*BREAKING* 3 killed in Alabama university shooting

[donnay]

3 killed in Alabama university shooting

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/12/alabama.university.shooting/index.html

CNN) -- Three people were killed and one was wounded Friday after a shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said Ray Garner, a spokesman for the university.

A female shooter was in custody, he said.

The incident occurred about 4:15 p.m. in Shelby Hall, which police were still searching, said Trent Willis, a spokesman for the mayor. "We do have some witnesses," he said.

[donnay]

Three dead in US university shooting
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jaSNOwzccp7qpFGkaKHho09ugWcw

WASHINGTON — Three people were killed and one other was wounded Friday in a shooting at a university in the southern US state of Alabama and the shooter was in custody, a college spokesman said.

The incident happened at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and the college spokesman Ray Garner said on CNN television that police were sweeping the building.

"At this point we have three dead, three confirmed people who are dead. We have one injured. The police have secured the building, the shooter is in custody," Garner said.

He added police were "sweeping the building to both look to see if there are other victims as well as to get evidence."

Local television WAFF, quoting a police official, said the shooter was a female staff member at the faculty.

Erin Johnson, a second-year student, told the local Hunstville Times that a biology faculty meeting was underway at the Shelby Center when she heard screams coming from one of the rooms.

[donnay]

3 dead in UAH shooting

http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100212/NEWS/100219977?Title=3-dead-in-UAH-shooting

Published: Friday, February 12, 2010 at 5:14 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, February 12, 2010 at 5:14 p.m.

HUNTSVILLE - Three people were killed and at least one other is in critical condition after a shooting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, officials said.

UAH spokesman Ray Garner confirmed that three people were killed during the shooting at the Shelby Center complex on campus. He also said another person was injured and taken to Huntsville Hospital for treatment.

Hospital officials told reporters that three people were being treated at the hospital - two men and a woman.

The shooting occurred just before 4 p.m., according to Garner.

The Decatur Daily reported the shooting was on the third floor of the Shelby Center, site of the biology department.

He added that a woman police say was involved in the shooting has been taken into custody.

Police have described the shooter as a woman wearing a pink sweater and a black-and-white shirt.

[Irobot]

Live TV Stream Huntsville Shooting http://snardfarker.ning.com/video/live-tv-stream-huntsville

[Monkeypox]

She must have been a Tea Partyer.  You know how crazy and violent those people are!

 

[PullMyFinger]

No students involved(thank goodness for that) and a female shooter.They are getting inventive aint they?

[Irobot]

2nd person detained, I have the audio recorded.
Odd, no details of this were made available

[Irobot]

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- A biology professor is in custody in connection with three fatal shootings on the University of Alabama in Huntsville campus Friday afternoon, according to a UAH official.

Dr. Amy Bishop, a Harvard-University trained neuroscientist, was taken into custody, and her husband has been detained. They have not been charged with a crime.

[kushfiend]

Harvard Professor?  The plot just got thick.

[donnay]

Profile: Dr. Amy Bishop, alleged University of Alabama-Huntsville shooter
Posted: February 12, 2010, 7:57 PM by Gillian Grace
Neuristor, Jim Anderson, University of Alabama-Huntsville, Amy Bishop, UAH
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2010/02/12/profile-dr-amy-bishop-alleged-university-of-alabama-huntsville-shooter.aspx


Story: Female biology professor kills three in shooting on University of Alabama-Huntsville campus

Alleged University of Alabama-Huntsville school shooter Dr. Amy Bishop was a Harvard-educated neurobiologist who joined the faculty of UAH in 2003.

Her development with her husband, Jim Anderson, of a "portable cell incubator" placed third in a state-wide competition, and won the couple $25,000 of seed money in a business competition.

From a Huntsville Times story of June 2006:

    "It's great to actually see it hit the market, and the sooner the better...My colleagues think it will change the face of tissue culture. It will allow us, as researchers, to not live in the lab and control our tissue culture conditions, including the sensitive cultures including those like adult stem cells"


Mr. Anderson, also reportedly in custody, is said to be the chief science officer of Cherokee Labsystems in Huntsville.

Dr. Bishop's profile has been pulled from UAH's site, but Google's cache reveals her areas of research focussed on the role of gasses on the central nervous system, especially nitrous oxide.

Her lab was working on the development of a "neural computer," the "Neuristor," which would use living neurons—taken either from stem cells or fish.

She also developed the InQ, a "precision instrument designed to increase the precision and consistency of cell growth in laboratory experimentation."

Dr. Bishop has numerous articles in journals to her credit, including studies in the International Journal of General Medicine and Toxicology.

Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2010/02/12/profile-dr-amy-bishop-alleged-university-of-alabama-huntsville-shooter.aspx#ixzz0fNO1rvMS
The National Post is now on Facebook. Join our fan community today.

[donnay]

This happened yesterday....does it have any connection to what transpired today?

University construction projects in North Alabama
By Stephen Gallien - http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=11970931

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) – A proposal for a new science and engineering center at the University of Alabama at Huntsville will get the attention of Governor Bob Riley.

The Governor will tour the site of the proposed center Thursday afternoon.

The Governor will also meet with university officials about the plans for the center.

Following that meeting, the Governor will travel to Florence to meet with University of North Alabama officials about a plan for a new science building to replace the aging Floyd Science Building.

[trailhound]

Harvard Professor?  The plot just got thick.

Yes and something about that look on her face says righteous indignation, I dont want to speculate...dog puts nose to the wind.

[donnay]

Hmm...this woman was not your average nut case...

Effects of Microgravity and Full Spectrum Space Radiation on Neurons
http://www.labflight.com/html/ua_huntsville.html

Principal Investigator:  Dr. Amy Bishop

University of Alabama in Huntsville

Nitric oxide (NO) is a free radical that is utilized by the CNS for normal physiological functions.  However, when released in inappropriate locations, or in excess, NO results in the formation of nitrotyrosine, a marker for NO-mediated damage, and massive cell death. Cell death and nitrotyrosine formation are seen in spinal cord injury, neurodegenerative diseases, and damage such as that encountered by astronauts during space travel. Motor neuron cells pretreated with sub-toxic doses of NO gain significant resistance to normally toxic doses of NO, a phenomenon we termed induced adaptive resistance (IAR). Furthermore, when exposed to toxic doses of NO, adapted cells have little to no nitrotyrosine formation. IAR is dependent on the heme metabolizing enzyme, heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). The overall aim is to elucidate and dissect the IAR phenomenon and by so doing, begin to understand native resistance mechanisms in the CNS that can be utilized to protect neurons against NO-mediated damage seen in CNS injury, neurodegenerative disease, and damage as seen in the microgravity of space travel.  Specific aims:

1. To determine whether NO-induced cell death from space travel is due to the associated nitration of cellular proteins. If so then a) blocking 3NY formation should also block killing by NO and b) the nitration of cellular proteins, in the absence of NO treatment, should be sufficient to kill cells.

2. To determine if and how HO1 induces adaptive resistance from damage. Potentially, HO1 may induce adaptive resistance to NO by a.) lowering intracellular concentration of heme, b.) the generation of heme metabolites such as bilirubin and carbon monoxide, c) the combination of these actions, d) or by some other unknown activity associated with HO1.

3. To determine whether continuous exposure to low levels of NO will give continuous resistance to cellular damage acquired during space flight. An investigation of whether the window of IAR can be expanded has obvious therapeutic implications for astronauts.

[donnay]

Dr. Amy Bishop
Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
http://web.archive.org/web/20080614021401/www.uah.edu/biology/amy.html   

Ph.D. in Genetics awarded by Harvard University , Department of Genetics, Division of Medical Sciences,.
Research Description
   

The free radical gas, nitric oxide (NO), is synthesized by many mammalian cells and is utilized for a variety of functions such as cellular signaling, neurotransmission, differentiation and as a bactericidal agent. At high levels, such as during induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), NO is toxic and plays a role in the pathology of injury and many diseases. It is also car cinogenic and mutagenic. Release of NO and other oxidants is implicated in the massive cell death (apoptosis) of motor neurons and their support cells, oligodendrocytes, after spinal injury. In many neurodegenerative diseases, including AIDS dementia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's, NO-mediated damage is seen.

NO nitrosylates heme-centers of proteins resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction and generation of additional free radicals. In addition, NO can disrupt heme-containing proteins and cause them to release heme into the intracellular environment. This would result in iron-mediated generation of oxidants, especially peroxynitrite, which nitrates tyrosine residues and disrupts protein structure and function. Massive neurofilament derangement and nitrotyrosine positive aggregates are found in the motor neurons of ALS patients and are hallmarks of the disease. NO can act on redox sites on receptors as well as modify proteins (phosphorylation and thiol sites etc.); this is a possible mechanism by which it may launch a redox-regulated signal transduction cascade.

