Vicki L. Cameron, Professor

Biology Department, Ithaca College

Ph.D. University of Colorado

Office: Rm. 164 CNS

LAB: Rm. 172 CNS

Phone: (607)274-3575

Field: Molecular Biology

Specialty: Structure and function of mitochondrially encoded proteins in yeast.

My laboratory is interested in the structure and function of a mitochondrially encoded protein required for cellular respiration and energy production. Defects in mitochondrial function have been shown to be responsible for some inherited human diseases and may be related to aging. The protein under investigation (whose X-ray crystal structure is shown here) is subunit II of cytochrome c oxidase. This protein is very similar in all organisms, from yeast to humans. By studying how changes in the structure of the protein affect its function in yeast, important information can be obtained about how the protein functions in all organisms, including humans. (figure from http://www-bioc.rice.edu/~graham/CcO.html , the Cytochrome Oxidase Homepage).

Representative Recent Publications with Ithaca College student co-authors in bold.

Cameron, Vicki (in press, Genetics). "Teaching Advanced Genetics Without Lectures"

Machingo, Quentin, Mazourek, Michael, and Cameron, Vicki (2001). "Second-Site, Intragenic Alterations in the Gene Encoding Subunit II of Cytochrome c Oxidase from Yeast Can Suppress Two Different Missense Mutations." Current Genetics, 39: 297-304. PDFfile of the manuscript. The original publication is available on LINK http://link.springer.de with the following DOI: 10.1007/s002940100214.

Mazourek, Michael, Torello, A. T. and Cameron, V. (1999) "Analysis of Strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with Amino Acid Substitutions in the CuA Binding Region of Subunit II in Cytochrome c Oxidase." Current Genetics, 36: 249-255.

Thomas, Torello, A., Overholtzer, Michael H., Vicki L. Cameron, Nathalie Bonnefoy, and Thomas D. Fox. (1997). "Deletion of the Leader Peptide of the Mitochondrially Encoded Precursor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit II." Genetics: 145: 903-910.

Michael Overholtzer, Peter Yakowec, and Vicki Cameron. (1996). "The Effect of Amino Acid Substitutions in the Conserved Aromatic Region of Subunit II of Cytochrome c Oxidase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae." J. Biological Chemistry. 217: 7719-7724.

Representative Recent Presentations by Ithaca College students (in bold).

Practico, Elizabeth, Levine-Wilkenson, Seamus, and Vicki Cameron. "Characterization and Analysis of Mitochondrial Suppressors of a Site-specific Mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae." University of Rochester Undergraduate Science Conference. October 2002. Rochester, NY.

Werner, Shannon and Cameron, Vicki. "The Localization of a Mutant CoxII Protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae." University of Rochester Undergraduate Science Conference. October 2002. Rochester, NY.

Machingo, Quentin, Mazourek, Michael and Cameron, Vicki. "Analysis of Alterations in Subunit II of Cytochrome c Oxidase in Yeast." Annual Meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, May, 1999. San Francisco, CA.

Mazourek, Michael and Cameron, Vicki. "Suppressors of a Mutation Adjacent to the Copper Binding Ligands in Subunit II of Cytochrome c Oxidase." National Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting, Aug. 1998. College Park, MD.

Torello, Tom, Overholtzer, Michael, and Cameron, Vicki. "Deletion of the Leader Peptide of the Mitochondrially Encoded Precursor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit II." National Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting, Aug. 1996. Madison, WI.

Shannon Werner presenting her results at Pfizer Global Research and Development, October 2002.

Abbreviated Curriculum vita:

Current Courses Taught:

Current Topics in Biochemistry (spring)

Visit the Biology home page.
Go to the Ithaca College home page.

Page created and maintained by: Vicki Cameron and Nancy Pierce
I can be contacted at: cameron@ithaca.edu
Last modified: January 2004