DR. BRAD STITH,
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO-DENVER, BIOLOGY HOME PAGE

ANIMAL CARE FORMS  - IACUC

Click to Email me at: brad.stith@cudenver.edu

Undergraduate Research

Getting a biology degree without lab research experience is like getting a degree in tennis without ever playing tennis --take a look at this link for detailed information on the value of undergraduate research- click here.. 

Read an open letter from a student about the value of undergraduate lab involvement (click here)

A national organization, the Council on Undergraduate Research, facilitates undergraduate involvement-- read their statement of purpose (to go to their web site, click here).

WebGURU: An IMPORTANT web site for undergraduate researchers: http://www.webguru.neu.edu/

"The normal attitude (of a scientist) is a disquieting sense of being wrong.  The work is open-ended, the results uncertain, and decisions are "curiosity-driven."  Lewis Thomas, Physician, Researcher.

 photo: UCD undergraduate research students and Dr. Stith present our data at the national meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco, CA

Presentations and Web Papers(to view the slide presentations, use IE not Netscape Communicator or Adobe PDF reader)

Courses taught by Dr. Stith---From a past student of mine:  "I took you for developmental biology, cell signaling, and advanced cell biology...Well, I am 3 weeks into my first semester of medical school at Ross University and I wanted to tell you how amazing those three classes I took with you were.  I am about 1-3 months ahead of my fellow classmates b/c of those three classes.  It has made my transition into medical school much easier.  I am even having my mom send me all of your lecture CDs you gave us to help me study" (January 2006).  Another student in an email from Oct 2007: "I did get into medical school!!! Today in class, one of our professors asked if anyone knew what Notch was. It was nice to be the only person of 157 people to know what notch was and answer the question. My answer could have been better, but I got the point across!! I'm really glad I took all of your classes!!!  We actually use the same book by Alberts. They just skim the surface of these topics leaving some people lost.  However, I feel very well prepared for this block b/c of your classes!!!"

For a "how to" on searching for scientific articles using PubMed, click here  (pdf Adobe file).  This info is to be used in my courses that require a student presentation on original research papers. 

For instructions on how to make a PowerPoint slide for a large poster, click here

For instructions on how to develop Oral, Scientific Presentations, click here  and also here

How to take Essay Exams (especially important for my upper level courses); click here.

1. Developmental Biology 4054/5054. Once you know your user name and password, Go to the CU Online web page, go to the upper right corner, under "Course Login" and click on Blackboard Login.  To go to the CU Online web page,  click here .  For the course packet: click here..
2. Advanced Cell Biology 4064/5064 Course Packet
3. Cell Biology 3611  
4. Cell Biology Laboratory course
5. Cell Signaling 4550/5550
6. Math 4027/5027

Use of the popular movie Lorenzo's Oil  in teaching Cell Biology:  

To view Dr. Stith's explanations of the movie, "click here for info on Lorenzo's Oil." 

To see a Myelin Foundation SLIDE SHOW on the MECHANISM Of Lorenzo's Oil, click here.

FOR RECENT NEWS on Lorenzo's Oil: (1) CLICK HERE           (2)  HERE    (3)  here     and    (4) especially here for an Aug 2005 article supporting the use of Lorenzo's Oil.   See article on Dr. Moser.  To visit the  Myelin Foundation, click here. 

Research

Our lab's two main areas of research are 1. Cell Division/Insulin Action and 2. Fertilization.  See this recent summary; click here

1. Cell Division and Insulin Action

More specifically, insulin, progesterone, or IGF-1 addition to the Xenopus oocyte induces the oocyte to undergo meiotic cell division to produce the egg. Click here to see a figure of the biochemical paths for hormone-induced meiotic cell division. Click to see an ANIMATION of the activation of PI turnover and calcium release (requires Shockwave player; click on line at bottom of this page to download software) in the induction of meiotic cell division in the Xenopus oocyte.  Click for further discussion of the role of intracellular calcium in the induction of meiotic cell division.

Related to this work on the insulin receptor, we can also study the mechanism of action of insulin and the anti-diabetic drug metformin (Glucophage; click here for 1998 paper on metformin.) WE BELIEVE THAT THIS MAY BE THE FIRST CLINICAL ARTIFICIAL ACTIVATOR OF TYROSINE KINASES.  Other work involves a demonstration of tyrosine kinase activation by both insulin and progesterone, and that this activation is required for phospholipase C stimulation.

2. Fertilization

We believe that LIPIDS (see molecule to right) may enable both these processes, so we study lipid changes that occur during fertilization. Click here for summary of three papers on role of phospholipase C (and IP3 production) in fertilization.  We have quantified the major phospholipid classes (click here for study of phospholipid changes at fertilization), found that diacylglycerol increases at fertilization,  suggest sphingomyelinase activation at fertilization and quantified lipid-dependent protein kinase C activation.

For an ANIMATION of the oocyte to egg maturation and events of fertilization, click here (34 K Shockwave animation; see bottom of this page to download Shockwave player).

Our CURRENT MODEL for fertilization is that a lipid (called PA) is important in sperm-egg fusion and the release of calcium.  Click here to view a FLASH ANIMATION that also suggests that IP3 (not Ca, or PLC) diffuses to produce the calcium wave at fertilization.  We are currently examining whether PA directly activates phospholipase C (PLC) or acts through stimulation of Src tyrosine kinase; view a PowerPoint animation by clicking here (THEN click on "OPEN" and click anywhere on the PowerPoint image to start animation).

Another event after sperm-egg contact is the propagation of a slow "wave" from the sperm entry point to the opposite side of the cell (for a list of fertilization events in Xenopus fertilization, and their time of occurrence, click here). There is a wave of elevated calcium inside the cell, and an associated wave of contraction of the cell's surface and a wave of cortical granule exocytosis (CGE). The links between the zygote and the fertilization envelope are broken due to enzymes released during CGE (along with, presumably, sperm binding molecules located at the egg surface).  So, the egg rotates freely within the egg jelly  and the heavier yolk side rotates so that it is on the bottom--this is gravitational rotation). Click here for two VIDEOS of these fertilization events..  To see a third VIDEO of a group of zygotes undergoing GRAVITATIONAL ROTATION, click here.

At about 1 and a half hours after insemination, the CLEAVAGE FURROW begins. To view a VIDEO of cleavage furrow formation, click here.

"SUCCESS IN SCIENCE GOES ONLY TO THOSE WHO ARE UTTERLY PARANOID ABOUT THINGS GOING WRONG AND UTTERLY OBSESSIVE ABOUT PREVENTING MISHAPS." JMW SLACK.

Why do we use frog oocytes and eggs instead of cells from humans?

Click here for OTHER REALLY INTERESTING WEB SITES. (Covering Xenopus biology, oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryogenesis)

have logged onto this site since 8-1997
"This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9631051." "Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation."