Curriculum vitae

Gregory J. Crowther, Acting Assistant Professor
in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
within the Department of Medicine
at the University of Washington
Box 358061, Seattle WA 98195-8061
Phone: 206-685-2857; Email: crowther@uw.edu

Education

2002:	Ph.D. in Physiology & Biophysics from the University of Washington.
1995:	B.A. in Biology from Williams College.

Research experience

2007-present:	Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, University of Washington. Topic: drug discovery for malaria and other infectious diseases.
		Projects include: use of thermal melt assays and enzyme activity assays to identify possible intracellular targets of anti-Plasmodium compounds; development of enzyme assays suitable for high-throughput screening of chemical libraries; development of TDRtargets.org, a database devoted to identification and prioritization of possible drug targets.
2003-2007:	Postdoctoral research at the University of Washington with adviser Mary E. Lidstrom. Topic: central metabolism of methylotrophic bacteria.
		Studied the mechanisms by which Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 can switch between one-carbon substrates (e.g., methanol) and multi-carbon substrates (e.g., succinate). Used H-2 and C-14 labels to measure fluxes through one-carbon transfer pathways in wild-type cells and various genetically engineered strains. Flux measurements were combined with enzyme activity assays, metabolite assays, oxygen consumption measurements, and mathematical modeling to identify possible control points in these pathways.
1996-2002:	Graduate research in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of Washington with advisers Kevin E. Conley and Martin J. Kushmerick. Topic: energy metabolism in muscle cells.
		Tested mechanistic hypotheses concerning the control of glycolytic and oxidative fluxes in vivo. Collected and analyzed NMR spectroscopy data to measure changes in intracellular metabolite levels during and after exercise. Calculated rates of lactate production and ATP turnover from changes in pH, [phosphocreatine], and [inorganic phosphate].
1993-1995:	Undergraduate research at Williams College with adviser Daniel V. Lynch. Topic: sphingolipid metabolism in plants.
		Conducted studies of sphinganine kinase activity in corn and bean tissue. Performed differential centrifugation of tissue samples, labeling of substrates with radioactive markers, and in vitro assays of enzyme activity.

Teaching experience

2013:	Department of Biology, University of Washington.
		Will teach a summer course on biological aspects of drug discovery for infectious diseases.
2013:	Upward Bound program, University of Washington.
		Will teach a 6-week summer course on educational STEM music to local high school students.
2008-present:	Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, University of Washington.
		Undergraduate research mentor, providing guidance in laboratory experiments and literature-reading assignments.
2003-2006:	Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington.
		Co-instructor of an introductory biology course for engineering students (10 to 25 students per quarter). Responsible for selected lectures, labs, literature discussions, homework assignments, and exams.
2004-2005:	GEAR UP program, University of Washington.
		Taught three-day minicourses on educational science songs to high school students from underprivileged backgrounds.
2002-2003:	Department of Biology, University of Puget Sound.
		Responsible for a 60-student cell biology course and a 25-student animal physiology course.

