Teaching Activities:
- Cell Biology
- Introduction to Biology Lab Sections
- Pre-research reading/discussion groups
- Undergraduate Research, All Levels
Areas of Interest:
- Human Genetics
- Complex Trait Mapping
- Hearing Loss
- Age-Related Disorders
- Mitochondria
Current Research Projects:
Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) is one of the top three chronic medical
conditions of the elderly. It is often described as difficulty understanding
speech, especially in noisy backgrounds. Although most people have some hearing
loss over their lifetimes, the severity of the problem is not uniform and has
a strong genetic component. However, no genetic variation has yet been identified
that affects a person's susceptibility to presbycusis. We are searching for
these factors in the human genome. Currently our primary approach is through
candidate genes. Many genes are known to cause congenital deafness when severely
mutated; we hypothesize that more subtle variation in these genes could cause
progressive hearing loss. Thus we are searching for polymorphisms in these genes
in the DNA of aged human subjects who have been thoroughly characterized for
their hearing ability, and then we are looking for genotype/phenotype associations.
Our human subjects come from a collaboration with Dr. D. Robert Frisina, Dr.
Robert D. Frisina and Dr. David Eddins at RIT's International
Center for Hearing and Speech Research and the University of Rochester Medical
Center. In addition, we are collaborating with Dr.
Michael Osier, a bioinformaticist at RIT, on computational aspects of the
project.
Newman Lab Photos:
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Fall 2007
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Spring 2008
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| Amanda Souza, Furzani Paee, Noradilin Abdullah and me at the RAS meeting | Kailyn Brand, Eric Stevens, Amanda Souza, Danielle Cunningham, Laura Birdsall, Andrea Braganza, Dina Newman | |
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Spring 2007
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Summer 2007
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| Back Row: Osarhieme Aghayere, Sesquile Ramon,
Andrea Braganza, Eric Stevens, Tricia Libby, Janice Smith Front Row: Michael Osier, Amanda McFedries, Amanda Souza, Rhea Sanchez, Dina Newman |
Back Row: Eric Stevens, Tricia Libby, Andrea Braganza,
Dina Newman |
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Spring 2005
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Summer 2006
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| Back Row: Ryan Susa, Marissa Clopper, Rebecca Lebowitz,
Dina Newman Front Row: Tanya Spony, Karissa Raish, Erin Wells, Christina Witkowski |
Dina Newman, Kate Dyson, Brenna Brady, Matt Fieger, Rez Ajazi, Karissa Raish |
Bottom Left up and then down to Bottom Right: Aziana Ismail, Eric Stevens, Rhea Sanchez, Dina Newman, Dawn Mugrage, Mia Johnson, Andrea Braganza, Stephanie Techeney, Sesquilé Ramón |
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Eric Stevens '08 |
Noradilin Abdullah '08 and Furzani Paee '08 |
Andrea Braganza '08 Research Scholar |
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Sesquile Ramon '07 |
Aziana Ismail '07 | Brenna Brady '07 Research Scholar |
Sesqui getting his award from Dr. Pough |
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| RyanSusa '05 Research Scholar, Distinguished Scholar |
Amir Taslimi '05 |
Rebecca Lebowitz '06 Research Scholar, Distinguished Scholar |
Erin Wells '06 |