Michael R. Frank - Visiting Scientist
B.S. Biology - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
M.S. Biology - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Ph.D. Biology - University of Denver
I am the Science Department Instructional Team Lead at the award-winning and innovative Empire High School in Vail Unified School District on the southeast side of Tucson. EHS was the first school in the country to be designed from the ground up around the concept of giving students laptops instead of textbooks, and has had a great deal of success. I primarily teach sophomore Biology and Biology Honors, and also AP Biology to upper-level students. I have also taught most of our science courses at one time or another, and I am very involved in writing the science curriculum for my school and the district. The main goal for my classes is for my students to gain not just an understanding of science topics, but understanding and enthusiasm for the scientific process. I have earned numerous awards and recognition for my work, including the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching .
For my summer vacation from teaching, I am having a blast working in the Beilstein Lab, on a fellowship from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. I get to brush up on my lab skills, and contribute to the overall research goals of the group. Early in my scientific career, I did some work on rRNA in several Paramecium species, and I have a long-term interest in molecular evolution, so getting to work on the telomerase system ties in with that in interesting ways. I am trying to clone genomic copies of the TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase) gene from Arabidopsis thaliana, and several relatives, to see if transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana TERT (-/-) knockout mutants with these working TERT genes will restore telomerase function. From this we hope to gain valuable information about the evolution of TERT function across these plant species.
My doctoral research (with Jim Fogleman, University of Denver) was on the biochemical ecology of Sonoran Desert Drosophila species and the involvement of the cytochrome P45o enzyme family in their ability to tolerate allelochemicals produced by their host cacti. Post-doctoral research included an analysis of the regulation of cytochrome P45o genes of plants in response to wounding.
For recreation, I brew ales (a skill first learned as part of a yeast molecular biology course), build Craftsman-influenced furniture, and watch other people ride bicycles.
M.S. Biology - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Ph.D. Biology - University of Denver
I am the Science Department Instructional Team Lead at the award-winning and innovative Empire High School in Vail Unified School District on the southeast side of Tucson. EHS was the first school in the country to be designed from the ground up around the concept of giving students laptops instead of textbooks, and has had a great deal of success. I primarily teach sophomore Biology and Biology Honors, and also AP Biology to upper-level students. I have also taught most of our science courses at one time or another, and I am very involved in writing the science curriculum for my school and the district. The main goal for my classes is for my students to gain not just an understanding of science topics, but understanding and enthusiasm for the scientific process. I have earned numerous awards and recognition for my work, including the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching .
For my summer vacation from teaching, I am having a blast working in the Beilstein Lab, on a fellowship from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. I get to brush up on my lab skills, and contribute to the overall research goals of the group. Early in my scientific career, I did some work on rRNA in several Paramecium species, and I have a long-term interest in molecular evolution, so getting to work on the telomerase system ties in with that in interesting ways. I am trying to clone genomic copies of the TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase) gene from Arabidopsis thaliana, and several relatives, to see if transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana TERT (-/-) knockout mutants with these working TERT genes will restore telomerase function. From this we hope to gain valuable information about the evolution of TERT function across these plant species.
My doctoral research (with Jim Fogleman, University of Denver) was on the biochemical ecology of Sonoran Desert Drosophila species and the involvement of the cytochrome P45o enzyme family in their ability to tolerate allelochemicals produced by their host cacti. Post-doctoral research included an analysis of the regulation of cytochrome P45o genes of plants in response to wounding.
For recreation, I brew ales (a skill first learned as part of a yeast molecular biology course), build Craftsman-influenced furniture, and watch other people ride bicycles.