George E. Fox [UH]

The initial funding (PDAF #4) was used for post-doctoral fellow, Dr. Gary Schultz. After the first year, he was replaced by the current fellow, Dr. Don Tucker (PDAF #2). Although ongoing current research is a continuation of these earlier projects, it should be noted that the initial results obtained contributed to the successful effort by Dr. G. E. Fox and Dr. R. C. Willson to obtain major funding from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). That funding was responsible for multiple publications in the current year. The ongoing work on the current PDAF provided significant preliminary results for the recently announced award from the Office of Biological and Physical Research to Dr. G. Fox and Dr. R. Willson.

George E. Fox [UH]

This mini-grant project contributed to the preliminary results presented to NASA as part of an Astrobiology Center proposal that was submitted in early 2003 but not funded. The project is currently on hold but may be incorporated into a joint proposal by Dr. G. Fox and Dr. M. Travisano at a later time.

Rapid Identification of Unexpected Bacterial Pathogens in Space Environments

George E. Fox [UH] / Richard C. Willson [UH]

This mini-grant project also contributed key preliminary results to the successful NSBRI application discussed above. In addition, this work underlies several grant applications in the area of biodefense that Dr. G. Fox and Dr. R. Willson may submit in the future. The key finding of the project, the existence of 16S rRNA signature oligonucleotides, resulted in a 2002 publication in Bioinformatics:

Zhang, Z., R. C. Willson, and G. E. Fox. "Identification of Characteristic Oligonucleotides in the 16S Ribosomal RNA Sequence Dataset," Bioinformatics 18 (2002): 244-50. [This paper was highly recognized by the lay science press during 2003, being featured in several stories including:
Ananthaswamy, A. "Getting to Grips with Mystery Space Bugs," The New Scientist 177.2380 (1 Feb. 2003): 20.
"Fighting Bacteria in Space," BBC News (15 Nov. 2002) <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2480357.stm>
Rayl, A. J. S. "Above and Beyond," The Scientist 12.24 (9 Dec. 2002): 26.
Odyssey Magazine (2003).]

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Institute for Space Systems Operations - Y2003 Annual Report
Copyright © 2004