Genes, Books, Rants, and Science Fiction
CV
Michael Aaron White, PhD
Department of Genetics
Washington University School of Medicine
4444 Forest Park Ave, Box 8510
St. Louis, MO 63108
http://genelogic.tumblr.com/home
Current Position
Washington University School of Medicine
Postdoctoral researcher (2006-present), laboratory of Dr. Barak Cohen, Department of Genetics and Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology
Education
Ph.D. in Biochemistry (2006), laboratory of Dr. Mark Dumont, University of Rochester School of Medicine
B.A. in Music Performance and Pedagogy with a Minor in Chemistry (2000), Brigham Young University (I have no religious affiliation)
Awards and Honors
NIH Kirschstein National Research Service Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2007-2009
Postdoctoral Trainee, Genome Analysis Training Program (NRSA T32), 2006-2007
Predoctoral Trainee, Cellular, Biochemical, and Molecular Sciences Training Program (NRSA T32), 2005
Mentored Research Scholarship, Brigham Young University (award based on research proposal), 1998
University Scholarship, Brigham Young University (based on GPA), 1993-94, 1996-99
National Merit Scholarship Finalist, 1993
Laboratory & Research Experience
Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Genetics, 2006 - present
Performed experimental and computational studies of transcriptional control during the S. cerevisiae cell cycle, during D. melanogaster development (in collaboration with Dr. Scott Barolo, U. Michigan), and in mouse retina (in collaboration with Dr. Joseph Corbo, Washington U.)
University of Rochester School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 2000-2006
Constructed a genomic yeast ORF overexpression library and used it to study expression and detergent solubilization of S. cerevisiae membrane proteins for structural and functional genomics (with Dr. Mark Dumont)
Studied the regulatory relationships between p300, Ski, and the TGFβ pathway (with Dr. Yin Sun)
Alpine Health Industries, Orem, Utah
Quality Control Chemist, performed HPLC to assay small bioactive molecules in products
Teaching Experience
Washington University School of Medicine
Mentor for summer and semester undergraduate researchers, 2007-2011
University of Rochester School of Medicine
Instructor, University-sponsored GRE review course aimed at preparing minority students for graduate school, 2004
Tutor for graduate biochemistry and cell biology courses, 2002-2003
Teaching assistant for graduate biochemistry course, 2001
Art City Music Academy, Springville, UT
Piano instructor, group and individual instruction, 1997-1999
Computer Skills
Programing in Perl, R, Matlab, Python, UNIX bash
Programming and operation of Biomek Liquid Handling Robots
Science Community/Outreach Activities
Co-founder of the online science pub The Finch and Pea (www.thefinchandpea.com)
Guest Blogger, The Huffington Post
St. Louis area school science fair judge/mentor, 2009-2013
Invited speaker, “Blogging in the Science Communication Ecosystem,” Pacific Division AAAS meeting, San Francisco State University, August 2009
Book proposal reviewer for Academic Press, 2005
Research Publications
** Co-first authorship
White, MA, Myers, CA, Corbo, JC, and Cohen, BA. A massively parallel in vivo enhancer assay reveals that highly local features determine the cis-regulatory function of ChIP-seq peaks. Submitted, Feb. 2013.
White, MA, Parker, DS, Barolo, S, and Cohen, BA. “A model of spatially restricted transcription in opposing gradients of activators and repressors.” Molecular Systems Biology 8:614 (2012). Link
Parker, DS**, White, MA**, Ramos AI, Cohen BA, Barolo S. The cis-regulatory logic of Hedgehog gradient responses: key roles for Gli binding affinity, competition, and cooperativity. Science Signaling 4, ra38 (2011). Link
See accompanying Perspective: Whitington T, Jolma A, Taipale J. Beyond the balance of activator and repressor. Science Signaling 4, pe29 (2011). Link
White MA, Riles L, Cohen BA. A systematic screen for transcriptional regulators of the yeast cell cycle. Genetics 181, 435-446 (2009). PMC2644938 Link
White MA, Clark K, Grayhack EJ, Dumont ME. Characteristics effecting expression and solubilization of yeast membrane proteins. Journal of Molecular Biology 365, 621-636 (2007). PMC1839945 Link
Gelperin DM**, White MA**, Wilkinson ML**, Kon Y, Kung LA, Wise KJ, Lopez-Hoyo N, Jiang L, Piccirillo S, Yu H, Gerstein M, Dumont ME, Phyizicky EM, Snyder M, Grayhack EJ. Biochemical and genetic analysis of the yeast proteome with a movable ORF collection. Genes & Development 19, 2816-2826 (2005). PMC1315389 Link
Other Publications
White, M. A Genome-Sized Media Failure. The Huffington Post, Sept. 13, 2012. Link.
White, MA. Evolution and Robots. Science 337, 294-295 (2012). Link
White, M. 500 Million Years of Pain. The Good Men Project, October 10, 2011. Link
Selected Presentations
Speaker (short talk): The cis-Regulatory Logic of Hedgehog Response, Gordon Research Conference on Cellular Systems Biology, Davidson, NC, 2011
Poster: The cis-Regulatory Logic of Hedgehog Response, Computational Cell Biology, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 2011
Speaker: Discovering Novel Transcriptional Regulators of the Yeast Cell Cycle, Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2008
Poster: Discovering Novel Transcriptional Regulators of the Yeast Cell Cycle, Keystone Systems Biology Meeting, Steamboat Springs, CO, 2007
Speaker: Characteristics affecting expression and solubilization of yeast membrane proteins, Buffalo-Hamilton-Toronto Structural Biology Symposium, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 2005
Poster: MORF: a new proteomic S. cerevisiae protein overexpression library for biochemical analysis of the proteome, Symposium on Computational Cell Biology, Lenox, MA, 2005
Poster: A New C-terminal ORF-fusion Collection for Biochemical Analysis of the Proteome, Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting, Seattle, WA, 2004