Induction of the heme-metabolizing enzyme, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), has been linked to cellular resistance to heavy metals and other oxidants. HO-1 metabolizes heme generating the end products: CO, billirubin (both have been shown to have an anti-oxidant effects) and iron. HO-1 can exert a direct anti-oxidant effect by breaking down redox-active iron-containing heme groups. It can exert an indirect effect by releasing iron from the heme groups, which causes the upregulation of ferritin synthesis resulting in increased iron sequestration and elimination. Also, HO1 leads to increased iron elimination from the cell through other mechanisms. All this has the possible net effect of lowering the concentration of intracellular iron thereby protecting the cell from iron-mediated damage by peroxynitrite. In addition, iron released from heme groups may act on redox sensitive sites of proteins (IRP and others) either indirectly (by changing the redox milieu of the cell) or directly (iron is redox active) and thereby elicit a signal transduction cascade which ultimately turns on or off genes. There is much yet to be discovered about NO, HO1, iron metabolism and the redox regulation of gene expression.


Neurons are exposed to a lifetime of low levels of NO, during normal cell metabolism, and to high levels during pathological events. Certain neurodegenerative diseases or injury the cells' normal resistance mechanisms are overwhelmed or are defective. In the course of studying NO and cell death I found that under appropriate conditions the cells show a remarkable adaptation to high levels of NO. Specifically, I found that when cells were pretreated with low levels of NO they become resistant to toxic levels of NO (induced adaptive resistance).

Summary of Research Findings:

1. Immortalized motor neurons (NSC34 cells) and primary cells exhibit induced adaptive resistance to NO.
2. This phenomenon extends to other oxidants.
3. The amount of DNA damage is less in adapted NSC34 and in adapted primary neurons, which has implications for prevention of carcinogenesis.
4. The amount of intracellular nitrotyrosine, a quantifiable marker for NO-mediated damage, is significantly less in adapted NSC34 and in adapted primary neurons
5. These effects on nitrotyrosine formation and cell death are dependent on the expression and activity of HO1.
6. The HO1 expression and the induced adaptive resistance are cGMP independent
7. Neurons isolated from HO1 null mice show no adaptive resistance and have increased nitrotyrosine formation and DNA damage in response to NO.
8. Glial cells isolated from HO1 null cells have decreased NO resistance but this denouement is less striking than that in neurons (preliminary).
9. HO1 null cells have increased intracellular iron and decreased elimination of iron.
10. Other gene products (anti-oxidants and DNA repair enzymes) studied thus far do not appear to be involved (preliminary).
11. In NSC34 cells NO resistance correlates with higher % neurite outgrowth suggesting a possible link between adaptive resistance and cell differentiation.

Research Plan:

The overall goal of my laboratory will be to explore resistance to nitro-oxidative stress in CNS cells. The specific aims are to:

1. Determine if the adaptive resistance extends to other oxidants and other CNS cell types.
2. Determine which cellular targets of NO-mediated damage are protected by HO1 induction and induced adaptive resistance.
3. Characterize NO-mediated signal transduction pathways that induce HO1.
4. Characterize the NO-mediated increase of HO1 mRNA stability and/or transcriptional induction of HO1.
5. Determine what other genes are turned/off by HO1 induction and whether their induction/inhibition is necessary for the induced adaptive resistance.
6. Characterize the role of HO-1, HO-1-mediated heme metabolism and iron in induced adaptive resistance.
7. Characterize of the role of cytostasis and differentiation in NO resistance.
8. Eventually use whole animals for studies of induced adaptive resistance in the CNS.
9. Whole animal studies of induced recovery from spinal transection.
10. Study the influence of the low gravity/high radiation environment of space flight on resistance mechanisms to oxidative stress in the CNS.

Understanding mechanisms of induced adaptive resistance in the CNS has therapeutic potential to prevent carcinogenesis as well as preserve cells during early stages of disease (ALS etc.) and during injury (stroke, spinal cord transection). Elucidation of these mechanisms will also give us insights into stimulating regenerative processes in the CNS.

Oxidative Stress Publications


Renae Gooch, James Anderson, Bruce Demple, Amy Bishop, (2005) Mitigation of nitrotyrosine formation in motor neurons adapted to nitrooxidative stress. Manuscript in preparation.

Amy Bishop & James Anderson. NO signaling in the CNS: from the physiological to the pathological. (2005). TOXICOLOGY (Special Issue) Nitric Oxide, Cell Signaling and Death Edited by João Laranjinha.

Amy Bishop, Shaw Fung-Yet, Mark J. Perrella, Arthur M. Lee, Neil R. Cashman and Bruce Demple (2004) Decreasedresistance to nitric oxide in motor neurons of HO-1 null mice. BBRC 325:3-9

Amy Bishop, Neil R. Cashman. (2003) Induced adaptive resistance to oxidative stress in the CNS: Discussion of possible mechanisms and their therapeutic potential. Current Drug Metabolism 4(2) 171-184.

Amy Bishop, John C. Marquis, Neil R. Cashman, and Bruce Demple (1999) Adaptive resistance to nitric oxide in motor neurons. Free Radical Biology & Medicine 26(7/8) 978-986.

Amy Bishop, John H. Wolf, Antonio Cittadini, Kerry Travers, James P. Morgan (1998) Increased responsiveness to epinephrine and decreased cAMP levels in skeletal muscle of rats with chronic heart failure. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 853: 209-219.

Amy Bishop, Mercedes A Paz, Manfred L. Karnovsky, Paul M. Gallop (1998) Methoxatin (PQQ) in mammalian systems. Nutrition Reviews 56(10) 287-293.

Grossman J.D., Bishop A, Travers K.E., Perrault C., Woolf T., Hampton T., Kasgado-Flores, Gonzalez-Serratos H., James P. Morgan (1996) Deficient cellular cyclic AMP may cause both cardiac and skeletal muscle dysfunction in heart failure Journal of Cardiac Failure 2(4) 5105-51011.

Amy Bishop, Mercedes A. Paz, Paul M. Gallop, Manfred L. Karnovsky (1995) Inhibition of redox cycling of methoxatin (PQQ), and of superoxide release by phagocytic white cells Free Radical Biology and Medicine 18: 617-620.

Amy Bishop, Mercedes A. Paz, Paul M. Gallop, Manfred L. Karnovsky (1994) Methoxatin (PQQ) in guinea-pig neutrophils. Free Radical Biology and Medicine 17 (4) 311-320.

Manfred L. Karnovsky, Amy Bishop, Valeria C.P.C. Camerero, Mercedes A. Paz, Pio Colepicolo, Jose M.C. Ribiero and Paul M. Gallop (1994) Aspects of the release of superoxide by leukocytes and the means by which this is switched off. Environmental Health Perspectives 102 (10) 43-44.

Rudolph Fluckiger, Mercedes Paz, James Mah, Amy Bishop and Paul Gallop (1993) Characterization of the glycine-dependent redox-cycling activity in animal fluids and tissues using specific inhibitors and activators: evidence for presence of PQQ. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 196 61-68.

P. M. Gallop, M. A. Paz, R. Fluckiger, A. Bishop and E. Henson (1992) Is the Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Putative New Vitamin, PQQ, Involved with Nitric Oxide in Bone Metabolism? Chemistry and biology of mineralized tissues: pp 29-38.

Courses Taught at UAH: 313BYS: Anatomy & Physiology 1, BYS 314: Anatomy & Physiology 2, Special Topics 691:Mechansims of resistance to oxidative stress in the CNS, Special Topics 692: Research

Courses Taught at UAH
BYS 313: Anatomy & Physiology 1
BYS 314: Anatomy & Physiology 2
BYS 400/600: Introduction to Neuroscience
Special Topics 691: Mechanisms of resistance to oxidative stress in the CNS
Special Topics 692: Research

Lab Personnel
Kimberly Green, Bridge to Doctorate Student
Renea Gooch, Masters Student

Collaborators
James Anderson, Research Consultant, Cherokee Labsystems
Robert Richmond, Ph.D., Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA
National Space Science & Technology Center, Huntsville, AL.

[trailhound]

The university has apparently redirected her information to a page notifying the school that classes are canceled due to a shooting..

Amy Bishop, Ph.D.
Dr. Amy Bishop Assistant Professor Department of Biological Sciences ... Amy Bishop, Neil R. Cashman. (2003) Induced adaptive resistance to oxidative stress ...
www.uah.edu/biology/amy.html 

[donnay]

Amy Bishop incubates winning business idea
http://uahnews.uah.edu/newsread.php?newsID=845



A company created to bring to market the portable cell incubator invented by a UAH biology professor and her husband placed third in a recent statewide university business plan competition and won $25,000 to help the company get started.

Intelligent Cellular Systems (IntellCell) is developing a commercial product from technology created by Dr. Amy Bishop, an assistant professor of biology, and her husband Jim Anderson, and patented through UAH.

