Hughes Mentor:  Tim Huffaker

Department: Molecular Biology and Genetics

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Meet Dr. Tim Huffaker

Dr. Huffaker received a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a Ph.D. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There were a few reasons that he made the decision to come to Cornell. First of all, he knew that there was a great molecular biology department here. Secondly, Dr. Huffaker really enjoyed the small town feel of Ithaca. On a realistic note, he remarks that the job market is very selective in the field and to be offered a job at all is a pretty great reason to move to that place. Finally, the reason that directs the future of all good men’s lives, Dr. Huffaker’s wife is from Canada, and they did not want to move too far south so as to stay close to their family.

Dr. Huffaker studies the cellular structures that control the segregation of chromosomes during mitotic cell division, specifically proteins that control these microtubule structures. The model organism he uses for these studies is S. cerevisiae, better known as baker’s yeast. Dr. Huffaker first got interested in his research question when choosing his postdoctoral laboratory. He wanted to get into the genetics field, and he also wanted to work in a lab with yeast as the model organism. The lab he found happened to be working on the cytoskeleton, and the rest is history. Dr. Huffaker notes that yeast is an amazing system to work with in that you can do almost anything you can do in all other model organisms combined, and there are many fewer technical hurdles, so the system tends to be user-friendly and great for students. It allows for many more experiments to be done in a short time, allowing for more results and a greater chance for students to get excited about research rather than getting bogged down with lengthly, exacting protocols as in some other organisms.

As Dr. Huffaker works in a field that is very central to all of biology (pertaining to anything with dividing cells) there are obviously a huge number of applications for his research. The most commonly discussed or perhaps most applicable subject is cancer treatment. Most cancer cells have abnormal numbers of chromosomes due to missegregation and many drugs used to treat cancers, especially breast cancer, target the microtubules of the cells to try to stop segregation and multiplication of cells. Of course there are many other diseases such as Down’s Syndrome which is caused by Trisomy 21, in which an individual has 3 copies of the 21st chromosome instead of the normal 2 copies. This of course is also due to a missegregation event which in theory could be prevented by better understanding the cellular machinery that allows for it. Basically, there are endless applications of this core cellular biology research which makes his work that much more exciting.

When Dr. Huffaker is not in the lab doing research he enjoys spending time with his children and attending their events such as school plays. He also enjoys sports during every season. In the winter he can be found alpine skiing, and in the summer months he is a fan of kayaking.

The primary characteristic that Dr. Huffaker looks for in an undergraduate researcher is enthusiasm. He also prefers that undergraduates entering the lab be either sophomores or juniors as it is very hard to get acquainted with how things work in the lab and actually work on a project when you have 2 semester or less left at Cornell. As far as classes go, he recommends having taken genetics (BioGD 281) prior to entering the lab and he wouldn’t mind an undergraduate having taken biochemistry as well, though he realizes it’s hard to find sophomores or juniors who have both of these under their belt. Finally, it is definitely advantageous to be able to work over the summer if you want to get into the lab. Dr. Huffaker notes that summers are a great opportunity to immerse yourself in research and learn much more than would be possible in small periods of time spread over a semester that includes lots of coursework. So, if you have some knowledge of genetics, some enthusiasm, and some time to devote to furthering core biological knowledge that affects current medical treatments worldwide, consider the Huffaker lab.

A Hughes Scholar Guide to do Research in the Huffaker Lab

I started doing research first semester junior year. I transferred to Cornell second semester sophomore year and the very first semester I started to look in to some research opportunities. Having already identified my interests, I knew that I am interested in a project that will ultimately have some sort of medical applications. I started looking in to the research projects of faculties in the area of molecular biology and genetics, which is where I am concentrating in. I read their abstracts and their papers and if it sounded interesting, I e-mailed the professors indicating my interest and that I would like to meet with them and chat about their project. This is a good way to get a professor know you as well making sure that you like the PI and the lab members.

After four or five meetings with different professors, my own faculty advisor suggested me a position in his lab. He talked with me about the project and I became interested and accepted it. As of now I have been working in the Huffaker lab for eighteen months, including two summers.

The project that I am working on involves identifying the interactions between three microtubule binding proteins in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These proteins are involved in microtubule dynamics (growth and shrinkage) and in their absence chromosome separation and cell division will be defective.

The main part of my project involved creating specific mutations in a protein using site-specific PCR mutagenesis. I then cloned these into a two hybrid vector and then assessed their interaction in yeast using two-hybrid analysis. I have been looking for a specific set of behaviors by these proteins and I have identified three mutants that exhibit interaction in the way that I am interested in. Currently I am working on replacing the wild type copy of the gene of interest with the mutant copies that I created, and then look at their effects on microtubules in yeast.

As it may be obvious, research involves a lot of tedious work and patience. When I first joined the lab, I had a fair amount of theoretical background but I had never worked systematically in a lab before. The good side of doing research is that the techniques that one learns come hand in hand with the theories that one will learn in classes, but the hard part about it is that you have to be so calm and patient, try to stay focused and learn to trouble shoot. Of course there is a lot of difference between doing research over the summer or the academic year. Cornell is a tough school and trying to manage your time in a way that you will be able to make good progress both in your classes as well as your research project is not as easy task. Most importantly, academics shall always be a priority but when you are interested in your research project and you commit yourself to it, then you will have to find the balance between the two. There will be classes usually until the early afternoon and then you will find yourself in the lab until late afternoon and afterward you will have to study and do homework until late night. It is busy but definitely doable.

Thus, personally speaking, doing research has been a great opportunity for me to identify exactly what I would like to do in the future. It has also taught me how patience and creative I could be and what kind of a career path will be most appropriate for me in the future.