Thomas (TJ) Sweet (Graduate Student)

Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Wood Bldg.  W113, 10900 Euclid Ave., Cleveland OH 44106-4960, USA

E thomas.sweet@case.edu

P 216.368.0276

F 216.368.2010

Education

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 1998-2002 (B.S. in Biochemistry

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 2006-current (Ph.D. in Biochemistry, pending)

Professional Experience

Research Assistant, Microbiology/Immunology, 2002-2005 Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM), Rootstown, OH

Publications

Hu, W., Sweet, T., Chamnongpol, S., Baker, K.E., and Coller, J. (2009) Co-translational mRNA decay in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Nature, 461:225-229

Sweet, T.J., Boyer, B., Hu, W., Baker, K.E., and Coller, J. (2007) Microtubule disruption stimulates P-body formation. RNA, 13:1-10

Docherty, J. J., Sweet, T. J., Bailey, E., Faith, S. A., and Booth, T. (2006). Resveratrol inhibition of varicella-zoster virus replication in vitro. Antiviral Res. 72, 171-177.

Faith, S. A., Sweet, T. J., Bailey, E., Booth, T., and Docherty, J. J. (2006). Resveratrol suppresses nuclear factor-kappaB in herpes simplex virus infected cells. Antiviral Res. 72, 242-251.

Docherty, J. J., Fu, M. M., Hah, J. M., Sweet, T. J., Faith, S. A., and Booth, T. (2005). Effect of resveratrol on herpes simplex virus vaginal infection in the mouse. Antiviral Res 67, 155-162.

Honors and Awards

Awarded the Marcus Singer Award at the 2009 Biomedical Graduate Student Symposium

Appointed to Cellular and Molecular Biology Training Grant, 2006 - 2008, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Bio

I am fairly new to RNA research, and my path into the study of RNA was quite discontinuous.  After earning a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 2002, I was not sure whether medical school or graduate school was the right path for me.  I then served as a research technician in the lab of John Docherty at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (Rootstown, OH) from 2002 to 2005. Research in the Docherty lab centered on anti-herpes simplex virus (HSV) agents.  This HSV research served not only to define potentially novel drugs, but also helped me decide on research as a career.  In the summer of 2005, I joined the University of Pittsburgh as a graduate student.  In January 2006, I transferred back to Case Western to continue work on my PhD.  In the course of performing lab rotations, I worked in Jeff Coller's lab in the RNA Center for Molecular Biology.  Jeff's lab struck a particular chord with me because of the lab's focus on post-transcriptional control of gene expression.  In my previous studies, I had learned much about transcriptional control of gene expression.  Little attention has been given to post-transcriptional control of gene expression until recently.  Since current research points to post-transcriptional control of gene expression being at least as important as transcriptional control, I feel that my work as a graduate student in Jeff's lab is venturing into largely unexplored, exciting territory.