In the short term, the system has possible applications as a low-cost replacement for larger and more expensive immobile incubator systems. Since it is portable, the small incubator might also be used for research growing cells in situ, with long-duration exposure to microgravity, radiation or industrial pollution. It might also be used for long-term microscope studies, in which cells are grown under constant scrutiny.

"This also opens the door for the automation of specific biological and biomedical research," Bishop said. "We found out that there is a huge demand for this product."

Led by recent UAH business school graduates Aaron Hammons and Tod Opichka, IntellCell was one of 61 teams and companies that entered its business plan in the inaugural Alabama Launchpad Initiative, a statewide business plan competition affiliated with six state universities and the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.

Halo Research, a team led by recent UAH engineering graduate student Chris Otto, finished second and won $50,000. A startup led by an Auburn University alumnus took first place and the $100,000 grand prize.

Another finalist, AT Biosciences, LLC, includes Dr. Maria Davis, also an assistant biology professor. AT Biosciences developed molecular biomarkers for academic research and clinical diagnosis using a new patent-pending technology.

Although UAH had only 14 of the original 61 teams that started the competition last fall, it had eight of the 26 semi-finalists and half of the eight finalists. Auburn and UAB each had two teams reach the final round.

Other universities participating in the business plan competition were The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University.

For more information:
Phil Gentry, (256)824-6420

[donnay]

Dr. Amy Bishop, Alleged Assailant in University of Alabama Huntsville Shooting
http://mediaelites.com/?p=12975

Media sources in Huntsville, Alabama report that the faculty shooter who opened fire during a biology dept. meeting today was Dr. Amy Bishop, who had learned she would not receive tenure. Bishop allegedly shot and killed 3 fellow faculty members and wounded as many as 6 others, one critically.

Amy Bishop received her Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard and had previously been an instructor of medicine at the Ivy League university. She joined the UAH faculty in 2003.

According to AL.com’s “Breaking News” blog, Amy Bishop and her husband, Jim Anderson, were co-inventors of InQ, “a new cell growth incubator which promised to cut the costs, size and maintenance involved in the mechanics of cell generation”

An older version of Bishop’s UAH Biology Dept. web page listed her interests in the way neurons utilize free radicals, in particular nitrous oxide, and how understanding the process could eventually help treat injuries to the central nervous system. In the past, Bishop had taught a number of courses at UAH in anatomy and physiology as well as an introduction to neuroscience.

Prior to today, when outraged trolls began leaving the expected comments on her profile, Dr. Bishop had been a modestly well-regarded professor on RateMyProfessor.com. Many comments were quite complimentary:

“Dr. Bishop is brilliant. Her research is fascinating. She will surely get the Nobel Prize. She is the best teacher I have ever had.”

“She makes class fun even though it is still hard.I thought because she is from Harvard she would be a snob but she isn’t.She does not give multiple choice tests so her tests are hard.”

“This prof is absolutely the bomb! Knows her stuff cold, and quick witted too. Never met anyone who knows more random knowledge. Sci-fi to quantum mechanics with a little art history thrown in the mix. Who knew? Definitely take one of her courses!”

Others were about what you’d expect to find on any professor’s profile at some point, because few instructors can please all the students, all the time:

“Dr. Bishop tries to be a good teacher, but it’s really pointless to come to class. All you do is highlight the book word for word. She is also very vague about her tests and what you should study; her answer is just study everything (which is the entire book.) She might have graduated from Harvard, but she has very little common sense.”

“She is very nice, but her class is boring. Human A&P all we do is highlight the book. She reads straight from the book. I can do that at home. There is tons of material and she doesn’t really narrow down what’s going to be on the test. However, the class wasn’t too hard though. There’s just a lot of studying.”

Basically, anyone looking for a bellwether of today’s events in Shelby Hall on the UAH campus in anonymous student comments about Amy Bishop will be disappointed.

Professors going nuts and opening fire are the most rare kind of campus shooter (sorry guys, women committing this sort of crime are even rarer still). It does happen, though. Most recently: George Zinkhan, a well-regarded marketing professor at the University of Georgia in Athens (UGA), lost his damned mind and opened fire on his estranged wife and two others, killing all 3. Zinkhan was later found dead in a patch of woods outside Athens. He’d meticulously planned his suicide, setting it up so that he virtually buried himself before pulling the trigger.

If Dr. Amy Bishop did go nuts and try to kill her colleagues today as alleged, it wouldn’t be the first time a former Harvard professor has gone so dramatically, violently bananas, either.

Both Amy Bishop and her husband Jim Anderson, (who is the head of Cherokee Labsystems in Huntsville), are in custody. Jim Anderson has not been charged with a crime.

[al.com]

[Joe(WI)]

Sorry if I say so, but this lady is way too professional to just go off like this. I refuse to believe a word about motives, etc., until I hear a qualified journalist interview her/husband both. This smacks WAY of setup. This doesn't fit the MO for revenge, or being belittled.

I sense something groundbreaking was about to happen, and elites wanted it shut down, possibly quietly.

Something just doesn't add up. Even the way "these things happen...", sounds a little too coy, no?


Keep on it, I'm certain we aren't being told something. Yet.

[donnay]

Sorry if I say so, but this lady is way too professional to just go off like this. I refuse to believe a word about motives, etc., until I hear a qualified journalist interview her/husband both. This smacks WAY of setup. This doesn't fit the MO for revenge, or being belittled.

I sense something groundbreaking was about to happen, and elites wanted it shut down, possibly quietly.

Something just doesn't add up. Even the way "these things happen...", sounds a little too coy, no?


Keep on it, I'm certain we aren't being told something. Yet.

I am certain of it too.  Going berserk because you do not get your tenure is a bit of a stretch.   

[donnay]

Prof. in custody in fatal shooting on Ala. campus
By KRISTIN M. HALL Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press
Feb. 12, 2010, 10:42PM

 HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Authorities say a woman opened fire during a faculty meeting at the University of Alabama's Huntsville campus, killing three biology professors and injuring three other school employees.

University spokesman Ray Garner said the shooter was caught outside the building without incident, and no students were harmed in the shooting Friday.

Several students identified the woman who was being taken into custody as Amy Bishop, an instructor and researcher at the university. She was taken Friday night in handcuffs from a police precinct to the county jail and could be heard saying, "It didn't happen. There's no way .... they are still alive."

Local media also named the biology professor as the suspected shooter, though Garner said he could not identify her.

Police said no charges had been filed and they were interviewing the woman suspect and a man identified as "a person of interest."

Garner said the three killed were Gopi K. Podila, the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences, and two other faculty members, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson.

Two others are in critical condition, and a third who was wounded was upgraded to fair condition. The injured were identified as department members Luis Cruz-Vera and Joseph Leahy and staffer Stephanie Monticello. Their specific conditions were not released.

Sammie Lee Davis said his wife, Maria Ragland Davis, was a researcher who had tenure at the university.

In a brief phone interview, he said he was told his wife was at a meeting to discuss the tenure status of another faculty member who got angry and started shooting.

He said his wife had mentioned the shooter before, describing the woman as "not being able to deal with reality" and "not as good as she thought she was."

Nick Lawton, the son of a biology professor at the school, said his father was not among the victims, but he did not know much more.

Lawton, 25, was exercising when a friend phoned him to tell him about the shooting. He called his father, Robert Lawton, and found out that he was not hurt, then he let rest of his family know.

"All I know is that my father is OK," Nick Lawton told The Associated Press.

Sophomore Erin Johnson told The Huntsville Times a biology faculty meeting was under way when she heard screams coming from a conference room.

University police secured the building and students were cleared from it. There was still a heavy police presence on campus Friday night, with police tape cordoning off the main entrance to the university.

The Huntsville campus has about 7,500 students in northern Alabama, not far from the Tennessee line. The university is known for its scientific and engineering programs and often works closely with NASA.

The space agency has a research center on the school's campus, where many scientists and engineers from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center perform Earth and space science research and development.

The university posted a message on its Web site Friday afternoon telling students the campus was closed Friday night and all students were encouraged to go home. Counselors were available to speak with students.

It's the second shooting in a week on an area campus. Last Friday, a 14-year-old student was killed in a middle school hallway in nearby Madison, allegedly by a fellow student.

"This town is unaccustomed to shootings and multiple deaths," Garner said.

___

Associated Press Writers Phillip Rawls and Desiree Hunter in Montgomery, Ala., and Jacob Jordan and Daniel Yee in Atlanta contributed to this report.

[donnay]

Comment of the day: Reflecting on the shootings at University of Alabama-Huntsville
By al.com staff
February 12, 2010, 10:02PM
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/02/comment_of_the_day_reflecting.html

Three people were killed and three more were wounded in a shooting Friday at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Faculty members Dr. G.K. Podila, Dr. Maria Ragland Davis and Dr. Adriel Johnson died shortly after the afternoon shooting at the Shelby Center.

