| Title: | Assoc Prof Physics and BGES |
| Dept: | Physics |
| Office: | SI 122 |
| Phone: | 216-687-2431 |
| Email: | J.VITALI@csuohio.edu |
| Address: | 2121 Euclid Ave. SI 122, Cleveland, OH 44115 |
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| Education: | ||||||||
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Ph.D., Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo
B.S., Physics, University of Athens | ||||||||
| Brief Bio: | ||
| will come soon | ||
| Honors and Awards: | ||
| Merit Recognition Award (research and service), 2020 (CSU). Amount: $1K.
Graduate Faculty Research support (for ACA 2018 meeting), 2018 (CSU). Amount: $800 Graduate Faculty Research support (for publication charges), 2017 (CSU). