Georgetown College. Georgetown University.

Dr. Jeffrey Urbach has collaborated on biophysics projects with many researchers at Georgetown and around the world. Here are a few of his recent collaborations:

Elmendorf Lab

Dr. Heidi Elmendorf, Georgetown University

Investigating the ways that the Giardia parasite attaches to the intestine. Dr. Urbach is working with Dr. Elmendorf to determine how Giardia attaches to the body. The research began with measuring the levels of attachment. Now Elemendorf and Urbach are testing ways of removing Giardia by applying varying levels of pressure and experimenting with different drugs to reduce the Giardia’s level of attachment to the body.

Geller Lab

Dr. Herb Geller, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute For Health

Dr. Geller is exploring the spinal chords ability (or inability) to recover after injury. Dr. Urbach is collaborating with him in an attempt to identify what stops regrowth and experimenting with proteins to monitor the ways in which they impact or interrupt the healing process.

Computational Neuroscience Laboratory

Dr. Geoffrey Goodhill, University of Queensland, Australia

One of Dr. Urbach’s earliest and most long-standing collaborations, Dr. Goodhill’s research focuses on axons (neural pathways) and the ways that they form in the brain. Dr. Urbach and Dr. Goodhill began with a more straightforward biological investigation on cell motility, but based on their findings they then shifted to research on the incredible sensitivity of axons to their environment.

Mueller Laboratory

Dr. Susette Mueller, Georgetown University

With a research focus on breast cancer, Dr. Mueller is currently investigating what occurs when a tumor migrates or metastasizes. Dr. Urbach is collaborating her to monitor the physical and biochemical process so that they can understand the genetic changes that take place and cause the cells to migrate.

Roepe Lab

Dr. Paul Roepe, Georgetown University

Dr. Roepe and Dr. Urbach are collaborating to investigate the drug resistance in malaria. While new methods have been developed to combat malaria, some forms of the parasite are able to resist it. Urbach and Roepe are using imaging technology to view the digestive vacuole within infected cells and hope that, through monitoring, they can learn more about what is leading to the malaria’s resistance to these drug treatments.

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