The Whitney Laboratory, founded in 1974, is a research institute of the University of Florida. The aims of the Laboratory are to use marine organisms in basic biological research; to apply, where possible, the novel results of this research to problems of human health, natural resources and the environment; to train future experimental biologists; and to contribute to public education and to the formulation of policy in basic research and marine science.The staff of the Laboratory comprises faculty, associates, students, and visiting scientists. They carry out research programs in the physiology and biochemistry of vision and olfaction; neurotransmitter physiology, pharmacology and evolution; the structure, function and evolution of ion channels; development and regulation of the vertebrate neuromuscular junction, protein-lipid interactions and their regulation, the developmental biology of vertebrates; membrane transport systems; the development, use, evolution and natural history of fluorescent proteins.
The Laboratory's main building includes well-equipped laboratories, offices, a darkroom, graphics area, and a library. The Molecular Genetics Laboratory offers WL investigators the opportunity to enhance their research with the tools of molecular biology. Computer and electronics services, and maintenance staff also provide support for the research.The Laboratory's aquarium facilities comprise a group of large, outdoor concrete tanks; an 800 ft2 indoor aquarium room with many 120-gallon fiberglass tanks; and a temperature-controlled seawater facility consisting of six experimental rooms. Clean, full-strength, naturally filtered seawater continuously flows into all aquaria and tanks.
Whitney Hall contains four efficiency apartments, eight dormitory rooms with shared bath, a lounge, laundry and kitchen facilities, and a large auditorium which can accommodate conferences of 100-200 people. Apartments or dormitory rooms are rented to graduate students and visiting scientists.
Chemical Senses: Olfaction
Dr. Barry W. Ache employs the Florida Spiny lobster to study how the nervous system detects and discriminates different odors. Immunocytochemical, biochemical, and molecular techniques complement electrophysiological approaches.
Structure and Function of Ion Channels
Dr. Peter A. V. Anderson focuses on the factors that control the excitability of cells. Projects include the structure of voltage-gated ion channels, the use of ion channels as stochastic sensors and the regulation of excitability of the stinging cells of jellyfish.
Biochemistry of Vision
Dr. Barbara-Anne Battelle investigates the regulation of photoreceptor sensitivity in the horseshoe crab. Another area of interest is how circadian rhythms affect visual function. She uses biochemical, molecular, and immunocytochemical approaches.
Microanalysis, Physiology and Evolution of Membrane Transport
Dr. Dmitri Y. Boudko uses simple aquatic invertebrate models to analyze membrane transport mechanisms. In parallel with a molecular and physiological approach, he is developing new approaches for high-resolution micro-analysis of membrane transport mechanisms within single cells.
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Membrane Physiology
Dr. William R. Harvey's international group studies how animals take up amino acids and salts from the digestive tract, with the ultimate goal of using this knowledge to develop new mosquitocides to reduce the size of malaria-carrying mosquito populations.
Molecular and Cell Biology of Development
Dr. Paul J. Linser studies the molecular basis of cell-cell communication and its influence on differential gene expression in the brain and neural retina of various vertebrate embryos. A second study aims at defining cellular proteins crucial to the process of food digestion in aquatic mosquito larvae. The goal is to find targets for larvicides.
Molecular Evolutionary Ecology and Marine Biotechnology
Dr. Mikhail V. Matz focuses on proteins from corals that are homologous to the green fluorescent protein. He pursues three major directions: Cloning and characterization of novel GFP-like proteins; evolutionary ecology of the color diversity of coral reefs; and studies of basic questions related to evolution of gene families.
Neurogenomics, Nanotechnology and Neuronal Evolution
Dr. Leonid L. Morozuses Aplysia as a model to characterize fundamental mechanisms underlying the design of nervous systems and to develop innovative approaches to study the genomic basis of neuronal identity, learning and memory.
Synaptogenesis and Synapse Physiology
Dr. Fuhihito Ono uses zebrafish and ascidians as models. His projects include the development of a neuromuscular synapse, the molecular basis of synaptic function, and genetic and functional analysis of a proto-vertebrate synapse.
Ecology and Productivity of Coastal Marine Ecosystems
Dr. Edward J. Phlips and Dr. Shirley M. Baker are determining the impact of development on water quality in intracoastal environments of northeast Florida. A second aim is to support the emerging shellfish industry in Florida by developing an environmental information resource base addressing the needs of shellfish and by investigating the aquaculture potential of two novel and currently unused bivalve species.
Structure and Function of Neuropeptides and their Receptors
Dr. David A. Price seeks to understand how neuropeptides and their receptors are involved in the function of the nervous system. A secondary focus is on the commercial development of methods for the supersensitive detection of biological molecules.
Cellular Neurobiology and Signal Transduction
Dr. David A. Zacharias has two long-term goals. Primarily he is focused on the interactions between lipids and proteins and how such associations affect cell signaling. His other goal is to determine the molecular mechanisms that corals use to change colors when exposed to intense light.
Graduate study is encouraged at the WL. Doctoral or masters students conducting their dissertation research at the Whitney Laboratory complete course requirements on campus, then relocate to the Laboratory to complete their research. They work closely with their faculty advisors, but their independence is encouraged, as is their participation in the interaction and collaboration between research groups.Postdoctoral Fellows contribute significantly to academic life at the Whitney Laboratory, and most research groups include at least two Fellows or assistant research scientists.
As part of a nationwide effort to attract students to science careers, the Laboratory also sponsors an Undergraduate Research Training Program, funded by the National Science Foundation. Each year at least 12 promising students from across the country come to the WL for a 12-week training period, during which they complete a research project of their own choosing and gain hands-on experience.
The Laboratory also supports four projects that impact the local schools. Two formal training programs include summer research training for minority high school students, and Teacher Quest, which provides research training to high-school science teachers. Two additional programs, the Day at the Whitney Lab and the Traveling Zoo, bring science to local students from kindergarten to the eighth grade.
