The Epel Lab
... at Hopkins Marine Station!

Current Labmates

Under construction

Bryan Cole

Postdoc

Hopkins Profile, "Tough Babies"

Personal Website

Amro Hamdoun

Postdoc

Research Associate

Under construction

I am interested in cell-cell communication. As a visiting scientist in the Epel lab, my project will investigate the molecular basis of egg activation in sea urchin. In response to stimuli provided by the fertilizing sperm, signal transduction cascades, which mediate the egg's transition from a quiescent state to a developing state, are activated. Previous work in the lab has correlated increases in the second messenger nitric oxide (NO) with fertilization and indicated that NO was required for egg activation. My studies will focus on the following questions: 1) what is the mechanism of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activation in response to sperm, 2) is NOS part of a signaling complex in the egg plasma membrane, and 3) what are the downstream targets of NO? These questions are crucial to our understanding of the role of NO in signaling egg activation.

Cathy Thaler

Link to animation