“Fruit fly, little fruit fly, they say we share the same pair of genes. But I‘ve got a complex one or two more than you, you’ve got the ones that give you the wings....”

From Fruit Fly

Tom Bianchi

Park Street Blues

The work in my lab is centered around using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model for understanding human neurological disease.  Presently, my lab focuses on understanding the function of genes involved in infantile onset Batten Disease (Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis), a pediatric neurodegenerative disease.  The fruit fly has been a staple of biological research for the past 100 years because of its short generation time, relatively inexpensive maintenance costs, accessible cell biology, and the sophisticated yet simple genetic tools available to researchers.  These attributes also make it a perfect organism to use in developing a biomedical research program involving undergraduates.  Both my current research as well as future projects are amenable to undergraduate research and will expose students to numerous fields including: molecular biology, neurobiology, genetics and cell biology.  Furthermore, my work also provides an introduction to human genetics and disease and the use of model systems as a way to understand disease mechanisms.

I chose to pursue a teaching/research career at a predominantly undergraduate institution because I believe deeply in the liberal arts model that guides schools like the College of Charleston.  In all aspects of my teaching, research, and service I aim to expose undergraduates to the world of research in the biological sciences.   I enjoy the close contact with students in the classroom and the laboratory because it invigorates my teaching in the classroom and my research in the lab.  I teach a variety of courses in the Department of Biology at the College of Charleston.  Specifically, I offer sections of Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology and Neuroscience I.  Each year, I also supervise several students who are exploring model systems research through an Independent Study or Bachelors Essay.

The lab is currently funded by grants from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NIH-NICHD Grant# HD052362) and the NIH South Carolina INBRE Program (Grant# RR16461).  In the past we have been supported by the SOMAS program (NSF DUE# 0426266), the Batten Disease Support and Research Association (BDSRA), the NIH South Carolina-BRIN program, the Department of Biology, and the College of Charlestons’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Program