Peer-reviewed publications

2012:	G. Crowther. Using science songs to enhance learning: an interdisciplinary approach. CBE Life Sci. Educ. 11: 26-30. G. J. Crowther, S. A. Quadri, B. J. Shannon-Alferes, W. C. Van Voorhis, and H. Rosen. A mechanism-based whole-cell screening assay to identify inhibitors of protein export in E. coli by the Sec pathway. J. Biomol. Screen. 17: 535-41. G. J. Crowther. The SingAboutScience.org database: an educational resource for instructors and students. Biochem. Mol. Biol. Educ. 40: 19-22. M. P. Magarinos, S. J. Carmona, G. J. Crowther, S. A. Ralph, D. S. Roos, D. Shanmugam, W. C. Van Voorhis, and F. Aguero. TDR Targets: a chemogenomics resource for neglected diseases. Nucleic Acids Res. 40: D1118-27.
2011:	S. N. Hewitt, R. Choi, A. Kelley, G. J. Crowther, A. J. Napuli, and W. C. Van Voorhis. Expression of proteins in Escherichia coli as fusions with maltose-binding protein to rescue non-expressed targets in a high-throughput protein-expression and purification pipeline. Acta Crystallogr. Sect. F Struct. Biol. Cryst. Commun. 67: 1006-9. G. J. Crowther, A. J. Napuli, J. H. Gilligan, K. Gagaring, R. Borboab, C. Francek, Z. Chen, E. F. Dagostino, J. B. Stockmyer, Y. Wang, P. P. Rodenbough, L. J. Castaneda, D. J. Leibly, J. Bhandari, M. H. Gelb, A. Brinker, I. H. Engels, J. Taylor, A. K. Chatterjee, P. Fantauzzi, R. J. Glynne, W. C. Van Voorhis, and K. L. Kuhen. Identification of inhibitors for putative malaria drug targets among novel antimalarial compounds. Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 175: 21-9.
2010:	E. Skovran, G. J. Crowther, X. Guo, S. Yang, and M. E. Lidstrom. A systems biology approach uncovers cellular strategies used by Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 during the switch from multi- to single-carbon growth. PLoS ONE 5: e14091. G. J. Crowther, D. Shanmugam, S. J. Carmona, M. A. Doyle, C. Hertz-Fowler, M. Berriman, S. Nwaka, S. A. Ralph, D.S. Roos, W. C. Van Voorhis, and F. Aguero. Identification of attractive drug targets in neglected-disease pathogens using an in silico approach. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 4: e804. W. A. Guiguemde, A. A. Shelat, D. Bouck, S. Duffy, G. J. Crowther, P. H. Davis, D. C. Smithson, M. Connelly, J. Clark, F. Zhu, M. B. Jimenez-Diaz, M. S. Martinez, E. B. Wilson, A. K. Tripathi, J. Gut, E. R. Sharlow, I. Bathurst, F. El Mazouni, J. W. Fowble, I. Forquer, P. L. McGinley, S. Castro, I. Angulo-Barturen, S. Ferrer, P. J. Rosenthal, J. L. DeRisi, D. J. Sullivan Jr., J. S. Lazo, D. S. Roos, M. K. Riscoe, M. A. Phillips, P. K. Rathod, W. C. Van Voorhis, V. M. Avery, and R. K. Guy. Chemical genetics of Plasmodium falciparum. Nature 465: 311-15. G. J. Crowther, P. He, P. P. Rodenbough, A. P. Thomas, K. V. Kovzun, D. J. Leibly, L. J. Castaneda, J. Bhandari, W. G. J. Hol, M. H. Gelb, A. J. Napuli, and W. C. Van Voorhis. Use of thermal melt curves to assess the quality of enzyme preparations. Anal. Biochem. 399: 268-75.
2009:	G. J. Crowther, A. J. Napuli, A. P. Thomas, D. J. Chung, K. V. Kovzun, D. J. Leibly, L. J. Castaneda, J. Bhandari, C. J. Damman, R. Hui, W. G. J. Hol, F. S. Buckner, C. L. M. J. Verlinde, Z. Zhang, E. Fan, and W. C. Van Voorhis. Buffer optimization of thermal melt assays of Plasmodium proteins for detection of small-molecule ligands. J. Biomol. Screen. 14: 700-7.
2008:	F. Aguero, B. Al-Lazikani, M. Aslett, M. Berriman, F. S. Buckner, R. K. Campbell, S. Carmona, I. M. Carruthers, A. W. Chan, F. Chen, G. J. Crowther, M. A. Doyle, C. Hertz-Fowler, A. L. Hopkins, G. McAllister, S. Nwaka, J. P. Overington, A. Pain, G. V. Paolini, U. Pieper, S. A. Ralph, A. Riechers, D. S. Roos, A. Sali, D. Shanmugam, T. Suzuki, W. C. Van Voorhis, and C. L. M. J. Verlinde. Genomic-scale prioritization of drug targets: the TDR Targets database. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 7: 900-7. G. J. Crowther, G. Kosaly, and M. E. Lidstrom. Formate as the main branchpoint for methylotrophic metabolism in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1. J. Bacteriol. 190: 5057-62.
2007:	L. Chistoserdova, G. J. Crowther, J. A. Vorholt, E. Skovran, J. C. Portais, and M. E. Lidstrom. Identification of a fourth formate dehydrogenase in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 and confirmation of the essential role of formate oxidation in methylotrophy. J. Bacteriol. 189: 9076-81. G. J. Crowther, C. C. Speake, A. A. McBride, and M. E. Lidstrom. Molecular and cell biology: an engineering perspective. In: G. Alterovitz and M. Ramoni, eds. Systems bioinformatics: an engineering case-based approach. Artech House Publishers.
2006:	G. J. Crowther. Learning to the beat of a different drum: music as a component of classroom diversity. CONNECT 19(4): 11-3.
2005:	M. G. Kalyuzhnaya, N. Korotkova, G. Crowther, C. J. Marx, M. E. Lidstrom, and L. Chistoserdova. Analysis of gene islands involved in methanopterin-linked C₁ transfer reactions reveals new functions and provides evolutionary insights. J. Bacteriol. 187: 4607-14.
2003:	G. J. Crowther, J. M. Milstein, S. A. Jubrias, M. J. Kushmerick, R. K. Gronka, and K. E. Conley. Altered energetic properties in skeletal muscle of men with well-controlled insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 284: E655-62.
2002:	G. J. Crowther and R. K. Gronka. Fiber recruitment affects oxidative recovery measured in human skeletal muscle in vivo. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 34: 1733-7. G. J. Crowther, S. A. Jubrias, R. K. Gronka, and K. E. Conley. A "functional biopsy" of muscle properties in sprinters and distance runners. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 34: 1719-24. G. J. Crowther, M. F. Carey, W. F. Kemper, and K. E. Conley. The control of glycolysis in contracting skeletal muscle. I. Turning it on. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 282: E67-73. G. J. Crowther, W. F. Kemper, M. F. Carey, and K. E. Conley. The control of glycolysis in contracting skeletal muscle. II. Turning it off. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 282: E74-9.
2001:	K. E. Conley, W. F. Kemper, and G. J. Crowther. Limits to sustainable muscle performance: interaction between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation. J. Exp. Biol. 204: 3189-94.
1997:	G. J. Crowther and D. V. Lynch. Characterization of sphinganine kinase activity in corn shoot microsomes. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 337: 284-90.

