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Curriculum Vitae
Daniel M. Vernon

Department of Biology
Program in Biochemistry, Biophysics, & Molecular Biology
Whitman College
Walla Walla, WA   99362                                                                                    
e-mail: vernondm@whitman.edu

Education

1992       Ph.D., Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. Dissertation: "Molecular Biology of Salinity Tolerance in the Facultative Halophyte M. crystallinum " Advisor: Dr. Hans J. Bohnert

1986       B.A., Biology,   Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio

Faculty and Research Positions

2004-07      Chair, Biology Department, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA

2005-06      Interim Chair, Program in Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA

2005 _____Visiting Assoc. Professor, Molecular Biosciences & Bioengineering Dept., Univ. of Hawaii (May-June 2005)

2002         Interim Chair, Biology Department, Whitman College (January- August, 2002)

2001-       Associate Professor of Biology, Biology Department, Whitman College

1999-2000    Visiting Professor, Dept of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Univ of Arizona, Tucson (sabbatical)

1995-2001    Assistant Professor of Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA

1992-95        NSF Post-Doctoral Fellow (Laboratory of Dr. David Meinke, Department of Botany, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK)

1992        Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Laboratory of Dr. Hans J. Bohnert, Department of Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (Aug-Oct, 1992)

1986-92    Graduate Research Associate, Laboratory of Dr. Hans J. Bohnert, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

1985-86    Undergraduate Research, Dr. Richard Levin, Department of Biology, Oberlin College

Grants and Awards

2007     NSF- Major Research Instrumentation program $464,934.   "Acquisition of an X-ray Diffraction Instrument for Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Research and Education in an Undergraduate Setting. " [Co-PI]

2006-09     NSF- Integrative Plant Biology program. $360,525.   "PIRL1 and PIRL 9- Novel plant intracellular LRR proteins required for pollen viability"

2005 . . . . G. Thomas Edwards Award for Excellence in Teaching & Scholarship; Whitman College

2005         National Science Foundation ROA supplement; $19,700 (supplement to another lab's NSF award, for sabbatical research support)

2003-05   WM Keck Foundation; Whitman College Integrative Biology Initiative; $340,000 (Principle writer and administrator; institutional award to support equipment and curriculum improvements in Biology and BBMB programs)

2002-2004   USDA NRI Plant Growth & Development program; $150,000;  "Functional Investigation of a Class of Plant LRR Proteins Related to Components of the RAS Signaling Pathway"

2001-03     Murdock Charitable Trust, research grant; $35,500; "Reverse-genetic Investigation of a Family of Novel Leucine-Rich Repeat Proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana".

1997-2001   NSF Plant Developmental Mechanisms program; $206,758 (incl. supplements); "Mechanisms of Embryogenesis in Arabidopsis: Characterization of the twn1 & emb88 Mutants."

1997-98    Rall Research Awards (internal funding providing support for undergraduate research students)

1996         Murdock Research Grant (internal funding for undergraduate research supervision)

Professional Service and Society Memberships

Peer-reviewer of research proposals for these funding agencies: National Science Foundation- Integrative Plant Biology Program; NSF- Plant Developmental Mechanisms Program; United States Department of Agriculture NRI- Plant Genetic Mechanisms Program; USDA NRI- Plant Growth and Development Program; NSERC (Canada); Natural Environment Research Council (UK); American Philosophical Society; Jeffress Memorial Trust Research Grant Program

Peer-reviewer for professional journals: The Plant Cell; Genome; Plant Physiology and Biochemistry; Planta; Plant Science; Physiologica Plantarum; American Journal of Botany; International Journal of Plant Sciences; Thai Journal of Agricultural Research; Annals of Botany

Conferences:
-Panel Member, ASPB Lab Leadership Workshop, American Society of Plant Biologists conference, Chicago, IL, July 2007
-Undergraduate Faculty Network, American Society of Plant Biologists Conference, Seattle, WA, July, 2005. [Chaired gathering of Faculty from Primarily Undergraduate Institutions]
-Session Chair (Plant Development, short talks session), American Society of Plant Biologists conference, Denver, CO, August, 2002
-Conference Organizer: Murdock Undergraduate Research Conference, Whitman College, November 2002 [A large regional undergraduate conference featuring student/faculty research from 18 colleges and universities in the Northwest]

Professional Societies: American Society of Plant Biologists; American Association for the Advancement of Science

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Publications
[*Asterisks denote undergraduate student co-authors.   Bold designates peer-reviewed journals]

Cushing DA*,   Forsthoefel NR,   Gestaut DR*, & Vernon DM  (2005) Arabidopsis emb 175 and other ppr knockout mutants reveal essential roles for PPR proteins in plant embryogenesis.   Planta, 221: 424-436. [Published online, 12/04: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00425-004-1452-x]

Forsthoefel N, Cutler K*, Port MD*, Yamamoto T*, & Vernon DM  (2005) PIRLs: A novel class of plant intracellular leucine rich repeat proteins. Plant & Cell Physiology, 46: 913-922.