Biology professor Amy Bishop, a Harvard University-trained neuroscientist, is in custody but has not yet been charged. She was recently denied tenure at the school.

AL.com users like Alabama_Rooster have been wondering what could cause a professor and researcher to consider committing such an act.

    "A person of her obvious talent and intelligence does not go around murdering someone. This is most bizarre and demands a lot of answers, not just about the shooting, but the climate at UAH which might lead to such a confrontation. There is something rotten here and it my be professional jealousy, which is rampant in the research and development community....egos awash with the possibility of $$$$$$."

[One Revelator]

Excerpt from Trance Formation of America:

Early the next morning, deep underground in the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center mind-control lab near D.C., Bill Bennett began preparing me for the program. NASA uses various "CIA designer drugs" to chemically alter the brain and create exactly the mindset required at the time. Huntsville, Alabama's NASA drug of choice, "Train-quility," created a feeling of absolute, peaceful compliance and a sensation of walking on air. The drug administered this time was sufficiently similar to Tranquility to create total compliance. The beating I had endured the night before had rendered me helpless, anyway, and I could barely crawl up onto the cold, metal lab table as the drug took effect.

O’Brien specifically mentioned being programmed in Huntsville.

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Homepage
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/home/index.html

[donnay]

Wow that is interesting One Revelator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prof. in custody in fatal shooting on Ala. campus
http://www.waaytv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11980260

Associated Press - February 12, 2010 11:44 PM ET

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Authorities say a woman opened fire during a faculty meeting at the University of Alabama's Huntsville campus, killing three biology professors and injuring three other school employees.

University spokesman Ray Garner said the shooter was caught outside the building without incident, and no students were harmed in the shooting Friday.

Several students identified the woman who was being taken into custody as Amy Bishop, an instructor and researcher at the university. She was taken Friday night in handcuffs from a police precinct to the county jail and could be heard saying, "It didn't happen. There's no way .... they are still alive."

Local media also named the biology professor as the suspected shooter, though Garner said he could not identify her.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[donnay]

3 dead, 3 wounded in university shooting
Alabama biology professor, upset over tenure denial, charged with murder
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35372168/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
updated 13 minutes ago

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A biology professor was charged with murder Friday after a shooting at the University of Alabama-Huntsville campus that left three faculty members dead and three other people wounded.

Amy Bishop, a Harvard University-trained neuroscientist, was reportedly upset over being denied tenure. Her husband also was detained, local media reported, citing police and university sources and witnesses.

Bishop has been charged with one count of capital murder, which means she could face the death penalty if convicted.

Bishop was taken Friday night in handcuffs from a police precinct to the county jail and could be heard saying, “It didn’t happen. There’s no way ... they are still alive.”

The mayhem occurred in a third-floor conference room of the Shelby Center, a 200,000-square-foot science building on campus. University of Alabama-Huntsville spokesman Ray Garner said a woman opened fire during an afternoon faculty meeting.

Three faculty members were killed and two faculty members and a staff member were injured, Garner said.

University spokesman Ray Garner said Friday night the three killed were Gopi K. Podila, the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences, and two other faculty members, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson.

Two others were in critical condition, and a third who was wounded was upgraded to fair condition. The injured were identified as department members Luis Cruz-Vera and Joseph Leahy and staffer Stephanie Monticello. Their specific conditions were not released.

Sammie Lee Davis said his wife, Maria Ragland Davis, was a researcher who had tenure at the university. In a brief phone interview, he said he was told his wife was at a meeting to discuss the tenure status of another faculty member who got angry and started shooting.

He said his wife had mentioned the shooter before, describing the woman as “not being able to deal with reality” and “not as good as she thought she was.”

According to media reports, Bishop had been denied tenure Friday morning. She apparently returned to a campus faculty meeting in the afternoon and opened fire, university officials and witnesses told NBC station WAFF-TV.

It was unclear how many people were inside the conference room at the time. Garner said the suspected shooter was apprehended outside the building without incident.

Nick Lawton, the son of a biology professor at the school, said his father was not among the victims, but he did not know much more.

Lawton, 25, was exercising when a friend phoned him to tell him about the shooting. He called his father, Robert Lawton, and found out that he was not hurt, then he let the rest of his family know.

"All I know is that my father is OK," Nick Lawton told The Associated Press.

Screams heard
Erin Johnson, a sophomore and a student aide, told the Huntsville Times there was a biology faculty meeting under way when she heard screams coming from the room.

University police secured the building and students were cleared from it. There was still a heavy police presence on campus Friday night, with police tape cordoning off the main entrance to the university.

Gina Hammond, a UAH student, told WAFF that she lobbied the University of Alabama trustees to allow students with gun permits to carry their weapons on campus. She was turned down.

“I’m scared to go back to school,” Hammond said. “However, if they were to allow me to carry my pistol on campus, I would not be as scared.

“... I’m sorry that nobody in that room had a pistol to save at least one person’s life,” Hammond said.

"This is a tragedy of immeasurable proportions and a terrible a blow to our community," said U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith, R-Ala., in whose district the shootings occurred. "Now is a time for thoughtful prayer for those affected."

Suspect noted for cell research
Bishop joined the UAH faculty in 2003. Her areas of research focused on the role of gases, especially nitrous oxide, on the central nervous system.

Her lab was working on the development of a "neural computer" that would use living neurons — taken either from stem cells or fish.

She was also known for her work on cell growth.

In June 2006, The Huntsville Times published a story involving Bishop and her husband, Jim Anderson, chief science officer of Cherokee Labsystems in Huntsville.

Together, the two designed a portable cell incubator that eliminates many of the problems with cultivating tissues in the fragile environment of the Petri dish, according to the article.

"It's great to actually see it hit the market, and the sooner the better," Bishop said in the story. "My colleagues think it will change the face of tissue culture. It will allow us, as researchers, to not live in the lab and control our tissue culture conditions, including the sensitive cultures including those like adult stem cells.

"The conditions to differentiate those have to be exact, and the incubator will help that."

The invention earned the couple $25,000 of seed money in a business competition.

The Huntsville campus has about 7,500 students in northern Alabama, not far from the Tennessee line. The university is known for its scientific and engineering programs and often works closely with NASA.

The space agency has a research center on the school's campus, where many scientists and engineers from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center perform Earth and space science research and development.  

[One Revelator]

Excerpt from Trance Formation of America:

O’Brien specifically mentioned being programmed in Huntsville.

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Homepage
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/home/index.html

Definite affiliation between UA and NASA

The University of Alabama
Alabama Space Grant Consortium (AGSC)
http://spacegrant.eng.ua.edu/

The University of Alabama is one of the seven university affiliates of the Alabama Space Grant Consortium (ASGC).  In addition to the university affiliates, the ASGC has seven industrial affiliates and a partnership with the US Space & Rocket Center.  NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is an ex-officio member of the ASGC.  The ASGC is managed by the University of Alabama in Huntsville.  The ASGC has the goal of supporting and promoting America's preeminence in space.

[One Revelator]

Interesting comment from her husband to the Federal Trade Commission in ’04.

Wed 5/18/2004

Dear FTC,
Why should these companies be allowed to turn our computers into a
Reality TV show for their pleasure? What is the legality of an
individual or the Government doing this?

The government is not allowed to intrude on us without a court order.
These companies (often foreign or foreign owned) should not have more
rights to us than our own Government. The Constitution protects us from
the Government, what protects us from these voyeurs?

High priced lobbyists are not a replacement for democracy. Our privacy
needs armor plated protection.

"By the people ... for the people ..."

not

"Buy the people ... for the Corporations ..."

James Anderson
Cherokee Labsystems
AL

http://www.ftc.gov/os/comments/spyware/040518anderson.pdf

[One Revelator]

One of her project collaborators listed above is Robert Richmond, Ph.D., Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA.  He has ties with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Fort Detrick, Maryland.

AD
Award Number: DAMD17-99-IA-93 82
TITLE: Cell and Molecular Biology of Ataxia Telangiectasia
Heterozygous Human Mammary Epithelial Cells Irradiated in
Culture
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert C. Richmond, Ph.D.
CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama 35812
REPORT DATE: September 2001
TYPE OF REPORT: Annual
PREPARED FOR: U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
Fort Detrick, Maryland 21702-5012
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Approved for Public Release;
Distribution Unlimited

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA403375&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

[donnay]

This is definitely interesting...

Effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors on motor neuron survival
http://dovepress.com/effects-of-selective-serotonin-reuptake-inhibitors-on-motor-neuron-sur-peer-reviewed-article-IJGM

Authors: Lily B Anderson, Phaedra B Anderson, Thea B Anderson, Amy Bishop, et al.
Published Date May 2009 , Volume 2009:2
Journal: International Journal of General Medicine

Lily B Anderson1, Phaedra B Anderson1, Thea B Anderson1, Amy Bishop2, James Anderson2

1Cherokee Labsystems, Huntsville, AL USA; 2Department of Biology, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, USA

Abstract: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine and paroxetine are prescribed to relieve clinical depression and a variety of other disorders. Recently tardive dyskinesia, as well as other movement disorders, have been found to be a clinical side effect of SSRIs. In light of these emerging side effects, we asked if motor neurons were affected by SSRI. Motor neurons were challenged with fluoxetine and paroxetine at clinically relevant doses as well as at lesser and greater doses. Ethanol was used as a negative control and another group of cells was left untreated. As expected, in alcohol-treated cells, there was significant decrease in cell survival and neurite outgrowth. In untreated cells there was no effect in either cell survival or neurite outgrowth. In fluoxetine-treated motor neurons there was ∼52% cell death while in paroxetine-treated cells there was 14% cell survival and both SSRIs caused significant loss of the percentage of neurite-bearing cells. Both SSRIs decreased cell survival in a dose-dependent manner. This study is provocative enough to call for further in vivo studies.

Keywords: fluoxetine, paroxetine, motor neurons, NSC34, neurotoxicity, SSRI

[donnay]

Obviously they were doing a lot of research...

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121637846/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Mitigation of peroxynitrite-mediated nitric oxide (NO) toxicity as a mechanism of induced adaptive NO resistance in the CNS
Amy Bishop*, Renea Gooch*, Asuka Eguchi*, Stephanie Jeffrey*, Lorraine Smallwood*, James Anderson† and Alvaro G. Estevez‡
  *Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama at Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
  †Cherokee Lab Systems, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
  ‡Burke Medical Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, White Plains, New York, USA
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Amy Bishop, PhD, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama at Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899, USA. E-mail bishopa@uah.edu
Copyright Journal compilation © 2009 International Society for Neurochemistry
KEYWORDS
heme oxygenase 1 • motor neurons • nitric oxide • nitrotyrosine • peroxynitrite • resistance
ABSTRACT

During CNS injury and diseases, nitric oxide (NO) is released at a high flux rate leading to formation of peroxynitrite (ONOO•) and other reactive nitrogenous species, which nitrate tyrosines of proteins to form 3-nitrotyrosine (3NY), leading to cell death. Previously, we have found that motor neurons exposed to low levels of NO become resistant to subsequent cytotoxic NO challenge; an effect dubbed induced adaptive resistance (IAR). Here, we report IAR mitigates, not only cell death, but 3NY formation in response to cytotoxic NO. Addition of an NO scavenger before NO challenge duplicates IAR, implicating reactive nitrogenous species in cell death. Addition of uric acid (a peroxynitrite scavenger) before cytotoxic NO challenge, duplicates IAR, implicating peroxynitrite, with subsequent 3NY formation, in cell death, and abrogation of this pathway as a mechanism of IAR. IAR is dependent on the heme-metabolizing enzyme, heme oxygenase-1 (HO1), as indicated by the elimination of IAR by a specific HO1 inhibitor, and by the finding that neurons isolated from HO1 null mice have increased NO sensitivity with concomitant increased 3NY formation. This data indicate that IAR is an HO1-dependent mechanism that prevents peroxynitrite-mediated NO toxicity in motor neurons, thereby elucidating therapeutic targets for the mitigation of CNS disease and injury.

Received November 17, 2008; revised manuscript received December 21, 2008; accepted December 23, 2008.
DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)
10.1111/j.1471-4159.2009.05884.x About DOI

[Tactics]

Sorry if I say so, but this lady is way too professional to just go off like this. I refuse to believe a word about motives, etc., until I hear a qualified journalist interview her/husband both. This smacks WAY of setup. This doesn't fit the MO for revenge, or being belittled.

I sense something groundbreaking was about to happen, and elites wanted it shut down, possibly quietly.

Something just doesn't add up. Even the way "these things happen...", sounds a little too coy, no?


Keep on it, I'm certain we aren't being told something. Yet.

that's what I'm thinking too...but then again why not have her killed rather than be the one doing the killing.  We should look into the other professors who did get killed.  Maybe they were on to something.

[donnay]

Definite affiliation between UA and NASA

The University of Alabama
Alabama Space Grant Consortium (AGSC)
http://spacegrant.eng.ua.edu/

UAH Launches Space Experiment
March 12, 2009 by Matt Sayar  

At exactly 8:07am on Saturday, March 7th, a two-month-long project was successfully off the ground and into the air. The Colleges of Science, Nursing, and Engineering all worked together to launch a balloon that carried a payload of nerve cells into space, measuring how they are affected by radiation in the atmosphere. A couple dozen students and spectators watched the enormous 2kg balloon as it made its journey above the atmosphere.

Organizing three different colleges to collaborate on one project is no small feat, but the success of this experiment proves it can be done. “It’s hard to get biologists and engineers to work together!” remarked case manager Alwin Heuer. The College of Nursing funded the project, the MAE Department’s Space Hardware Club constructed the balloon assembly, and Amy Bishop of the biology lab provided the nerve cells.
Up, up, and away! Photo by: Patricia Doyle

Up, up, and away! Photo by: Patricia Doyle

A unique aspect of this project includes the payload itself. Before this experiment, there was no way to transport living cells in a portable environment. James Anderson, owner of Cherokee Lab Systems and creator of the cell drive transporter, combined all his knowledge of electrical and computer engineering and biology to invent the device. “It wasn’t easy to create, and I’ve been working on it for a while, and this experiment gave me a reason to finish it.” The device is patent-pending.

After the balloon was set loose, a team of chasers immediately jumped into their vehicles to pursue the balloon via a GPS tracking system. It reached a height of 99,000 feet (18.75 miles), and eventually parachuted down northeast of Chattanooga. Everything was intact on recovery, and the cell drive transporter performed its job perfectly. When taken back to the lab, many of the cells were dead, and the next step is to grow the living ones and see how they react.

“We love working with MAE guys, and we couldn’t have done this without them!” says Nursing Professor Lynx McClellan after the payload was recovered. “Now we’re excited to work with the Biology Department to study the cells.”

[donnay]

Someone mentioned finding out about the people Amy Bishop allegedly killed, here is the first one:

UAH has identified three of dead victims:
G. K. Podila, the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences, and two associates, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson.


Dr. G. K. Podila
Chair
Department of Biological Sciences

Research Areas
Engineering tree Biomass for Bioenergy. Functional Genomics of Plant-microbe interactions, Plant Molecular biology and Biotechnology
   
Research Description
   

(1) Functional genomics of plant-microbe interactions: Under beneficial interactions, our lab is studying early gene expression resulting from ectomycorrhizal formation, in order to identify genes essential for ectomycorrhizal symbiosis. Our lab is one of the first labs to genetically engineer mycorrhizal fungi for functional genomic studies. Most recently, our lab is involved in coordinating the first genome-sequencing project on ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor by Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute. The L. bicolor genome sequence is now publicly available at JGI web site. Dr. Podila's lab is a member of International Steering committee involved in genome projects of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices and also poplar rust fungus Melampsora. Funding:NSF

(2) Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology: Our lab is pursuing molecular basis of developmental control of reproductive tissues and vascular tissues (wood formation) using poplar as a model system. Studies include cloning, characterization, and protein-protein interaction of MADS-box family transcription factors that control these processes. We are also pursuing characterization of promoters from these genes that can be used for targeted gene expression in transgenic trees and to regulate woody biomass and reproductive development. For the last 12 years our lab is involved in developing genetically engineered conifers and hardwood trees, through gene stacking techniques for increasing cellulosic biomass for bioenergy. Other ongoing projects in our lab include cloning and characterization of plant defense genes and antioxidant genes from aspen and developing transgenic trees with enhanced Resistance to pests and oxidative stresses and increased carbon sequestration. Current Funding:DOE.

(3) Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics: Our lab is currently collaborating with INRA France, CNRS, Italy, DOE Oak Ridge National labs and Michigan Tech University in developing EST databases and microarray analysis for symbiotic, plant pathogenic and plant stress related differentially expressed genes and to apply these studies for Systems Biology approach to understand functioning at organismal level.

Selected Publications

Jain P, Wadhwa P, Aygun R, Podila G.K. 2008. Vector-G: Multi-Modular SVM-Based Heterotrimeric G-Protein Prediction. In silico Biology 8, 0013.

Martin F. et. al. (2008). The genome of Laccaria bicolor provides insights into mycorrhizal symbiosis. Nature 452(7183):88-92.

Pandey, A., White, H., Podila G.K. 2007. Functional Genomic Approaches for Mycorrhizal Research. In Plant Surface Microbiology, Springer-Verlag, Germany.