Conference presentations and invited talks

2013:	NWABR Student Bio Expo (keynote speaker); Northwest Biology Instructors' Organization (NWBIO); Seattle Parasitology Conference.
2012:	UW Medicine Mini-Medical School.
2011:	Lincoln County K-12 Ocean Literacy Symposium; UW Teaching and Learning Symposium.
2010:	MipTec; Seattle Parasitology Conference; UW Allergy and Infectious Diseases retreat.
2009:	American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH); Queensland-Washington Alliance.
2008:	American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).
2007:	Richard Stockton College of New Jersey; University of Montana Western.
2006:	ChalkWaves workshop at the Kauffman Foundation (keynote speaker); UW Microbiology retreat; Western Washington University.
2005:	Frontiers in Education (FIE); UWPA Postdoctoral Research Symposium; UW Teaching and Learning Symposium.
2004:	American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); Gold Coast Science Network (keynote speaker); Northwest Biology Instructors' Organization (NWBIO).
2003:	Rutland High School (commencement speaker).
2002:	Experimental Biology; International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM).
2001:	International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM); Williams College.
2000:	Experimental Biology; Rosellini Lecture/Symposium at Providence Health & Services (Seattle).
1999:	American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM); Experimental Biology; University of Washington Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Symposium (UWIGSS).

Reviews of manuscripts

Acta Crystallographica Section F; Biochemistry; Biology (7th edition); Current Drug Targets; Journal of Applied Physiology; Journal of Biomolecular Screening; Journal of Helminthology; LIFE: The Science of Biology (7th edition); Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise; Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology; Parasitology Research; PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Reviews of grant proposals

Civilian Research & Development Foundation; Institute of Translational Health Sciences; NIH Recovery Act Limited Competition (RC4 mail review); UEFISCDI (Romania).

Other professional/outreach activities and honors

2012-present:	Principal Investigator of $50,000 Challenge Grant ("Extending primaquine use via small-molecule stabilization of G6PD mutants") awarded by the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).
2005-present:	Supervision of students and trainees (undergraduates unless otherwise noted): Tatiana M. Phillips (2012-present), Sara M. Weller (medical student, 2012), Jackson C. Jones (2011-present), Mallory M. Krahn (2011-present), Jack S. Mo (2011-present), Kartheek S. Dasari (2011-12), S. Arshiya Quadri (medical student, 2011), Jacob W. McPhee (2010-11), Benjamin J. Shannon-Alferes (2010-11), Andrew P. Thomas (2008-10), Kuzma V. Kovzun (undergraduate, 2008-10), Diana J. Chung (post-baccalaureate, 2008-09), Christopher J. Damman (resident in internal medicine, 2008), Jason E. W.-L. Lum (2005-06), and Daniel W. Yates (2005-06).
2004-present:	Various science education outreach activities, both online (currently via SingAboutScience.org) and at science fairs and festivals.
2000-2012:	Freelance science writing for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Journal of Experimental Biology, Northwest Runner, Runner's World, and Running Times.
2004-2007:	Individual NRSA fellowship ("Modular design of central metabolism in methylotrophs") from the National Institutes of Health.
1996-1999:	National Science Foundation predoctoral fellowship.