Jennifer M. Henkle, a rising junior at Hamilton College, received a stipend from the Dean's Summer Research Fund to study how mutant bacteria may be used to clean up contaminated environments. Her faculty advisor is Assistant Professor of Biology Michael L. McCormick.
Henkle will focus on a microorganism called Geobacter metallireducens, which is an iron-respiring bacterium. McCormick likens iron-respiration to "breathing rust." One of her goals is to study Geobacter's ability to transform carbon tetrachloride, a common ground water contaminant in the United States. The question is to find out which proteins are responsible for the transition of carbon tetrachloride. It is hypothesized that whatever protein is responsible for the respiration is most likely the same protein most reactant with the free radicals produced after respiration. The applications of Henkle's research will help in understanding the fate of environmental contaminants on the Earth's surface, which is the overall goal of McCormick's lab.
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