Cseke, L.J., Ravinder, N., Pandey, A.K., and Podila, G.K. 2007. Identification of PTM5 protein interaction partners, a MADS-box gene involved in aspen tree vegetative development. GENE 391: 209-222.

Hiremath ST, Balasubramanian S, Zheng J, Podila G K. 2006. Symbiosis-regulated expression of an acetylCoA acetyltransferase gene in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor. Canadian Journal of Botany 84: 1405-1416.

Gupta, P., Duplessis, S., White, H., Martin, F., Karnosky, D.F., Podila, G. K. 2005. Gene expression patterns of trembling aspen trees following long-term exposure to elevated CO2 and tropospheric O3. New Phytologist 167(1): 129-142.

Cseke LJ, Cseke SB, Ravinder N, Taylor LC, Shankar A, Sen B, Thakur R, Karnosky DF, G. K. Podila. 2005. Sep-Class Genes in Populus Tremuloides and Their Likely Role in Reproductive Survival of Poplar Trees. GENE 358: 1-16.

P. Lammers, G. A. Tuskan, S. P. DiFazio. G. K. Podila , F. Martin. 2004. Mycorrhizal symbionts of Populus to be sequenced by the United States Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute. Mycorrhiza 14:63 n 64.

G.K. Podila, L. Lanfranco. 2004. Genomics approaches to unravel mycorrhizal symbiosis. In Plant Surface Microbiology, Springer-Verlag, Germany. Pp 561-592.

S. Sundaram, Brand, J.H, Hymes, M.J, S.T. Hiremath, G.K. Podila. 2004. Isolation and Analysis of A Symbiosis-Regulated and Ras Interacting Vesicular Assembly Protein Gene from the Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Laccaria bicolor. New Phytologist 161:529-538.

Cseke, L.J., Zheng, J., Podila, G.K. 2003. Characterization of PTM5 In Aspen: A MADS-Box Gene Expressed During Woody Vascular Development. GENE 318 (2003) 55-67.

Peter M, P-E Courty, A. Kohler, C. Delaruelle, D. Martin, D. Tagu, P. Frey-Klett, S. Duplessis, M. Chalot, G.K. Podila, F. Martin. 2003. Analysis of expressed sequence tags from the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes Laccaria bicolor and Pisolithus microcarpus. New Phytologist 159: 117-129.
   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prior to G.K. Podila going to the University of Alabama he was at the University of Michigan.

http://www.bio.mtu.edu/faculty/podila.htm

Department Faculty -
Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Dr. Gopi K. Podila Ph.D.

Professor
Adjunct Professor School of Forestry
Indiana State University, 1986

Research Area: Molecular Biology of Plant-Microbe Interactions, Forest Biotechnology

 

Ph: (906) 487-3068
Email: gkpodila@mtu.edu

Research Description:

Dr. Podila's research group specializes in the cloning and characterization of genes with the intended purpose of growing plants faster, producing more disease resistant plants and producing plant products in large quantities that are of high value. By accomplishing this, plants can be created that are more insect/disease resistant, plants that exist in extreme environments, such as hazardous waste sites, and plants that can be used for purposes of bioremediation.

Research Interest:

   1. Molecular basis for plant-microbe interactions: both beneficial and pathogenic. Under beneficial interactions, our lab is studying early gene expression resulting from ectomycorrhizal formation, in order to clone and characterize genes essential for development of mycorrhizae. Our lab pioneered the techniques to study molecular basis of early gene expression of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis. Our lab is one of the first labs to genetically engineer mycorrhizal fungi, which may be used for improving health and growth of forest trees and as biological control agents.

      Under pathogenic interactions, our lab recently initiated a project on cloning pathogenecity genes from forest tree pathogens such as Septoria species to understand disease development and devise biological control methods through "gene knockout" mechanisms and also to clone R-genes from aspen against Septoria and other pathogens.

   2. Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology: Our lab is working on developing genetically engineered conifers, such as larch; and hardwood trees, such as aspen, hybrid aspen and poplars, for value added genes such as herbicide and insect resistance and lignin modification in collaboration with School of Forestry. Other ongoing projects in our lab include cloning and characterization of plant defense genes and antioxidant genes from hardwood trees and developing transgenic trees with enhanced Resistance to pests and oxidative stresses. We are also pursuing cloning and characterization of developmentally regulated genes and promoters from hardwood species that can be used for targeted gene expression in transgenic trees and to regulate development. Currently these include genes involved in development of reproductive tissues and vascular tissues from tree species.

   3. Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics: Our lab is currently collaborating with MTU faculty in Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science and Center for Biological Computing at University of Minnesota in using cutting edge computer analysis in determining the 3-D structure function relationships of proteins and also in developing EST databases and microarray analysis (in collaboration with Corning Life Sciences, Dow-Agro) for symbiotic, plant pathogenic and plant stress related differentially expressed genes.

Current Publications:

    * B.A. Wustman, E. Oksanen, J.G. Isebrands, K.S. Pregitzer, G.R. Hendrey, J. Sober, and D. F. Karnosky. G.K. Podila, 2001. Effects of Elevated CO2 and O3 on Aspen Clones Varying in O3 Sensitivity: Can CO2 Ameliorate the Harmful Effects of O3? Env. Pollution (in press).

    * S. Sundaram, S.J. Kim, H. Suzuki, C.J. Mcquattie, S.T. Hiremath, G.K. Podila. (2001) Isolation and Characterization of a Symbiosis-Regulated ras from the Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Laccaria bicolor. Mol. Plant Microbe. Int. 14: 618-628.

    * Liu, J.J., Karnosky, D.F., Podila, G.K. 2001. A Nonspecific Lipid Transfer Protein Gene preferentially Expressed in Developing Strobili of Pinus resinosa. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 7:39-45.

    * Noormets A, Sôber A, Pell EJ, Dickson RE, Podila GK, Sôber J, Isebrands JG, Karnosky DF. 2001. Stomatal and non-stomatal limitation to photosynthesis in two trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) clones exposed to elevated CO2 and/or O3. Plant Cell Environment 24:327-336.

    * Noormets, A., Karnosky, D.F., Podila, G.K. 2000. Differential induction of antioxidant enzymes in two Populus tremuloides Michx. Clones under O3-induced oxidative stress.Forest Genetics 7(4): 339-342.

    * Liu, J-J. Podila, G.K. 2000. Isolation of a cDNA encoding for a putative ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme PrUBC1 from Pinus resinosa. (Accession No AF001948). (PGR 00-036) Pl. Physiol. 122:1457.

    * Karnosky, D.F., B. Mankovska, K. Percy, R.E. Dickson, G.K. Podila, G. Hendrey, M.D. Coleman, M. Kubiske, K.S. Pregitzer, J. Sober and J.G. Isebrands. (1999). Effects of tropospheric O3 and interaction with CO2: Comparison of open-top chamber, field and FACE results with trembling aspen genotypes differing in O3 sensitivity. J. Air, Water and Soil Pollut. 116:311-322.

    * Akkapeddi, A., Noormets, A., Deo, B.K., Karnosky, D.F., Podila, G.K. (1999). Gene structure and expression of aspen cytosolic copper/Zn-superoxide dismutase (PtSodCc1). Plant Science 143: 151-162.

    * S.J. Kim, D. Bernreuther, M. Thumm, Podila, G.K. (1999). LB-AUT7, a novel symbiosis-regulated gene from an ectomycorrhizal fungus, Laccaria bicolor, is functionally related to vesicular transport and autophagocytosis.
      Journal of Bacteriology 181: 1963-1967.

    * Bills, S.N., Hiremath, S.T., Podila, G.K. (1999). Genetic engineering of an ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor for use as a biological control agent.
      Mycologia 91: 237-242.

    * Becker, D.M., Bagley, S., Podila, G.K. 1999. Effects of mycorrhizoplane streptomyces on gene expression and growth of ectomycorrhizal fungi and determination of the range of inhibition by the streptomyces.
      Mycologia. 91: 33-40.

    * S.J. Kim. Hiremath, S.T., Podila, G.K. (1999). Cloning and identification of symbiosis-regulated genes from ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor. Mycological Research 103: 168-172.

    * S.J. Kim. Zheng, J., Hiremath, S.T., Podila, G.K. (1998). Cloning and characterization of a symbiosis- related gene from an ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor. Gene 222 (2): 203-212.

    * Tsai, C.J., Mielke, M., Popko, J., Chiang, V.L., Podila, G.K. 1998. Red-wood in transgenic aspen expressing a homologous bi-OMT gene: Evidence for production of cinnamyl aldehydes and down regulation of CAOMT and CAD. Plant Physiology 117: 101-112.

