Welcome
The Easley laboratory is focused on the development of novel
microanalytical techniques that allow us to perform unique experiments
on biological systems. We develop microfluidic methods and
small-volume hormone assays to study secretions from small numbers of
cells in the form of intact, primary tissue. Our current studies
are focused on primary adipose tissue and pancreatic islets extracted
from mice. Debilitating conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and
metabolic syndrome are fundamentally linked to these tissues.
Specifically, our novel methods allow us to interrogate the dynamics of secretion of hormones such as insulin (from islets) and adiponectin (from adipocytes), and we are able to make these measuremetns on very small samples of tissue. In this light, it can be said that we develop small methods to measure small amounts of hormones from small samples of tissue. On the contrary, the results can be big, since we can extract information on the biological systems that is not possible with larger-scale, conventional methods.
Research in our laboratory spans several
scientific disciplines, from fundamental analytical
chemistry to molecular and cellular biology. Please
browse through our website for more detailed discussions
of our research projects.
Group Members
PI | Graduate | Undergraduate | Postdocs | Former Members
GROUP PICTURE, Oct. 2012, panorama at Jordan-Hare Stadium!
Jess Crumbley, Louis Jackson, Leah Godwin, Ricky Scheuerle, Amanda Kelley, Ferdous Torabinejad, Lauren Hoepfner, Will Ashby, Joonyul Kim, Chris Easley, Abdul Sajib, Zac Keenum, Cheryl DeJournette, Kennon Deal, and Jiaming Hu. Not pictured: Haley Medlen
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (back to top)
Christopher J. Easley, Ph.D. (email)
Assistant Professor, Analytical Chemistry (since Aug 2008)
(Departmental Webpage)
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Vanderbilt Medical Center (2006-08)
Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry, University of Virginia (2002-06)
B.S.
in Chemistry, Mississippi State University (1998-2002)
GRADUATE STUDENTS (back to top)
Jessica E. Crumbley (email)
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry and Biochemistry (2011-present)
B.S. in Biochemistry, Berry College (2007-2011)
Kennon S. Deal (email)
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry and Biochemistry (2008-present)
Research Assistant, Texas A&M University (2007-2008)
B.S. in
Chemistry, Georgia Southern University (2004-2007)
Cheryl DeJournette (email)
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry and Biochemistry (2009-present)
Chemist
I, Inorg. Unit, Alabama Dept. of Environmental Mngmt. (2008-2009)
B.S. in Chemistry, The University of Alabama at Birmingham (2004-2008)
Leah A. Godwin (email)
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry and Biochemistry (2008-present)
Lab Technician, Pegasus Laboratories Inc. (2007-2008)
B.S. in Chemistry, University of West Florida (2005-2007)
Associate of Science, Jefferson Davis Community College
(2003-2005)
Jiaming Hu (email)
Ph.D. Candidate, Chemistry and Biochemistry (2008-present)
Research Assistant, Molecular Science Lab, Tongji University (2006-2008)
B.S. in Chemistry, Tongji University (2002-2006)
Abdul M. Sajib (email)
Ph.D. Candidate (rotation student), Cellular and Molecular Biosciences Program (2012-present)
Research Assistant, Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST), Sylhet, Bangladesh (2010-2012)
B.S. in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, SUST (2010)
M.S. in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, SUST (2012)
UNDERGRADUATES (back to top)
Zac Keenum (email)
Microbiology Major (2009-present)
4th year in Easley laboratory
Lauren Hoepfner (email)
Molecular Biology Major (2010-present)
2nd year in Easley
laboratory
Louis Jackson (email)
Pre-Pharmacy Major (2010-present)
2nd year in Easley laboratory
Haley Medlen (email)
Chemical Engineering Major (2010-present)
2nd year in Easley
laboratory
Ferdous Torabinejad (email)
Biochemistry Major (2009-present)
1st year in Easley
laboratory
Amanda Kelley (email)
Biochemistry Major (2009-present)
1st year in Easley
