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George Somero
“When you look at ecosystems and ask, why are some organisms here and not
others,
that question has several answers,” he said. Somero’s work has shown
that the
enzymes that do the cell’s work are limited to certain ranges of
temperature,
salinity, oxygen levels or hyperbaric pressure.
 The
Hopkins Seaside Lab at its original site, Lovers Point, 1894
“I think it’s clear that the distribution patterns of organisms are
strongly
influenced, for example, by the temperature range in which their enzymes can
work,” Somero says. “We’re trying to put some physiological and
biochemical
information into this whole picture of global change.”
In addition to the graduate students and postdoctoral fellows joining this
search, Somero welcomed three undergraduates into his lab for intensive spring
quarter research projects. He says the opportunity to work with undergraduates is
one of Stanford’s most attractive benefits, and he already has initiated a
philosophy of science seminar open to students of all levels.
The students are gaining a remarkable teacher, says Gretchen Hofmann, a National
Science Foundation Marine Biotechnology Postdoctoral Fellow, who is finishing up
her research in Somero’s lab before joining the faculty at the University of
New
Mexico.
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