    * Karnosky, D.F., Podila, G.K. , Gagnon, Z., Pechter, P., Akkapeddi, A., Coleman, M., Dickson, R.E., Isebrands, J.G. 1998. Genetic control of responses to interacting O3 and CO2 in Populus tremuloides. Chemosphere 36: 807-812.

    * Liu, J-J., Podila, G.K. 1997. Characterization of a MADS box gene from immature female cone of red pine. Plant Physiology. 113: 66.

    * Sheng. Y,P., Karnosky, D.F. and Podila, G.K. 1997. Differences in O3-induced superoxide dismutase and glutathione antioxidant expression in O3 tolerant and sensitive trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) clones.. Forest Genetics 4: 25-33.

    * Tsai, C.J., Mielke, M.R., Chiang, V.L. Podila, G.K. 1996. An improved primer extension method to define transcription start points and for transgene analysis. Nucleic Acids Research. 24: 5060-5062.

    * Podila, G.K. 1996. Fiber Farms for the Future: Genetically Engineered Trees. Invited review article, Chemistry & Industry 24: 764-781.

    * Bills, S.N., Richter, D., Podila, G.K. 1995 Genetic transformation of symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus by particle bombardment. Mycological Research 99: 557-561.

    * Tsai, C.J., Podila, G.K., Chiang, V.L. 1995. Nucleotide sequence of Populus tremuloides gene for caffeic acid/5 hydroxyferulic acid O-methyltransferase. Pl. Physiol. 107: 1459.

    * Podila, G.K., San Francisco, M.J., Rosen, E., Kolattukudy, P.E. 1995. Targeted secretion of cutinase in Fusarium solani f.sp. pisi and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Phytopathology 85: 238-242.

    * Tsai, C.J., Podila, G.K., Chiang, V.L. 1995. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and regeneration of transgenic plants. Pl. Cell Reports 14: 94-97.

    * Shin, D., Podila, G.K., and Karnsoky, D.F. 1994. Transformation and regeneration of larch for herbicide and insect resistance.
      Can. J. For. Res. 24: 2059-2067.

    * Akkapeddi, A.S., Stanek, M.T., Shin, D., Karnosky, D.F., Podila, G.K. 1994. cDNA and derived amino acid sequence of the chloroplastic copper/zinc superoxide dismutase from aspen. Pl. Physiol. 106: 1231-1232.

    * Dwivedi, U.N., Campbell, W.H., Yu, J., Datla, R.S.S., Chiang, V.L., Podila, G.K. 1994. Modification of lignin biosynthesis in transgenic Nicotiana through expression of an antisense O-methyltransferase gene from Populus. Plant Molecular Biology 26: 61-71

    * Podila, G.K., Rogers, L.M., Kolattukudy, P.E. 1993. Chemical signals from avocado surface wax trigger germination and appressorium formation in Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Plant Physiology 103: 265-272.

    * Podila, G.K., Kotagiri, S., and Shantharam S. 1993. Molecular cloning of protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase genes from Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110. Appl. Env. Microbiol 59: 2717-2719

    * Varley, D., Hiremath, S.T. and Podila, G.K. 1992. Cutinase gene expression in Cryphonectria parasitica, the chest nut blight fungus: Effect of hypovirulence agents on expression. Mol. Cell. Biol. 12: 4539-4544.

    * Bajar, A.M., G.K. Podila, and P.E. Kolattukudy. 1991. Identification of fungal cutinase promoter that is inducible by plant signal via a phosphorylating transacting factor.
      Proceedings of National Academy of Science. USA. 88: 8208-8212.

    * Dickman, M.B., G.K. Podila, and P.E. Kolattukudy. 1989. Insertion of cutinase gene into a wound pathogen enables it to infect intact host.
      Nature 342:486-488.

    * Podila, G.K., M.B. Dickman, and P.E. Kolattukudy. 1988. Transcriptional activation of a cutinase gene in isolated fungal nuclei by plant monomers. Science 242:922-925.

Book Chapters and Proceedings Papers:

    * G.K. Podila and M. Badiani. (2001). Antioxidants and Foliar Defense Compounds. In "The Impact of Carbon Divide and Other Greenhouse Gases on Forest Ecosystems". D. Karnosky, R. Ceulemans, J. Innes and G.E. Scarascia Mugnozza, Eds, IUFRO (in press).

    * Karnsoky, D.F., Sen, B., Kim, J., Xiang, B, Cseke, L, Dixon, D.C, Liu, .J, Podila, G.K. (2000). Engineering reproductive sterility in forest tree species. Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop of Bio-Refor. Biotechnology Applications for Reforestation ad Biodiversity Conservation. Bio-Refor Publications, Nepal. 7-12.

    * S.T. Hiremath and G.K. Podila. (2000). Development of Genetically Engineered Mycorrhizal Fungi for Biological Control. In Current Advances in Mycorrhizae Research. G.K. Podila and D.D. Douds Eds. APS Press, St. Paul. MN. 179-187.

    * Karnosky, David F., Kevin Percy, Blanka Mankovska, Richard E. Dickson, J.G. Isebrands, and G.K. Podila (2000). Genetic implications for forest trees of increasing levels of greenhouse gases and UV-B. In Forest Genetics and Sustainability, C. Matyas (ed.). Kluwer Academic Publishers. The Netherlands. Vol 63: 111-124.

    * Bauman, A., Brown, R., Dettman, R., Mellen, A., Pandey, R., Podila, G.K., Xiang, X.-H., and Murthy,P. (1998) Conformational studies of myo-inositol phosphates. In Proceedings of Workshop on the Biochemistry of Plant Phytate and Phytic acid. S. Rasmussen, Ed., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Copenhagen, Denmark.

    * Karnosky, D.F., Podila, G.K. Chiang, V.L. and Reimenschneider, D. (1997). "Biotechnology in Forest Tree Improvement”. In: Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (Eds. A.K. Mandal, G.L. Gibson), CBS Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, India 15:252-268.

    * Karnosky, D.F., Podila, G.K. and Reimenschneider, D. 1997. Differential expression of aroA gene in transgenic hybrid poplar: Influence of promoter and ozone stress. In Klopfenstein, N.B. ed., Populus: A model system for tissue culture and molecular biology of woody plants. USDA Forest Service Technical Report RM-GTR-297. Pp. 70-73.

    * Boerjan, W., Baucher, M., Chablet, B., Petit-Conil, M., Leple, J.C., Cornu, D., Monties, B., Van Montagu, M., Van Doorsselaere, J., Inze, D., Jousnin, L., Tsai, C.J., Podila, G.K., Joshi, C.P., Chiang, V.L. (1997). Genetic modification of lignin biosynthesis in quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and poplar (Populus tremula x Populus alba). In: Klopfenstein, N.B. ed., Populus: A model system for tissue culture and molecular biology of woody plants. . USDA Forest Service Technical Report RM-GTR-297.

    * Hiremath, S.T., Podila, G.K. (1995). Biocontrol of white grubs through genetically engineered ectomycorrhizae. Proceedings of 2nd International Symposium on Applied Biotechnology Bloomington, MN, October 2-6, USDA Technical Report NC-175, p68-69, St. Paul, MN.

    * Karnosky, D.F., Podila, G.K., Tsai, C.J., Chiang, V.L. (1994). Progress in production of transgenic trees with value added genes: Results from larch and aspen. TAPPI Proceedings. p157-160. TAPPI Press

    * Chiang, V.L., Tsai, C.J. Kumar, A.S., Podila, G.K. (1994). Regulation of lignin biosynthesis in transgenic quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). TAPPI Proceedings. Atlanta, GA. p167-172, TAPPI Press, Atlanta, GA

    * Chiang, V, L., Podila G.K., Tsai, C.J. Kumar, A.S., Yu, J. 1994. Regulation of bi-functional O-methyltransferase gene expression in transgenic quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). Intl. Wood Biotechnology Symposium. Tokyo, Japan. P15-22.

    * Karnosky, D.F., Shin, D., Podila, G.K. (1994). Transfer and expression of foreign genes in Larix: Opportunities for genetic improvement. Proc. International Larix Symposium. USDA Forest Service GTR-INT-319. Pp. 405-407.

    * Shin, D.I., Podila, G.K., and Karnosky, D.F. (1994). Transformation of Larix decidua. In: Y.P.S. Bajaj (Ed.). Biotechnology in Agriculture. Springer-Verlag. Invited Chapter. Vol 29. Pp 321-336.

    * Karnosky, D.F. and Podila, G.K. (1993). Elm Improvement Through Biotechnological Methods. In Dutch Elm Disease Research, ed. M.B. Sticklen, and J.L. Sherald. Springer-Verlag, New York. pp.75-80.

    * Chiang, V.L., Podila, G.K., Wang, W.Y., Bugos, R.C., Campbell, W.H., Tsai, C.J. (1993). Genetic manipulation of lignification in Liquidamber styraciflua. Proceedings of International conference on Emerging Technologies for Pulp and Paper Industry, Taipei, Taiwan, May 18-20, pp. 26-29.