laboratory
Ricky Scheuerle (email)
Microbiology Major (2010-present)
1st year in Easley
laboratory
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS (back to top)
William J. Ashby (email)
Postdoc, Chemistry and Biochemistry (Sept. 2012-present)
Ph.D. in Chemical and Physical Biology, Vanderbilt University (2006-2012)
B.S. in Physics, Brigham Young University (2003-2006)
Joonyul Kim (email)
Postdoc, Chemistry and Biochemistry (May 2009-present)
Full-time instructor, Auburn University (2008-2009)
Postdoctoral
Fellow, Dept. Biology, Emory University (2008)
Ph.D. in Plant
Biochemistry, Michigan State University (2002-2008)
FORMER MEMBERS (back to top)
Rebecca S. Sollie
Biomedical Sciences Major (2007-2011)
Research in Easley lab from 2009-2011
UAB School of Medicine
Meagan E. Pilkerton (email)
Chemistry Major (2007-2011)
Research in Easley lab from 2009-2011
Graduate Student at University
of Washington Department of Chemistry
Terrance Weeden (email)
Biomedical Sciences Major (2007-2011)
Research in Easley lab during summer of 2010
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Suwanee, GA
Research
Funding | Micro-Sampling | Biosensing | Droplets | Emulsions
Sampling secretions from small numbers of
endocrine cells
-Leah, Lauren (back
to top)
There
are several approaches that we utilize in order to sample secretions.
First, we have developed a passively-operated device for bulk secretion
sampling (1), in which the fluidic resistances of microfluidic channels
are exploited (2). The channel cross-sectional area and
length are carefully patterned to give specific fluidic resistances.
This way, murine pancreatic islets or adipocytes can be loaded upstream,
and flow rates for secretion sampling can be accurately controlled with
a handheld syringe by simply relying on the properties of the channels.
Bulk measurements of secretions from single islets can be made over
relatively long time periods (minutes to hours), and the method is
capable of high-throughput sampling from many islets, which is important
due to biological variability. Combining this sampling approach
with detection by insulin ELISA or our proximity assays (below) allows
us to collect the ensemble average of hundreds of islets while
preserving the single-islet data such as volume or architecture assayed
by confocal microscopy.
Secondly, we have developed methods using droplet microfliudics to
accurately measure temporal secretion profiles from single islets (3,4).
Picoliter volume aqueous droplets (green in video) are formed in in
silicone oil (red in video) downstream of islets during
glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. The microfluidic system is
ideal for minimizing dilution while preserving temporal information.
Droplets are shown to form with high monodispersity, at 0.470 nL volume
(<2% relative standard deviation, n = 3257 droplets). At high
temporal resolution, pulses of zinc secretion that match periods of
calcium oscillations were observed.
Cooperative sensing: Aptamers,
antibodies, and DNA 'circuits'
-Joonyul, Jiaming, Jessica, Zac, Amanda, Ferdous
(back to top)
We are using cooperative approaches for detection
of a variety of protein and small-molecule targets.
These approaches employ dual antibody-DNA conjugates or DNA aptamers to
serve as target-triggered signals in DNA-based circuits that employ
enzymatic ligation (5,6) or fluorescence resonance energy transfer
(FRET) (7). To gain a more fundamental understanding of these
types of assays, we have developed entirely DNA-based models to optimize
signal and background ligations. These models have allowed us to
significantly improve dynamic range, sensitivity, and limits of
detection for the assays (6). Additionally, we are developing an
electrochemical version of these assays, using square wave voltammetry
to detect the presence of a variety of protein targets. This
approach has excellent potential for point-of-care diagnostics.
Finally, we have explored options for aptamer selection using this
cooperative assembly mechanism. We have shown that it is possible
to use a known aptamer or antibody to find and enrich low abundance
aptamers saturated by a large pool of random-sequence DNA.
