Robert Pope Email & Phone Number

Frederick, Md, Us

Fort Detrick, Md

Fort Detrik, Md

As the chief of electron microscopy, I managed the electron microscopy facility. This included two JEOL 1011 TEMs, a Hitachi S-4500 field emission SEM, a Hitachi TM-1000 SEM, numerous light microscopes, one civilian technician, and two military technicians. I collaborated with investigators on projects involving BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 bacterial and virus specimens. During discussions, I helped my colleagues determine which type of electron microscopy might benefit their studies. I instructed the technicians on project priority, and how to best fix, dehydrate, embed, prepare, stain, and troubleshoot samples. I analyzed and revised standard operating procedures for processing BSL-2, BSL-3 and BSL-4 infectious agents for electron microscopy. In addition to my managerial duties, I wrote summary reports for all studies that came through the electron microscopy facility, prepared manuscripts from my own research, prepare figures for investigators manuscripts, and collaborated with colleagues in the US and France. Other techniques I developed while at USAMRIID include the ability to conduct particle counts of viruses and virus like particles with surface area and latex spheres as backup controls, and using recombinant antigens to block primary antisera before addition to immuno electron microscopy sections as a method to demonstrate antibody specificity. As a microscopy facility director, I regularly advised other governmental agencies on the proper type of equipment needed for the setup of new electron microscopy facilities.

Strasbourg Area, France

As a J. William Fulbright Research fellow, I continued electron microscopy research that began in 2005 with my colleague Jean-Hervé Lignot. We characterized a new cell type that we discovered in the intestinal mucosa of Burmese pythons. Using a Phillips CM-12 transmission electron microscope, a Phillips XL-30 environmental scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and fluorescence microscopy, we determined that the new “pit” cell probably functions in the excretion of calcium, and not in the absorption of calcium from bone fragments. This “pit” cell type is different in shape, organelle composition and cytoplasmic density than normal columnar epithelial cells. Understanding the function of this cell will hopefully lead to a better understanding how calcium is regulated during digestion. We have not been able to identify this cell type in any other animal, and it may be specific to animals that have adapted to long periods of fasting and infrequent feeding.

South Bend, Indiana Area

As a tenured faculty member I engaged many students in microscopy, cell biology, molecular biology, and biochemistry research. The results from my research while a faculty member have been presented by my students at local, regional and national meetings, and published in scholarly journals. Research included cloning the zebrafish homolog of the actin-binding protein supervillin, analysis of the cytoskeleton of shrimp blood cells, and screening many cDNA libraries for supervillin sequences. All students that performed research in my laboratory successfully went on to either graduate school, medical school, veterinary school, or other medical programs. Courses That I developed and taught while a faculty member include bioethics, non-majors physiology, freshman biology II, anatomy and physiology, non-majors biology, biology for elementary education, anatomy for dental hygienists, physiology for dental hygienists, nursing microbiology and an upper level course in cell biology and cell signaling. At the Indiana University School of Medicine (Notre Dame Campus) I taught Immunology and Medical Microbiology to medical students. This included the discussion of all associated immunological diseases and microbiologically pertinent diseases. Also, I taught a graduate course at St. Mary’s college to high school teachers so that they could teach high school AP Biology. With assistance from my students at IUSB, I set up a microscopy facility, including procuring and installing a JEOL 100S transmission electron microscope, an ElectroScan 2020 environmental scanning electron microscope, and a Zeiss Axioskop fluorescence microscope with 3D and 4D software.

Strasbourg Area, France

During my eight months of research at the CNRS with Dr. Jean-Hervé Lignot, I used the techniques of environmental scanning electron microscopy (Phillips XL-30 ESEM) with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SPIRIT software), transmission electron microscopy (Phillips CM10 TEM, Siemens 102 TEM) and immunofluorescence microscopy (Zeiss Axioskop) to examine changes that occur in the intestinal epithelia of pythons during fasting and at specific time points after feeding. During this time we documented some incredible changes that occur in python intestines. Additionally, we discovered a new cell type (the "pit" cell) that appears to be predominantly responsible for calcium regulation during digestion of large prey. This was a very rewarding and productive collaboration. A side project we worked on included the examination and characterization of wine stones (cask sediments) from local vintners. The wine stones varied in composition depending on the type of wine fermented, the amount of precipitation, the length of fermentation, and whether or not the casks were cleaned between subsequent wine making seasons.

Southampton, New York

At Southampton College I expanded my teaching and mentoring skills by teaching introductory cell biology, sophomore level genetics, and developing a junior/senior level lecture/laboratory course in marine molecular cell biology. The teaching load (12 hrs) did not allow much time for research, but I was able to involve my upper level molecular cell biology class in novel research using the jellyfish Podocoryne carnae. We were able to extract and purify mRNA, cellular DNA, and to screen a cDNA library for several highly conserved housekeeping genes.

Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

As an NRC postdoctoral fellow I expanded my knowledge of electron microscopy by using an environmental cell on a JEOL 3010 scanning transmission electron microscope. We adapted the environmental cell for the examination of marine sediments, marine bacteria, microbial corrosion products, and documented dynamic processes occurring real time in the transmission electron microscope. Also, at this position I utilized confocal and electron microscopy to explore the relationship between bacterial biofilms and the corrosion of metals. Other equipment used in these studies included a Hitachi H-600 transmission electron microscope, an ElectroScan Type III environmental scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X–ray spectroscopy, and a Molecular Probes confocal laser scanning microscope. The use of the environmental cell in the TEM for observation of wet hydrated samples was excellent.

Worcester, Massachusetts

As an ACS fellow with Dr. Elizabeth Luna I worked on the small GTP-binding protein Rac1B in Dictyostelium discoideum. For this research I used PCR to prepare mutant strains that conditionally expressed either constitutively active, or inactive Rac1B. A second project during my ACS fellowship involved cloning and characterization of a protein named Supervillin and a muscle specific splice variant that I named Archvillin. For this work, I designed degenerate primers and used 5’- and 3’-RACE to obtain initial sequences from peptide data and then made primers from additional sequences to clone the full length cDNA sequences. In addition to using many cell and molecular techniques, I used a Zeiss Axioskop for immunofluorescence and video recording of cellular movement, and a BioRad MR600 Confocal Microscope.

Shrewsbury, Massachusetts

At the Worcester Foundation I worked with Dr. Elizabeth Luna, examining the actin-nucleating capability of purified Dictyostelium discoideum plasma membranes upon stimulation with various lipid second messengers. We were trying to identify a diacylglycerol binding protein that nucleated actin polymerization. This research provided me with the ability to purify cytoskeletal and membrane proteins via high-speed centrifugation gradient analysis and the use of fluorimetry to analyze cytoskeletal protein dynamics.

Ph.D., Molecular Cell Biology

I had the honor to work with Dr. Raymond Scheetz, an accomplished microscopist, mycologist, and excellent teacher. At this position I.

B.S., Environmental Microbiology

A.A., Biological Sciences