    * Dwivedi, U.N., Campbell, W.H., Yu, J, Datla, R.S.S., Bugos, R.C., Chen, Z.Z., Wang, W.Y., Podila, G.K., and Chiang, V.L. (1993). Expression of lignin specific aspen O-methyltransferase antisense gene in tobacco and wood species to reduce lignin content. Proceedings of 7th International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Beijing, China, May 25-28, pp. 155-158.

    * Kolattukudy, P.E., G.K. Podila, B.A. Sherf, and R. Mohan. (1991). Mutual triggering of gene expression in plant-fungus interactions. Molecular Genetics of Plant-Microbe Interactions. Vol. 1, 242-249.

    * Podila, G.K., M.B. Dickman, L. Rogers, and P.E. Kolattukudy. (1989). Regulation and expression of fungal genes by plant signals. Pages 217-226 In: Nevelainen, H., and M. Penttila, Eds. Molecular Biology of Filamentous Fungi. Foundation for Biotechnical and Industrial Fermentation Research. Invited Chapter.

    * Kolattukudy, P.E., Podila, G.K., Roberts, E., and Dickman, M.B. (1989). Gene expression resulting from the early signals in plant-fungus interaction. In UCLA symposium Proceedings on Molecular Biology of Plant-Pathogen Interactions. p 87-104.

BOOKS:

    * Current Advances in Mycorrhizae Research, (2000) Editors G.K. Podila and D.D. Douds, American Phytopathological Society Press, and St. Paul, MN.

[starvosan]

Bishop, 42, was taken Friday night in handcuffs from a police precinct to the county jail and could be heard saying, "It didn't happen. There's no way .... they are still alive''

I believe her.  Sounds like she foolishly decided to participate in a DHS-style ''drill'' and pick up some extra cash.  Then she found out the joke was on her, just like Ft. Hood's Nidal Hasan and the alleged Pittsburgh Fitness club shooter George Sodini.

[donnay]

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/18119805#video=18128641

Here is a filed video of the news.


Shooting suspect: 'They are still alive'

Sat Feb 13, 2:57AM PT - AP 1:07 | 0 views

A biology professor at the University of Alabama-Huntsville has been charged with murder in the shooting deaths of three fellow biology professors at the campus. (Feb. 13)

[PEOA]

again.........can anyone say......serotonin re uptake inhibitors.........

[donnay]

again.........can anyone say......serotonin re uptake inhibitors.........

Psychotropic drugs!

Here is the study they did--it's a PDF file:  http://www.dovepress.com/getfile.php?fileID=4844

[donnay]

Here we go...painting her up as a nut case.

Professor accused in Ala. slayings shot her brother in Mass. 24 years ago

By John M. Guilfoil and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The University of Alabama biology professor accused of slaying three of her colleagues fatally shot her brother in an apparent accident in Massachusetts more than two decades ago, a local police chief said.

Braintree Police Chief Paul Frazier confirmed the 1986 shooting in his town and slated a news conference this afternoon to discuss the incident.

The Globe reported at the time that Amy Bishop had shot her 18-year-old brother, Seth M. Bishop, an accomplished violinist who had won a number of science awards.

John Polio, chief of police at the time, said Amy Bishop, who was 20 at the time, had asked her mother, Judith, in the presence of her brother how to unload a round from the chamber of a 12-gauge shotgun.

Polio told the Globe that while Amy Bishop was handling the weapon, it fired, wounding Seth Bishop in the abdomen. He was pronounced dead at a hospital 46 minutes after the Dec. 6, 1986 shooting.

"Every indication at this point in time leads us to believe it was an accidental shooting," Polio said at the time.

In Friday's shooting, Amy Bishop, 42, a Harvard-educated neurobiologist, allegedly shot and killed three of her colleagues and wounded three others in an apparent tenure dispute at the Huntsville campus, the Associated Press reports.

[donnay]

Statement from Braintree Police Chief Paul Frazier on Amy Bishop
Here is the text of Braintree Police Chief Paul Frazier's statement on Amy Bishop's 1986 shooting of her brother, Seth:

Good afternoon,

The members of the Braintree Police Department extend their thoughts and prayers to the victims in the shooting incident which occurred at the University of Alabama, in Huntsville, Alabama as well as to their families and the members of the Huntsville Police Department who responded to and are investigating the incident.


Amy Bishop

I have been in contact with the Huntsville Police Department to confirm that the suspect in their shooting had been involved in a shooting incident in Braintree 24 years ago. Their investigators will be back in touch with us within a couple of days.

The suspect in the Huntsville shooting, Amy Bishop had been involved in a shooting incident in Braintree, Massachusetts in December of 1986. I located the Day Log from December of 1986 and found that the incident had occurred on December 6th. After finding the report number I looked in our archived files for the report. I was unable to locate the report.

Officer Ronald Solimini informed me that he wrote the report and said that I wouldn’t find it as it has been missing from the files for over 20 years. He said that former Police Chief Edward Flynn had looked for the report and that it was missing. He believes this was in 1988.

Officer Solimini recalled the incident as follows: He said he remembers that Ms. Bishop fired a round from a pump action shotgun into the wall of her bedroom. She had a fight with her brother and shot him, which caused his death. She fired a third round from the shotgun into the ceiling as she exited the home. She fled down the street with the shotgun in her hand. At one point she allegedly pointed the shotgun at a motor vehicle in an attempt to get the driver to stop. Officer Solimini found her behind a business on Washington Street. Officer Timothy Murphy was able to take control of the suspect at gunpoint and seized the shotgun. Ms. Bishop was subsequently handcuffed and transported to the police station under arrest.

Officer Solimini informed me that before the booking process was completed Ms. Bishop was released from custody without being charged.

I (Chief Frazier) spoke with the retired Deputy Chief who was then a Lieutenant and was responsible for booking Ms. Bishop. He said he had started the process when he received a phone call he believes was from then Police Chief John Polio or possibly from a captain on Chief Polio’s behalf. He was instructed to stop the booking process. At some point Ms. Bishop was turned over to her mother and they left the building via a rear exit.

Braintree Police Lieutenant Karen MacAleese was a high school classmate and confirmed from photographs that the suspect is the same Amy Bishop who lived in Braintree.

I was not on duty at the time of the incident, but I recall how frustrated the members of the department were over the release of Ms. Bishop. It was a difficult time for the department as there had been three (3) shooting incidents within a short timeframe. The release of Ms. Bishop did not sit well with the police officers and I can assure you that this would not happen in this day and age.

It is troubling that this incident has come to light. I can assure you that the members of the Braintree Police Department maintain the highest of integrity. Since it was discovered this morning that the report is missing, I have been in contact with Mayor Joseph Sullivan. Mayor Sullivan and I have spoken with District Attorney William Keating and we will be meeting with him next week to discuss this situation. The Mayor supports a full review of this matter and agrees that we want to know where the records are.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interesting set of recollections about a case that happened 24 years ago and a missing file.  That's a whole lot different from the above post, don't you think?

[starvosan]

The motive seems weak.  She is far too smart to pull a stunt this dumb, and to think she could have gotten away with it.  She has four kids, and no one who know her described her as being violent or having a bad temper.

But the fact she murdered her own brother indicates she might indeed be a violent psycho. Or it could make her the ideal patsy.  The only way she would have done it is if she was on SSRIs, as people are saying.

I think it is interesting that the living witnesses to this shooting have no public media interviews.  But that seems to be a common thing in these mass shooting events.

[donnay]

The motive seems weak.  She is far too smart to pull a stunt this dumb, and to think she could have gotten away with it.  She has four kids, and no one who know her described her as being violent or having a bad temper.

But the fact she murdered her own brother indicates she might indeed be a violent psycho. Or it could make her the ideal patsy.  The only way she would have done it is if she was on SSRIs, as people are saying.

I think it is interesting that the living witnesses to this shooting have no public media interviews.  But that seems to be a common thing in these mass shooting events.

I don't believe she murdered her brother...too many inconsistencies with reports here.  I believe it was an accident just like it was reported first.  Now, the Braintree, MA police department are saying she had a fight with her brother Seth and shot him in the chest--why wasn't she arrested and charged with murder, she was 20 years old when this incident took place?  The other interesting thing is the Braintree, MA police department just cannot seem to find her file.  If it was a possible murder case the file would be left open since there is no statute of limitations on a murder case.

I'd also be interested in the schools surveillance cameras--we know they have them.  Of course the cameras will either have been shut down or so blurry you couldn't make out who did what.

They also said that she was upset because she was not going to make tenure yet in this article it was said that the faculty meeting wasn't even discussing tenure.

I do smell a set up in progress.