Diane Baronas-Lowell Email and Phone Number

Development and validation of ligand binding assays (ELISA and MSD) to support Icon's studies in pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and biomarkers.

I engaged eight sections of RI:BSC 1005L labs, totaling 192 students per semester in Tiny Earth genuine research. Each student dug up soil, isolated antibiotic-producing bacteria and identified them with basic microbiology tests and DNA sequence analysis. My Tiny Earth Team at FAU was comprised of twenty people, including graduate teaching assistants, directed independent research students (typically senior STEM majors), work study students and a lab technician. My entire Tiny Earth Team performed their own soil experiments one week before the teaching labs. Over 1,500 antibiotic-producing bacteria were preserved at -80 degrees. I received internal grants totaling over $59,000 to support this program. I had interdepartmental collaborations working to identify antibiotic compounds. I taught a 350 person lecture each fall and spring semester called BSC 1005 Life Science for non-STEM majors.Martin A*, A Copeland*, S Singh, P Scesa, L West and D Baronas-Lowell. 2019. Discovery of Soil Bacteria Which Display Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Activity. Florida Atlantic Undergraduate Research Journal. 8:25-33.*denotes undergraduate students

Grants:National Science Foundation, $74,999, Co-PI, Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement Grant “Success by Design: Building Faculty Capacity to Improve Curriculum and Instruction”, 2002-2004.National Science Foundation, $129,596, Co-PI, “Exploring IDEAS: An Integrated Design Enhancing Academic Success in Science, Reading and Mathematics”, 2001-2003.Taught:Genetics (PCB 3063): Spring 2012, Spring 2013Life Science (BSC1005): Summer A & B 2008Fundamentals of Biochemistry (BSC 4930): Fall 2007, Summer 2007, Fall 2006, Summer 2006 (pod casts), Spring 2006Current Issues in Science for Everyday Life (Life Long Learning Society):November 2005, “The Human Genome Project: a Better Understanding of Ourselves” October 2005, “Genetically Modified Foods: Benefits and Controversies”Advances in Biotechnology/Medicine (Life Long Learning Society): October 2004, “The Reality of DNA Forensics"October 2002, “DNA in the News: The 21st Century Mugshot”February 2000 & November 1998, “DNA in the Court Room: If Perry Mason only knew” Biotechnology Laboratory I (BSC 4403): Spring 2001Biodiversity (BSC 1011): Fall 2000Principles of Biology (BSC 1010): Summer 2001, Spring 2001, Fall 1999, Fall 1998Molecular & Cell Biology (PCB 4023): Twelve consecutive semesters from Fall 1995 throughSpring 2001Publications:Baronas-Lowell, D. 2002 PCR cloning protocols, 2nd ed. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 192 (book review). J. Biomolecular Techniques 13:187-189.Baronas-Lowell, D. 1999. Using DNA to establish human identity: an overview. Practical Reviews in Forensic Medicine and Sciences 1: no. 12.Baronas-Lowell, DM 1992. DNA science: A first course in recombinant DNA technology (book review). The Quarterly Review of Biology 67:355.Baronas-Lowell, DM. 1991. Recombinant DNA technology and applications (book review). The Quarterly Review of Biology 66:331-332.

Writing/Editing:In addition to my teaching and research responsibilities, I wrote ten proposals for funding, one manuscript, two invention disclosures, numerous press releases, web site text, abstracts, posters, progress reports and fact sheets. I also edited 29 grant proposals and twelve manuscripts. All of these assignments had tight deadlines. Grants:FAU Healthy Aging Initiative Pilot Program. $10,000, Co-PI, “Oxidative Damage during Healthy Aging”, 2012-2013.FAU Research Theme Grant (funds from “Brain Function Damage and Repair”), $23,750, Co-PI, “Protecting Cells from Oxidative Stress”, 2010-2012.Publications:Sur A, S Kesaraju, H Prentice, A Kasirajan, D Baronas-Lowell, D Zhu, DR Hinton, J Blanks, H Weissbach. 2014. Pharmacological protection of retinal pigmented epithelial cells by sulindac involves PPARα. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 111(47):16754-16759.Kesaraju S, X Wu, D Baronas-Lowell, H Weissbach. 2013. The role of methionine sulfoxide reductase A in metastasis of breast cancer. AACR Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. Zhang X-H, D Baronas-Lowell, H Weissbach. 2012. Unique metabolic roles of methionine both free and in proteins, Current Topics in Peptide & Protein Research, Vol. 12, 1-15.Baronas-Lowell D, M Biswal, A Sur, HM Prentice, JC Blanks, H Weissbach. 2012. Methionine Sulfoxide Reductase A Protects Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Cells from Oxidative Insults. “Neural Circuits, from Molecules to Behavior” MPFI/IBRO Symposium.Sur, A, HM Prentice, D Baronas-Lowell, H Weissbach, JC Blanks. 2012. Protection of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells from Chemical or Light-induced Damage by Sulindac. “Neural Circuits, from Molecules to Behavior” MPFI/IBRO Symposium.Lopez-Toledano, MA, F Modarresi, M Ali Faghihi, D Baronas-Lowell, X Wu, H Weissbach, C Wahlestedt. 2012. “Neural Stem Cells and A-beta-driven Hippocampal Neurogenesis: An early biomarker of Alzheimer's disease?”. World Stem Cell Summit.

