{"620480":{"#nid":"620480","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Marcus Bray","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDoctor of Philosophy in Biology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Ein the\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMarcus S. Bray\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWill defend his thesis\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIron as an integral constituent of ancient metabolism and biochemistry\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThursday April 25\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E, 2019\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E1:00 PM\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEngineered Biosystems Building (EBB)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EChildren\u0026rsquo;s Healthcare of Atlanta Seminar Room (1005)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Advisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Jennifer B. Glass\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Co-Advisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Loren Dean Williams\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Frank J. Stewart\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Joel E. Kostka\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDr. Kostas T. Konstantinidis\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESummary\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELife on Earth evolved and proliferated for nearly 2 billion years in an environment devoid of molecular oxygen and replete with iron. Currently on Earth, iron has widespread uses in the biochemistry and metabolism of extant organisms. It is therefore likely that this metal filled a larger role at life\u0026rsquo;s inception and colonization across the planet. In this dissertation, I investigated the roles that iron could have played for early biochemistry and lifeforms. I first studied iron\u0026rsquo;s ability to substitute for magnesium in life\u0026rsquo;s old macromolecular machine, the ribosome. I found that under conditions reminiscent of the ancient Earth, iron can mediate ribosomal structure and function in place of magnesium both \u003Cem\u003Ein vitro \u003C\/em\u003Eand \u003Cem\u003Ein vivo\u003C\/em\u003E. I then examined the mechanisms microorganisms use to respire iron, and the how this ancient metabolism interacts with others in the environment. I found that certain iron reducing strategies may me more phylogenetically and structurally diverse than previously realized, and that the competing interest of iron reducing organisms with methanogens in sediments could have constrained early planetary habitability. Collectively, my results deepen our knowledge of not only the past, but present and future of iron in life on this planet.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":" Iron as an integral constituent of ancient metabolism and biochemistry"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2019-04-16 17:25:09","changed_gmt":"2019-04-16 17:25:09","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2019-04-25T14:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2019-04-25T16:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2019-04-25T16:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2019-04-25 18:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2019-04-25 20:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2019-04-25 20:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}