Droplet microfluidics
-Kennon, Louis, Zac (back
to top)
The field of analytical chemistry has seen a
significant shift of effort toward droplet microfluidics over the past
five years, as researchers have begun to realize the enormous potential
of generating and controlling picoliter to nanoliter volume aqueous
droplets.
These droplets can serve as ensembles of miniature chemical or
biochemical reactors, while also leveraging the inherent benefits of
analysis at the microfluidic scale. Our group has developed a secretion
sampling approach using droplet fluidics (3), and our recent work has
shown that aqueous droplets in oil can serve as a fluidic sample chopper
(mchopper) (4). By enabling downstream
lock-in detection, this mchopper was shown to
reduce the detection limit of absorbance to the nanomolar range (500 nM
bromophenol blue), even over a very short 27-mm
optical path. The key functionality is the passive control of
droplet order, where the device design promotes consistent alternation
between sample and reference droplets (video shown here is in slow
motion; droplets generated at ~10 Hz from each channel in real time).
This technique is currently being applied to our cooperative FRET assays
for hormone secretion sampling.
Beads and
emulsions
-Cheryl, Kennon, Haley (back
to top)
The explosive success of next-generation sequencing approaches (8) has
highlighted the power of manipulating stochastic effects with emulsions
and bead-DNA conjugations. We are currently developing methods for
DNA aptamer conjugation to beads, as well as monodisperse emulsion
generation with passively-operated, handheld microfluidic devices.
As seen in this image, aqueous-in-oil emulsions are monodisperse and
very stable when using fluorocarbon oils and surfactants as the carrier
phase, even stable enough for aqueous droplets to pack into hexagonal
arrays without coelescence. Microfluidic emulsion generation has
the potential to transform many tedious and very expensive
high-throughput techniques into simple, inexpensive, handheld formats
for non-specialists.
References (back to top)
(1) Leah A. Godwin, Meagan E. Pilkerton, Kennon S. Deal,
Desiree Wanders, Robert L. Judd, and Christopher J. Easley, A passively
operated microfluidic device for stimulation and secretion sampling of
single pancreatic islets,
Analytical Chemistry, 83, (2011) 7166–7172.
(2) Leslie DC, Easley CJ, Seker E, Karlinsey JM, Utz M, Begley MR,
Landers JP. Frequency-specific flow control in microfluidic circuits
with passive elastomeric features, ure Physics, 5 (2009)
231-235.
(3) Easley CJ, Rocheleau JV, Head WS, Piston DW. Quantitative
measurement of zinc secretion from pancreatic islets with high temporal
resolution using droplet-based microfluidics, Analytical Chemistry,
81 (2009) 9086-9095.
(4)
Kennon S. Deal and Christopher J. Easley, A Self-Regulated,
Droplet-Based Sample Chopper for Microfluidic Absorbance Detection, Analytical
Chemistry,
(2012)
published online December 22, 2011.
(5) Fredriksson S, Gullberg M, Jarvius J, Olsson C, Pietra K,
Gustafsdottir SM, Ostman A, Landegren U. Protein detection using
proximity-dependent DNA ligation assays, Nature Biotechnology, 20
(2002) 473-477.
(6) Kim J, Hu J, Sollie RS, Easley CJ. Improvement of sensitivity
and dynamic range in proximity ligation assays by asymmetric connector
hybridization, Analytical Chemistry, 82 (2010) 6976-6982.
(7) Heyduk E, Dummit B, Chang YH, Heyduk T. Molecular Pincers:
Antibody-Based Homogeneous Protein Sensors, Analytical Chemistry,
80 (2008) 5152-5159.
(8) Margulies et al. Genome sequencing in microfabricated
high-density picolitre reactors, Nature, 437 (2005)
376-380.
Funding (back to top)
NSF, National Science Foundation (CBET-1067779, DUE-1102997)
NIH, National Institutes of Health (R01 DK093810, R43 HG006078 with
Lucigen)
Publications
Note: Full-text access requires journal subscription.
