Curriculum Vitae - Bruce Alan Williams
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5190 Hingston Ave
Montreal, PQ
H3X 3R4, Canada 
Tel # (514) 484-4902
E-mail: bawill@molecularworkshop.com  


Index

  I) Educational Qualifications
 II) Working Experience
III) Scholarships, Awards, Honours
 IV) Publications
  V) Technical Abilities
 VI) References



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I) Educational Qualifications


PhD 1984-1993. McGill University, Biology department.
     1205 Dr. Penfield Ave., Montreal, Quebec.
     Title of thesis: Isolation and characterization of abscisic
     acid-responsive, embryo specific genes from Zea mays.
     Thesis supervisor: Dr. Adrian Tsang.

B.Sc. 1978-1984. Combined honours: Chemistry and Biology.
     York University, 4700 Keele St., Downsview, Ontario.
     Title of undergraduate thesis: Basidiogenesis in Hericium
     coralloides: An ultrastructural study.
     Thesis supervisor: Dr. I. Brent Heath.





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II) Working Experience


Post-Doctoral Research: 1997-1998. Concordia University, Biology 
     department. Nature of research: Saccharomyces cerevisiae 
     genome project.
     Supervisor: Dr. Reginald Storms

Post-Doctoral Research: 1994-1997. Concordia University, Biology 
     department. Nature of research: Molecular study and genetic 
     manipulation of Aspergillus niger.
     Supervisors: Drs. Etta Kaeffer, Reginald Storms and Adrian Tsang. 
Responsible for oligonucleotide synthesis, 1989.
     McGill University, Biology department.
     Direct supervisor: Kathryn Peterson

Teaching assistant, 1984-1990. 
     Biology 177-301; Laboratory in Molecular and Cellular Biology.
     McGill University, Biology department.
     Course Directors: Dr. R. Sinclair, Dr. R. Poole.

Research assistant, summers of 1982, 1983, 1984.
     York University, Chemistry Department.
     Employer: Dr. G.O. Aspinall.




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III) Scholarships


FCAR Post-Graduate Fellowship (Quebec), 1987-1989.

NSERC Post-Graduate Fellowship, 1984-1987.

NSERC Undergraduate Summer Scholarship, 1982-1984.



Awards


Travel award to present results at the U.C.L.A. Symposium on 
     The Molecular Basis of Plant Development. Steamboat Springs,
     Colorado. 1988.
     Sponsor: McGill University, Department of Biology.

Best Undergraduate Thesis Award, 1984.
     Sponsor: Graduate Students Society, York University.

Bertrand Gerstein Award, 1981.
     Sponsor: Bertrand Gerstein. 


Honours


Chemical Society of Canada Award, 1983. 

Dean's Honour Roll, York University, 1982.




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IV) Publications


Refereed Journal Articles Published
Ushinski SC, Bussey H, Ahmed AA, Wang Y, Friesen J, Williams BA,
     Storms RK, 1997. Histone H1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 
     Yeast 13:151-161.
     
Williams BA, Sillaots S, Tsang A, Storms R, 1996. Isolation by 
     genetic complementation of two differentially expressed 
     genes for á-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase from Aspergillus 
     niger. Curr Genet 30:305-311.

Williams BA, Tsang A, 1994. Analysis of multiple classes of 
     abscisic acid-responsive genes during embryogenesis in Zea 
     mays. Dev Gen 15:415-424.

Williams BA, Tsang A, 1992. Nucleotide sequence of an abscisic 
     acid-responsive, embryo-specific maize gene. Plant Physiol 
     100:1067-1068

Williams BA, Tsang A, 1991. A maize gene expressed during 
     embryogenesis is abscisic acid-inducible and highly conserved.
     Plant Mol Biol 16: 919-923.

Aspinall GO, Khondo L, Williams BA, 1987. The hex-5-enose 
     degradation: cleavage of glycosiduronic acid linkages in 
     modified methylated Sterculia gums. Can J Chem 65: 2069-2076.

(c) Conference Abstracts

Williams B, Tsang A, 1988. Abscisic acid is required to maintain 
     normal levels of embryo-specific mRNAs in Zea mays. J Cell 
     Biochem Supp 12C: 168. 




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V) Technical Abilities


     During post-doctoral research at Concordia University I have:
- created an A. niger cDNA library in a yeast expression library.
- sequenced more than 100 genes from this library.
- analyzed codon usage in A. niger. 
- disrupted the histone H1 gene in S. cerevisiae.
- created a gene fusion between S. cerevisiae histone H1 and the 
     green fluorescence protein from Aequorea victoria and used 
     fluorescence microscopy to demonstrate nuclear localization.  
- wrote several computer programs in Basic for the following operations:
     - to calculate codon bias indices from a database of nucleic acid 
        sequences.
     - to calculate solution concentration from optical density.
     - to estimate fragment size from gel mobility.
     - to quantify similarity between related sequences.
     - to search for potential upstream activation sequences in promoter 
        regions of genes.
     - to identify the most likely open reading frames within a genomic 
        DNA sequence.
- created a lab web site (www://clone.concordia.ca/aspergillus) for the 
     dissemination of protocols, research summary, and permit access to 
     novel programs for molecular biologists. 

     In the course of my research at McGill I have:
     - created a maize cDNA library and screened it for differentially-
      expressed genes.
- purified RNA and DNA from plants, bacteria, and bacteriophage.
- subcloned DNA fragments.
- sequenced single-strand and double-strand DNA using the dideoxy
     method.
- transformed E.coli with DNA using Hanahan's method and via
     electroporation.
- performed Northern and Southern blot analysis.
- generated antibodies from rabbit to a fusion protein isolated
     from E.coli.
- analysed proteins on 1-D and 2-D polyacrylamide gels.
- performed Western blot analysis.
- acquired a good working knowledge of MS-DOS, WordPerfect, DBase-III,
     PCGene, and various other software. 

     As an undergraduate student at York I have:
- prepared fungal tissue for and carried out examinations using visible 
     light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.
- purified and chemically modified polysaccharides.
- used HPLC to isolate chemical degradation products of modified
     polysaccharides.
- used GLC, GLC-MS, NMR, and various spectrophotometers to
     identify reaction products.







VI) References


Prof. Adrian Tsang, Concordia University, Biology department.
Phone # (514) 848-3402.

Prof.Reginald Storms, Concordia University, Biology department. 
Phone # (514) 848-3412

Prof. Greg Brown, McGill University, Biology department.
Phone # (514) 398-6426.

Prof. Pat Gulick, Concordia University, Biology Department.
Phone # (514) 848-3407.


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