished, and still so encouraged his teaching efforts as he devoted to teaching was an enormous pursued his dissertation studies in her inspiration to me.” Dr. Rigel’s time as a lab. “Miriam was incredibly supportive postdoctoral research associate at of me during the early stages of my Princeton also afforded him the career. It was her research into protein export systems that really got me hooked opportunity to teach undergraduate cell and molecular biology, which he on bacterial genetics.” continues to teach at Hofstra. While at UNC, he took a keen interest in understanding how proteins get sorted to “As a professor, you get to watch students rise through the ranks. I love their final destination in bacterial cells. Speaking with characteristic enthusiasm training students — seeing that first ‘a-ha!’ moment — the look you get in (which translates to speed), “The way the eye after pouring liter upon liter of genetics is used to dissect biological plates finally leading to a meaningful problems was always appealing to result,” he explains excitedly. When the me. Genetics at its core is about logic.” position to come to Hofstra opened up So what is protein trafficking? in 2012, he took a shot, and arrived in “Protein trafficking is the idea of cells 2013. “This was exactly the school using molecular machines and sorting I was looking for. It takes seriously the signals to ensure proteins get to where educational component but also they’re going. Understanding these recognizes the importance of research machines and signals allows you to and the development of research figure out the rules of the road for how infrastructure.” you direct protein sorting. I like His most recent project, funded by a knowing how stuff works.” And that $454,850 National Science Foundation urge to know is especially important grant, has him studying protein secretion now. “Figuring out the basic biology of how bacteria function is really important pathways in the bacterium Acinetobacter Nathan W. Rigel
baylyi. “Most proteins are exported from the cytoplasm through a molecular machine while they are unfolded. There is a smaller subset of proteins that are exported by a machine in a fully folded state. A. baylyi is weird because it has two distinct machines to export folded proteins. Why does our bug need two machines?” In addition to the exciting challenges the project presents, it opens up an excellent opportunity to, in his words, “train students in the dark arts of genetics.” The students are not only from Hofstra, but also come from neighboring communities, including Brentwood, Commack and West Hempstead. “We have smaller-scale projects for high schoolers. We want to get them into the lab, get them hooked on science, and keep the next generation interested.” Still, funding for research projects is difficult to obtain and is likely to get worse during the next four years. “It took a lot of struggling. I spent hours on the phone with representatives from the Office for Research and Sponsored Programs for the NSF grant. They’ll listen no matter the scope or scale of the project. It’s clear that there is significant support in the upper ranks of the administration for research.” Despite the increasing difficulty of the grant-seeking landscape, Dr. Rigel asserts, “the University is establishing momentum. Major research universities recognize the seriousness of Hofstra’s science programs. Students are receiving offers to pursue their PhD from universities like Yale, Cornell and Stony Brook.” Beyond the challenges and rewards of research, Dr. Rigel is motivated by a hunger to “get to the elusive truth.” Without a pause, he adds, “Some people go to church on Sundays ... I go to the lab.”
Hofstra thanks you!
Your scholarly achievements enhance Hofstra’s reputation as a leading educational institution. If you are interested in pursuing a grant opportunity or have any questions, please contact the ORSP at 516-463-6810.