Taught Genetics/Lab (BIOL3600): Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Summer 2010

Grants:I was involved in compiling and submitting an MBRS Support of Continuous Research Excellence (SCORE) grant at FAU (NIH 1S06GM073621, GB Fields, Prog Dir), funded 2005-2010, $3,689,612 total costs (21 primary investigators, six of whom were funded). Publications:Rezler, EM, DR Khan, JL Lauer-Fields, M Cudic, D Baronas-Lowell and GB Fields. 2007. Targeted drug delivery utilizing protein-like molecular architecture. J. American Chemical Society 129 (16), 4961-4972.Baronas-Lowell, D, JL Lauer-Fields, M Al-Ghoul, and GB Fields. 2007. Proteolytic Profiling of the Extracellular Matrix Degradome. Methods Mol. Biol. 386, 167-202.Khan, D, EM Rezler, JL Lauer-Fields, D Baronas-Lowell and GB Fields. 2004. Targeted drug delivery utilizing a mini-collagen ligand recognized by CD44/CSPG melanoma receptors. Molecular Targets for Cancer Therapy: Third Biennial Meeting.Baronas-Lowell, D, JL Lauer-Fields, and GB Fields. 2004. Differential modulation of melanoma metalloproteinase expression by α2β1 integrin and CD44 ligands. Molecular Targets for Cancer Therapy: Third Biennial Meeting.

Honors:Keystone Symposia Scholarship, $1,000, Invited Speaker, Signaling via Cell-Cell Interactions,2003.Publications:Baronas-Lowell, D, JL Lauer-Fields, JA Borgia, GF Sferrazza, M Al-Ghoul, D Minond and GB Fields. 2004. Differential modulation of human melanoma cell metalloproteinase expression by α2β1 integrin and CD44 triple-helical ligands derived from type IV collagen. J. Biological Chemistry, 279(42):43503-43513.Baronas-Lowell D, JL Lauer-Fields and GB Fields. 2004. Induction of endothelial cell activation by an triple helical α2β1 integrin ligand, derived from type I collagen αβ(I)496-507. J. Biological Chemistry 279(2):952-962.Lauer-Fields, JL, M Al-Ghoul, D Baronas-Lowell, JA Borgia, and GB Fields. 2004 Triple-helical peptide ligand dissection of unique melanoma cell signaling pathways. In “Peptide Revolution: Genomics, Proteomics & Therapeutics (Proceedings of the Eighteenth American Peptide Symposium, July 19-23, 2003, Boston, MA)” (M Chorev and TK Sawyer, Eds.), American Peptide Society, San Diego, CA, pp. 350-352.Baronas-Lowell D, JL Lauer-Fields and GB Fields. 2003 Endothelial cell activation induced by ECM “mini-proteins”. 2003 Keystone Symposia entitled Signaling via Cell-Cell Interactions.Baronas-Lowell D, JL Lauer-Fields and GB Fields. 2003. Defining the roles of collagen and collagen-like proteins within the proteome. J. Liquid Chromatography & Related Techniques 26: 2225-2254.

Honors:Florida Atlantic University Presidential Research Development Award Study Sections, Grant Reviewer, 2000 and 2001

Baronas-Lowell, D, L Roner, N Brot and H Weissbach. 1998. In vitro expression of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae pilE gene using a highly purified coupled transcription/ translation system. 1998 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and ASBMB Satellite Meetings. FASEB J. 12:A-1389.

Grants:National Institutes of Health, $500,000, PI, Small Business Innovative Research Grant, Phase II "Detecting protein interactions by a yeast genetic system", 1993.National Institutes of Health, $50,000, PI, Small Business Innovative Research Grant, Phase I "Detecting protein interactions by a yeast genetic system", 1991.Publications:Shih, DM, J-H Qiao, X Wang, D Lowell and AJ Lusis. 1995. Regulated expression of the human monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 gene in transgenic mice. Circulation 92: no. 8, I- 106.Promoted from Research Scientist to Senior Research Scientist after two and a half years.