My name is Carey James and I was born in Melbourne,
Australia- although I spent most of my school years
growing up in upstate New York. I earned my B.S.
in both Biochemistry and Biology from Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia
Tech). Several years of undergraduate research
spurned my interest in a graduate education, and
so I applied to the Microbiology program here at
Ohio State at the recommendation of several of
my professors.
My research here in the laboratory of Dr. Joe
Krzycki focused on the read through of amber codons
in the Archaeal species Methanosarcina barkeri.
In metabolizing methylamines to methane, M.
barkeri,
utilizes several methyltransferases. The genes
for these methyltransferases were found by earlier
students to be interrupted by single in- frame
amber codons, which normally function as a translational
stop signal. My research has shown that an amber
codon directed translational stop is circumvented
by the insertion of an amino acid; amber is read
as a sense codon in these particular genes. My
work has also shown that an amber decoding tRNA
is found in M. barkeri cells grown in the presence
of methylamines. In collaboration with the efforts
of Dr. Michael Chan (Ohio State Biochemistry, Chemistry
Departments) and his laboratory, we have shown
that the amber encoded amino acid is a modified
form of lysine, pyrrolysine. It is the 22nd known
translationally encoded amino acid.
I have enjoyed and benefited from my education
here in the Microbiology Department at Ohio State,
and as I write my dissertation there is certainly
much that I will miss about my colleagues and Columbus.
The professors have been a positive and accessible
source of knowledge and advice. The graduate student
community has been a great support, and it has
been enjoyable experience supporting fellow students
in kind. Away from the lab, playing intramural
flag football with the departmental team and one
year winning the league championship was one highlight
as were the many conferences that were so well
populated with current and former students from
Ohio State. I am very happy to have spent my graduate
years here at OSU.
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