8. Leah A. Godwin, Kennon S. Deal, Lauren D. Hoepfner, Louis C. Jackson, Christopher J. Easley, Measurement of Microchannel Fluidic Resistance with a Standard Voltage Meter, Anal. Chim. Acta 2012, in press. accepted version online
7. Jiaming Hu, Tanyu Wang, Joonyul Kim, Curtis Shannon, Christopher J. Easley, Quantitation of femtomolar protein levels via direct readout with the electrochemical proximity assay, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 7066–7072. PDF
6. Daniel W. Horn; K. P. Tracy; Christopher J. Easley, Virginia A. Davis, Lysozyme Dispersed Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Interaction and Activity, J. Phys. Chem. C 2012, 116, 10341–10348. PDF.
5. Kennon S. Deal and Christopher J. Easley, A Self-Regulated, Droplet-Based Sample Chopper for Microfluidic Absorbance Detection, Analytical Chemistry 2012, 84, 1510–1516. PDF
4. Leah A. Godwin, Meagan E. Pilkerton, Kennon S. Deal, Desiree Wanders, Robert L. Judd, and Christopher J. Easley, A passively operated microfluidic device for stimulation and secretion sampling of single pancreatic islets, Analytical Chemistry, 83 (2011) 7166–7172. PDF
3. Jiaming Hu and Christopher J. Easley, A Simple and Rapid Approach for Measurement of Dissociation Constants of DNA Aptamers against Proteins and Small Molecules via Automated Microchip Electrophoresis, Analyst, 136 (2011) 3461-3468. PDF
2. Joonyul Kim and Christopher J. Easley, Isothermal DNA Amplification in Bioanalysis: Strategies and Applications, Bioanalysis, 3 (2011) 227-239. Author's PDF, Publisher's PDF
1. Joonyul Kim, Jiaming Hu, Rebecca S. Sollie, Christopher J. Easley, Improvement of sensitivity and dynamic range in proximity ligation assays by asymmetric connector hybridization, Analytical Chemistry, 82 (2010) 6976-6982. PDF
Prior to Auburn University (back to top)
13. Christopher J. Easley, Jonathan V. Rocheleau, W. Steven Head, and
David W. Piston, Quantitative measurement of zinc secretion from
pancreatic islets with high temporal resolution using droplet-based
microfluidics,
Analytical Chemistry, 81 (2009) 9086-9095.
PDF
- Full-page
Research Profile by
Nancy Lamontagne
12. Daniel C. Leslie, Christopher J. Easley, Erkin Seker, James M. Karlinsey,
Marcel Utz, Matthew R. Begley, and James P. Landers, Frequency-specific flow
control in microfluidic circuits with passive elastomeric features,
Nature Physics, 5 (2009) 231-235.
PDF
- Editors' Choice, Science, 23 (2009) 1539.
PDF
- Research Highlight, Lab on a Chip, 9 (2009)
861.
PDF
11. Christopher J. Easley, Richard K. P. Benninger, Jesse H. Shaver, W.
Steven Head, and David W. Piston, Rapid and inexpensive fabrication of polymeric
microfluidic devices via toner transfer masking,
Lab on a Chip, 9 (2009) 1119-1127.
PDF
- Research Highlight, Nature Methods, 6 (2009)
194.
PDF
10. Shu Mao, Richard K. P. Benninger, Yuling Yan, Chutima Petchprayoon, David Jackson, Christopher J. Easley, David W. Piston, and Gerard Marriott, Optical lock-in detection of fluorescence resonance energy transfer using synthetic and genetically-encoded optical switches, Biophysical Journal, 94 (2008) 4515-4524. PDF
9. Christopher J. Easley, Joseph A. C. Humphrey, and James P. Landers, Thermal isolation of microchip reaction chambers for rapid non-contact DNA amplification, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 17 (2007) 1758-1766. PDF
8. Ki-Ho Han, Rachel D. McConnell, Christopher J. Easley, Joan M. Bienvenue, Jerome P. Ferrance, James P. Landers, and A. Bruno Frazier, An active microfluidic system packaging technology, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 122 (2007) 337-346. PDF
7. Christopher J. Easley, James M. Karlinsey, Joan M. Bienvenue, Lindsay A. Legendre, Michael G. Roper, Sanford H. Feldman, Molly A. Hughes, Erik L. Hewlett, Tod J. Merkel, Jerome P. Ferrance, and James P. Landers, A fully-integrated microfluidic genetic analysis system with sample in-answer out capability, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 103 (2006) 19272-19277. PDF [Highlighted in Science as an Editor's Choice, 19 January: 315 (2007) 5810. PDF ; also in Nature Biotechnology as a Research Highlight, January: 25 (2007) 69; and in Analytical Chemistry as a Bio Sphere news article, February: 79 (2007) 809.]
