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Marit Nilsen-Hamilton

(i) Professional Preparation

Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Cornell University, 1973

B.S. in Biochemistry, Cornell University, 1969



(ii) Appointments

1989–present     Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Iowa State University

1995–2000        Chair, Department of Biochemsitry and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University

1988–1990        Professor-in-charge, Cell Facility, Iowa State University

1987–1990        Member, NIH Cell Biology Study Section II

1986–1991        Chair, Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology Program, Iowa State University

1982–1989        Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Iowa State University

1976–1982        Assistant Professor, The Salk Institute Cell Biology Lab

1975–1976        Senior Research Associate, The Salk Institute Molecular Biology Lab

1973–1975        Postdoctoral, Cell Biology, The Salk Institute



(iii) Selected publications most relevant to forensics

Burke, D.H., N.D.S. Ozerova, and M. Nilsen-Hamilton. "Allosteric Hammerhead Ribozyme TRAPs." Biochemistry 41 (2002): 6588-6594.

Fang, Y., P.M. Lepont, J. Fassett, S.P. Ford, Mubaidin Adnan, R.T. Hamilton, and M. Nilsen-Hamilton. "Signaling Between the Placenta and the Uterus Involving the Mitogen-Regulated Protein/Proliferins." Endocrinology 140 (1999): 5239-5249.

Fassett, J.T. and M. Nilsen-Hamilton. "Mrp3, a Mitogen-Regulated Protein/Proliferin Gene Expressed in Wound Healing and Hair Follicles." Endocrinology 142 (2001): 2129-2137.

Liu, Q. and M. Nilsen-Hamilton. "Identification of a new acute phase protein." J. Biol. Chem. 270 (1995): 22565-22570.

Nelson, J.T., N. Rosenzweig, and M. Nilsen-Hamilton. "Characterization of the Mitogen-Regulated Protein (MRP; Proliferin) Receptor." Endocrinology 136 (1995): 283-288.



(iv) Synergistic activities

a.   Directly in Forensics.  None.

b.  Other  While chair of the Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology Program, Dr. Nilsen-Hamilton revamped the program by adding a) a rotation program to provide students with more opportunities to interact with more faculty members and research groups, b) an enhanced research seminar program, c) a Methods seminar program and a series of hands-on workshops to enable students and postdocs to learn new techniques from others at ISU, d) a one-day annual symposium series (six symposia) that was an interdepartmental collaboration of about 28 departments to give students opportunities for poster and oral presentations, and e) a competitive grants program to which graduate students could apply for research assistantships.

She initiated and organized several series of symposia including: a) local symposia to provide graduate and undergraduate students opportunities to present their work, b) the GFST Symposia (12 symposia; http://www.molebio.iastate.edu/~gfst/homepg.html; a four-day annual series on Growth Factors and Signal Transduction in which the plenary speakers are well-known scientists and opportunities are available for oral and poster presentations by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows), and c) the Plant Sciences Symposia (three symposia; a four-day annual symposium series on topics related to Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

As Department Chair, Dr. Nilsen-Hamilton initiated activities such as a) a one-day annual symposium series (six symposia; http://www.molebio.iastate.edu/bbhtml/symp.html) with posters and oral presentations in which many of the speakers are graduate students, b) a department-funded and expanded rotation program, c) an annual "Professional Development Day" with invited speakers ( http://www.molebio.iastate.edu/bbhtml/profhmpg.html), and d) a coffee hour each afternoon to promote interaction and new collaborations amongst students and faculty.

As a teacher, she expanded her graduate classes to include a) student discussions, often in a debate format, of ethics in the basic sciences, and b) research proposals as final papers where the students review each other's proposals, write critical reviews, and participate in a review panel in which each proposal is discussed.

As a professor, she mentored 14 successful Ph.D. candidates, seven successful M.S. candidates, and provided research experience and mentorship to about 30 undergraduates, each of whom spent at least a semester on a project in the lab.