Vernon DM & Forsthoefel NR (2002) Leucine-rich repeat proteins in plants: diverse roles in signaling and development. Research Signpost: Recent Research Developments in Plant Biology. 2: 201-214.  

Tax FE & Vernon DM (2001)   T-DNA associated duplication/ rearrangements in Arabidopsis: implications for reverse genetics and functional genomics.  Plant Physiology, 126:1526-1537

Vernon DM , Hannon MJ*, Le M-P*, Forsthoefel N (2001)   An expanded role for the TWN 1 gene in embryogenesis: defects in cotyledon pattern and morphology in the twn 1 mutant of Arabidopsis.  Am J. Botany, 88(4), 570-582.

Schwartz B, Vernon DM , Meinke DW (1997)   Development of the Suspensor:   Differentiation, Communication, & Programmed Cell Death during Plant Embryogenesis, in Advances in Cellular& Molecular Biology of Plant Seed Development, Vol. 2 , (BA Larkins and IK Vasil, eds) Kluwer Press, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, p.53-72

Vernon DM and Meinke DW (1995)   The Late embryo-defective Mutants of Arabidopsis, Developmental Genetics. 16, 311-320.

Forsthoefel NR, Vernon DM , Cushman JC (1995)   A Salinity-Induced Gene from the Halophyte M. crystallinum Encodes a Glycolytic Enzyme, Phosphoglyceromutase. Plant Molecular Biology, 29, 213-226.

Vernon DM and Meinke DW (1994) Embryogenic Transformation of the Suspensor in twin, a Polyembryonic Mutant of Arabidopsis. Developmental Biology, 165, 566-573.  

Vernon DM , Tarczynski MC, Jensen RG, Bohnert HJ (1993) Cyclitol Production in Transgenic Tobacco, The Plant Journal. 4: 199-205.

Vernon DM , Ostrem JA, Bohnert HJ (1993) Stress Perception and Response in a Facultative Halophyte: The Regulation of Salinity-Induced Genes in M. crystallinum,   Plant, Cell & Environment. 16, 437-444.

Vernon DM and Bohnert HJ (1992)   A Novel Methyl Transferase Induced by Osmotic Stress in the Facultative Halophyte M. crystallinum, EMBO Journal. 11: 2077-2085. #

Vernon DM and Bohnert HJ (1992)   Increased Expression of an Inositol Methyl Transferase in M. crystallinum is Part of a Stress Response Distinct from CAM Induction. Plant Physiology,   99, 1695-1698.

Cushman JC, Vernon DM , Bohnert HJ (1992)   ABA and the Transcriptional Control of CAM Induction during Salt Stress in the Common Ice Plant.   In: Control of Plant Gene Expression , (D.P. Verma,   ed). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp287-300.

Bohnert HJ, Vernon DM, DeRocher EJ,   Michalowski CB, Cushman JC (1992) Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of CAM. In: Inducible Plant Proteins: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (JL Wray, ed) Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, UK, pp113-137.

Vernon DM (1992) Molecular Biology of Salinity Tolerance in the Facultative Halophyte M. crystallinum , Ph.D. dissertation, University of Arizona

Adams P, Thomas JC, Vernon DM , Bohnert HJ, Jensen RG (1992)   Distinct Cellular and Organismic Responses to Salt Stress, Plant Cell Physiol.: 33(8), 1215-1223.

Ostrem JA, Vernon DM , Bohnert HJ (1990) Increased Expression of a Gene Coding for NAD-GAPdH during the Transition from C3 Photosynthesis to Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in M. crystallinum. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 265(6): 3497-3502.

Bohnert HJ, OstremJA, Cushman JC, Michalowski CB, Rickers J, Meryer G, DeRocher EJ, Vernon DM, Vasquez-Moreno L, Hoefner R, Schmitt JM   (1988) Mesem. crystallinum , a Higher Plant Model for the Study of Environmentally Induced Changes in Gene Expression.   Plant Molec. Biol. Reporter 6, 10-28.

Vernon DM , Ostrem JA, Schmitt JM, Bohnert HJ (1988) PEPCase Transcript Levels in M. crystallinum Decline Rapidly upon Relief from Salt Stress. Plant Physiology , 86, 1002-1004.

Publications in preparation

Anderson TM*, Carlin J, Hutchison DW, & Vernon DM. A possible role for RNA-mediated gene duplication in the evolution of the PPR superfamily in Arabidopsis thaliana. In Preparation.

Forsthoefel N & Vernon DM.  The PIRL1 and PIRL9 genes, encoding novel plant intracellular LRR proteins, are required for male gametophyte function in Arabidopsis . In Preparation.

Cushing DA*, Forsthoefel N, & Vernon DM.   Diverse Roles for PPR proteins in early plant development, In Preparation.

Forsthoefel N, & Vernon DM.   Overlapping genes and organ-specific aberrant mRNA splicing at the Arabidopsis PIRL6 locus.  In Preparation.