6. Michael G. Roper, Christopher J. Easley, Lindsay A. Legendre, Joseph A. C. Humphrey, and James P. Landers, Infrared temperature control system for a completely noncontact polymerase chain reaction in microfluidic chips, Analytical Chemistry, 79 (2007) 1294-1300. PDF
5. Weidong Cao, Christopher J. Easley, Jerome P. Ferrance, and James P. Landers, Chitosan as a polymer for pH-induced DNA capture in a totally aqueous system, Analytical Chemistry, 78 (2006) 7222-7228. PDF
4. Christopher J. Easley, James M. Karlinsey, and James P. Landers, On-chip pressure injection for integration of infrared-mediated DNA amplification with electrophoretic separation, Lab on a Chip, 6 (2006) 601-610. [Cover Article] PDF
3. Guihua Eileen Yue, Michael G. Roper, Erin D. Jeffery, Christopher J. Easley, Catherine Balchunas, James P. Landers, and Jerome P. Ferrance, Glass microfluidic devices with thin membrane voltage junctions for electrospray mass spectrometry, Lab on a Chip, 5 (2005) 619-627. PDF
2. Christopher J. Easley, Lindsay A. Legendre, Michael G. Roper, and James P. Landers, Extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometry for non-contact temperature control of nanoliter volume enzymatic reactions in glass microchips, Analytical Chemistry, 77 (2005) 1038-1045. PDF
1. Christopher J. Easley, Lian Ji Jin, Katja B. Presto Elgstoen, Egil Jellum, James P. Landers, and Jerome P. Ferrance, Capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection for laboratory diagnosis of galactosemia, Journal of Chromatography A, 1004 (2003) 29-37. PDF
News
October 22, 2012: Paper accepted into Analytica Chimica Acta
Leah Godwin's paper, entitled "Measurement of Microchannel Fluidic Resistance with a Standard Voltage Meter," has been accepted for publication in Analytica Chimica Acta (see Publications tab). This manuscript, co-authored by Kennon Deal, also includes two undergraduate co-authors, Lauren Hoepfner and Louis Jackson. Nice work!
September 2012: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
We welcome three new members to the Easley Lab this semester. Will Ashby, a postdoctoral fellow, has joined us after completing his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University. Abdul Sajib, a graduate student from the Cellular and Molecular Biosciences (CMB) program at Auburn Univeristy, is doing his first laboratory rotation in our lab this semester. Finaly, Ricky Scheuerle, an undergraduate Microbiology major, has begun research in our laboratory this fall. We are all looking forward to working with the three of you...welcome to the lab!
June 2012: NIH R01 grant awarded
The Easley laboratory has recently received an R01 research grant
from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the amount of $961,358.
The funding for award # R01 DK093810 is provided by the National
Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive
and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and will support our project entitled,
"Interrogating Dynamics of Acute Secretion of Adiponectin Multimers from
Adipose Tissue." We are carrying out this project with the help of our
collaborator, Dr. Robert Judd from the Anatomy Physiology and
Pharmacology Department at the Auburn University College of Veterinary
Medicine.
June 2012: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
We welcome Amanda Kelley and Ferdous Torabinejad, undergraduate Biochemistry majors who have joined our group this summer.
March 27, 2012: ECPA Paper Accepted into JACS!
