Priyamvada Rai

 Work phone: (510)-642-7522

                        (510)-486-7315
 

priyarai@uclink4.berkeley.edu

 

EDUCATION:

Ph.D., May 2002 (projected), Biophysics, University of California, Berkeley

B.S., June 1997,  Biology (cum laude), California Institute of Technology, GPA 3.7

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE:

August, 1997 - present, UC Berkeley, in the labs of Drs. Linn and Wemmer: NMR study of iron binding to biologically important DNA sequences involved in Fenton reaction-mediated oxidative damage.

January, 1997- June, 1997, Caltech, in the lab of Dr. Thomas J. Meade: Study of hindbrain development in zebrafish embryos through in situ hybridization procedures.

June, 1995 - December, 1996, Caltech, in the lab of Dr. Giuseppe Attardi: Investigation of aminoacylation levels in mitochondrial tRNAs, involving purification of nuclear and mitochondrial nucleic acids, radioactive labeling of DNA and Northern blotting.

January, 1995 - June, 1995, Caltech, in the lab of Dr. Paul Sternberg: Genetic characterization of vulval development pathway in C. elegans.

 

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Structural biology, biophysical chemistry, molecular biology of nucleic acids, free radical and oxidative damage chemistry

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

Fall 1999 and 2000, UC Berkeley - MCB 102-1 (Survey of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

Spring 1997, California Institute of Technology - Bio 1 (Introductory Biology)

HONORS:

June, 2001: Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, UC Berkeley

March, 1999: UC Berkeley Biophysics Graduate Group Merit Scholarship

March, 1999: Lester Packer Award, Oxygen Club of California International Congress '99

November, 1998: Young Investigator Award, Fourth Annual Oxygen Society Conference in Washington D.C.

June, 1997: Frederic W. Hinrichs Jr. Memorial Award, California Institute of Technology

PUBLICATIONS:

Ernst S. Henle, Zhengxu Han, Ning Tang, Priyamvada Rai, Yongzhang Luo, and Stuart Linn: Sequence-specific DNA Cleavage by Fe2+-mediated Fenton Reactions Has Possible Biological Implications.  J. Biol. Chem. 1999 274: 962-971

Priyamvada Rai, Timothy D. Cole, David E.Wemmer and Stuart Linn: Localization of Fe2+ at an RTGR Sequence Within a DNA Duplex Explains Preferential Cleavage by Fe2+ and H2O2.  J. Mol. Biol. 2001 Oct 5;312(5):1089-101