Recent Seminars and Meeting Presentations

Dao TP, Forsthoefel N, Vernon DM, Juers (2007) Expression, purification and biophysical characterization of Arabidopsis LRR protein PIRL1. Biophysical Society conference, Baltimore, MD, March 2007

Forsthoefel N, Dao TP, Geiser HA, and Vernon DM (2006) The novel intracellular LRR proteins PIRL1 and PIRL9 are required for Arabidopsis pollen development and viability.   Plant Biology 2006 (ASPB conference),   Boston, MA [Invited minisymposium talk and poster presentation]

Forsthoefel N,   Geiser HA, & Vernon DM (2005) PIRL1 and PIRL9, novel intracellular LRR proteins, are required for pollen development in Arabidopsis.   Plant Biology 2005 (Meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists), Seattle, WA, July 2005. [poster presentation]

Vernon DM (2005)   Developmental functions and genomic evolution of plant PPR proteins: insights from Arabidopsis knockout mutants.   Invited seminar, Molecular Biosciences & Bioengineering Department, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, June 2005.

Anderson TM*, Hutchison D, & Vernon DM (2004) A possible role for RNA-mediated gene duplication in the evolution of a huge plant superfamily. Plant Biology 2004 (meetings of American Society of Plant Biology), Orlando, FL, July 2004   [invited minisymposium talk and poster presentation]

Cushing DA*, Gestaut DR*, Forsthoefel N, & Vernon DM   (2003) Essential roles for PPR proteins in plant development revealed by Arabidopsis knock-out mutants. Plant Biology 2003, Honolulu, HI, July, 2003 [invited minisymposium talk and poster presentation]

Forsthoefel N, Cutler K*, & Vernon DM   (2003) Overlapping genes and aberrant splicing at the Arabidopsis PIRL6 locus , Plant Biology 2003, Honolulu, HI, July, 2003 [poster presentation]

Cushing DA, Gestaut DR & Vernon DM (2002)   Disruption of a PPR protein in the Arabidopsis emb175 mutant. Plant Biology 2002, Denver, CO, August 2002 [invited talk and poster presentation]

Vernon DM (2001) Making sense of a plant genome: using knock-out mutants to investigate gene function in Arabidopsis , Walla Walla College, Department of Biology, February, 2001 [invited seminar]

Vernon DM , Brinck MD*, Brady MA*, Eastberg JH*, & Forsthoefel N (2000) SLATs: a family of Arabidopsis proteins resembling components of the RAS signaling pathway, Plant Biology 2000 conference (meeting of the ASPB), San Diego, CA, July, 2000

Vernon DM & Tax FE (2000) Jumbled genes: T-DNA associated chromosomal rearrangements: implications for genomics & reverse genetics, 11 th Intl Conf. on Arabidopsis Res., Madison, WI, 6/2000.

Patent

Transgenic Plants with Altered Polyol Content   (co-inventor; United States Patent #5,563,324)

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Teaching Experience

BBMB400: Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology (BBMB) Senior Seminar.

Molecular Biology 326 :   Molecular Biology portion of 2-semester biochemistry series, covering structural and functional genomics, and gene structure, expression, and regulation. Required for Biochemistry (BBMB) majors; elective for Biology or Chemistry majors

Molecular Biology Laboratory 336:   Lab course in molecular techniques and genome database use. Required for BBMB majors, elective for Biology or Chemistry majors

Developmental Biology 329 :   Upper-level elective emphasizing developmental mechanisms in animal systems at the cellular and genetic levels. Included lecture and laboratory. [taught 1996-1999]

Genetics 205 : Biology majors' required genetics class; includes both Mendelian and Molecular Genetics.

Genes & Genetic Engineering 125: A non-majors' course on genetics, biotechnology, and societal implications

Biology 111 Lab :   Laboratory of introductory biology course, covering principles of molecular, cellular, and organismal biology [taught 1996]

Student Research, Bio and BBMB   489,490 :   Supervision of independent student research projects, senior thesis preparation, and seminar presentation. Since 1996: 26 undergraduate students have worked in my lab; most have been supported by my research grants.   I have also supervised senior thesis preparation and seminar presentations for other students who did laboratory work off campus.

2 invited lectures, graduate Plant Development course, Plant Sciences Department, University of Arizona, Nov. 1999

Invited Lecture/Seminar, "Arabidopsis as a Model System for the Study of Plant Development", Undergraduate Genetics class (Bio 306), Biology Department, University of Michigan at Dearborn, 1994

Invited Lecture in graduate course, "Molecular Biology of Plant Environmental Stress", Department of Biochemistry, Oklahoma State University, 1993

Teaching Effectiveness Workshop, Oklahoma State University, 1993

Graduate Teaching Assistant, undergraduate introductory biology (Bio 181), Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, 1987.

Teaching Assistant, non-majors Human Biology, & majors' Introductory Biology Laboratories, Biology Dept, Oberlin College, 1985, 1986.   Labs included detailed fetal pig dissection, plus microscopy.

Oberlin College Experimental College class: "Introduction to Freshwater Fishing". Designed, organized, and co-taught this 1-credit course offered for credit through Oberlin's "EXCO" program, Spring semester, 1986

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