Jiaming and Tanyu's paper, entitled "Quantitation of femtomolar protein
levels via direct readout with the electrochemical proximity assay," has
been accepted for publication in the Journal of the American Chemical
Society
(see Publications tab). Work presented in this paper, in which
insulin was detected at concentrations as low as 128 fM with a direct
electrochemical readout, is a result of a fruitful collaboration between
the Easley and Shannon research groups.
February 29, 2012: Happy 5th Birthday to Haley!
We wish Haley Medlen a happy birthday! This marks the first time a person with only five observed birthdays has conducted research in the Easley lab. Although Dr. Easley's son Liam has also had five birthdays, he cannot work in the lab, since he has not taken the online safety courses.
February, 2012: Graduate Student Awards!
All three fourth-year graduate students in the Easley Lab were in the news recently. Congratulations to Leah Godwin and Jiaming Hu for being selected as Dow Fellowship awardees! Also, Kennon Deal has been nominated for the Dean's Research Award. Good luck Kennon!
January 2012: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
We welcome Louis Jackson and Haley Medlen, undergraduate researchers who have joined our group this semester.
December 22, 2011: μChopper paper published
Kennon Deal's paper, entitled "A Self-Regulated, Droplet-Based Sample
Chopper for Microfluidic Absorbance Detection," (PDF)
has been accepted for publication in the journal
Analytical Chemistry (see Publications tab). Congratulations to
Kennon on his first lead-author publication!
December 2011: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
We are happy to welcome the most recent graduate student to join the Easley group, Jessica Crumbley.
December 8, 2011: Kennon passes his prelim!
Kennon Deal is now the third Easley group member to pass his preliminary oral examination. Congratulations, Kennon! Consistent with his colleagues, he also received high complements from his committee members. Excellent work!
August 2011: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
We welcome Lauren Hoepfner, an undergraduate researcher (Molecular Biology major) who has officially joined our group this semester.
August 2011: NIH grant awarded
In collaboration with David Mead at
Lucigen Corporation (Middleton, WI),
the Easley laboratory has recently received a Phase I SBIR grant from
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the project entitled,
"Functional Selection of High Performance Enzymes." The groups
from Lucigen and Auburn will
utilize microfluidic emulsion generators to select the highest
performing DNA-copying enzymes from large libraries isolated from hot
springs.
August 2011: Dr. Easley featured as Emerging Investigator
In this month's issue of Analyst (issue 17, 2011), Dr. Easley and a collection of his peers were featured as Emerging Investigators. This issue also features Jiaming's article on aptamer dissociation constant measurement with microchip electrophoresis (article).
August 1, 2011: Microfluidic secretion sampling paper published
Leah Godwin's paper, entitled "A passively operated microfluidic device
for stimulation and secretion sampling of single pancreatic islets," (PDF)
has been accepted for publication in the journal
Analytical Chemistry (see Publications tab). Congratulations to
Leah on her first lead-author publication!
July 13, 2011: Jiaming passes his prelim!
Jiaming Hu is now the second Easley group student to pass his preliminary oral examination. Congratulations, Jiaming! He also received high complements from his committee members. Great work!
June 2011: NSF grants awarded
The Easley laboratory has recently received a 3-year grant from the
National Science Foundation (CBET-1067779) to support the project on
cooperative
methods for aptamer selection and protein detection. The grant
will supply funding from July 1, 2011 until June 30, 2014.
In addition, a team of Auburn faculty that includes Dr. Shannon and Dr. Easley from the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, in collaboration with Tuskegee University, has been awarded an NSF-MSP education grant totaling $3,866,139 (Auburn's portion: $550,000). The grant will supply funding from 2011 - 2016.
April 20, 2011: Leah passes her prelim!!
Leah Godwin has earned the right to say she is the first Easley group student to pass her preliminary oral examination. Congratulations, Leah! She received some very complementary remarks from the members of her committee, so Leah has taken a big step toward securing that Ph.D. Excellent work!
March, 2011: Our research featured on Auburn website
The Easley lab's research has been featured on the Auburn University main website. Several photos of Dr. Easley and students in the laboratory are included, along with a video of Dr. Easley discussing the diabetes-related work conducted in his lab. Keep up the good work, everyone! (article)
February, 2011: Jiaming and Leah Receive COSAM Travel Awards
Jiaming Hu and Leah Godwin have been selected to receive travel awards from the College of Sciences and Mathematics to travel to Pittcon 2011. Jiaming will present a poster, and Leah will give an oral presentation. Congratulations, Jiaming and Leah!
December, 2010: Kd measurement paper published
Jiaming
Hu's paper, entitled "A Simple and Rapid Approach for Measurement of
Dissociation Constants of DNA Aptamers against Proteins and Small
Molecules via Automated Microchip Electrophoresis," has been accepted
for publication in
Analyst
(see Publications tab). Congratulations to Jiaming on his first
lead-author publication!
October, 2010: Review article published
Dr. Kim's review article, entitled "Isothermal DNA Amplification in Bioanalysis: Strategies and Applications," has been accepted for publication in Bioanalysis (see Publications tab).
September, 2010: Congratulations to Rebecca...again!
Congratulations to Rebecca Sollie, a senior undergraduate researcher in our lab, for being nominated to apply for a Rhodes scholarship and a Marshall scholarship on behalf of Auburn University. In addition, Rebecca has been accepted on early decision into medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Keep up the great work!
July 2010: Asymmetric PLA paper published
The
first manuscript from the Easley laboratory, entitled "Improvement of
sensitivity and dynamic range in proximity ligation assays by asymmetric
connector hybridization," (PDF)
has been accepted for publication in the journal
Analytical Chemistry (see Publications tab).
June 2010: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
We welcome Terrance Weeden, an undergraduate researcher (senior), into the Easley laboratory this summer.
March 31, 2010: Congratulations to Rebecca, Yates Award Winner!
Congratulations to Rebecca Sollie, a junior undergraduate researcher in our lab, for being chosen to receive the Phi Kappa Phi's 2010 Susan Stacy Entrenkin Yates Scholastic Achievement Award. The Yates Award, which was established by Mr. S. Blake Yates, is a prestigious award presented annually to outstanding juniors at Auburn University. Rebecca will receive the award on April 23.
March 26, 2010: Congratulations Leah!
Leah Godwin, a 2nd year graduate student in the lab, was given the "Best Poster" award at the Research Day conference at Auburn. Nice work, Leah!
March 26, 2010: Research Day at Auburn
The
Boshell Diabetes and
Metabolic Diseases Research Program held its third annual Research
Day at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. The
Easley lab presented 3 posters, and Dr. Easley gave an oral
presentation. (See the
brochure
for more details.)
March 2010: Pittcon 2010 in Orlando, FL
The
Easley lab attended the 61st Annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical
Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon)
from February 28 to March 4, 2010. We presented 3 posters, and Dr.
Easley gave 2 oral presentations. Dr. Easley also organized an ACS
sponsored oral session entitled "Bioanalytical Approaches to Study
Cellular Communication." Many thanks to all of the speakers in this
session for giving such excellent presentations on a wide variety of
bioanalytical approaches.
February 2010: Congratulations Meg!
Congratulations to Meg Pilkerton, who was awarded the College of Science and Mathematics (COSAM) Junior Dean's Award. Meg will receive her award on April 12 of this year at the Chemistry and Biochemistry Awards Banquet.
January 2010: LabAutomation 2010 in Palm Springs, CA
Dr.
Easley and Dr. Kim attended
LabAutomation 2010 in
Palm Springs, CA. Dr. Easley was selected to receive a Tony B. Travel
Award, and their work on cooperative evolution of aptamers was chosen as
one of the finalists in the Innovation of the Year Award.
December 2009: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
We welcome Cheryl DeJournette, a 1st year graduate student, and Zac Keenum, an undergraduate researcher (freshman), who both joined the Easley laboratory this year.
October 6, 2009: Zinc secretion paper published
A paper from Dr. Easley's postdoctoral work was recently accepted for publication by Analytical Chemistry. The article has been published online as of today (PDF).
August 2009: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
We welcome Meagan Pilkerton, an undergraduate researcher (Chemistry major) who has officially joined our group this semester.
August 6, 2009: IACUC protocol renewed
The Auburn University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) has renewed our protocol to conduct non-survival mouse surgeries for pancreatic islet extraction. The renewal gives us two more years on this protocol.
June 4, 2009: BUA approved
A Biological Use Authority (BUA) protocol, internal to Auburn University, has been approved for our lab to conduct simple cloning experiments for our aptamer selection project.
March 20, 2009: Circuit training for fluids
A
Nature Physics publication from Prof. Easley's graduate work at the
University of Virginia, entitled "Frequency-specific flow control in
microfluidic circuits with passive elastomeric features" (Nat. Phys., 5
(2009) 231.
PDF
), was selected by the prestigious journal Science as Editors'
Choice (Science, 19 (2009) 341.
PDF
). The same publication was also included as a Research Highlight in the
microfluidics journal, Lab on a Chip (Lab Chip, 9 (2009) 861.
PDF ).
March 6, 2009: Research Day at Auburn
The
Boshell Diabetes and
Metabolic Diseases Research Program held its second annual Research
Day at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. There
were many very interesting oral and poster presentations in a broad
range of topics in diabetes research. See the
brochure for more details.
February 26, 2009: Microfluidics for the people
A publication from Prof. Easley's postdoctoral work at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, entitled "Rapid and inexpensive fabrication of polymeric microfluidic devices via toner transfer masking" (Lab on a Chip, 9 (2009) 861. PDF), was included as a Research Highlight in the journal Nature Methods (Nat. Methods, 6 (2009) 194. PDF), with the highlight article entitled "Microfluidics for the People."
January, 2009: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
We welcome Rebecca Sollie, an undergraduate researcher (Biomedical Sciences major) who has officially joined our group this semester. We also welcome Dr. Joonyul Kim, who will officially join our group as a postdoctoral scientist in May 2009.
November 2008: Welcome to the Easley Lab!
Welcome to the three graduate students that joined the Easley laboratory this year: Kennon Deal, Leah Godwin, and Jiaming Hu! This event marks a 300% personnel growth for our lab!
August 22, 2008: IACUC protocol approved The Auburn
University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) has approved our protocol to conduct non-survival mouse surgeries for pancreatic islet extraction.
Teaching
Undergraduate Courses
CHEM 1040 - Fundamental Chemistry II
CHEM 3050 - Analytical Chemistry (Quantitative Analysis)
CHEM 4130 - Instrumental Analysis
Graduate Courses
CHEM 7500 - Advanced Analytical Chemistry
CHEM 7530 - Advances in Bioanalytical Chemistry
Outreach Activities
Module development and teacher training for Math and Science
Partnership (MSP) with Tuskegee University (website).
Award: DUE-1102997
Links of Interest
Auburn Chemistry and Biochemistry
Auburn Hardware Discounts
Diabetes Related:
Boshell
Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Research Program
UAB
Comprehensive Diabetes Center
Midwest Islet Club
Microscopy:
Molecular
Expressions
Oligonucleotide Synthesis:
Integrated DNA Technologies
NUPACK by DNA Group
at CalTech
Chemistry:
Kd Calculations
DNA melting
temperature calculations
Properties of PDMS
Biology:
Beta Cell Biology
Consortium
Pancreatic Islet Secretions
Insulin and Glucagon Secretion
Mouse Surgeries
Microchip Fabrication:
BYU Cleanroom
Image Processing:
Learning Resources
ImageJ (image
analysis shareware from NIH)
Reading TIFFs
with Matlab
Other:
All About
Circuits
MedBio
Aptamer
Database
Aptamer
Base
Lucigen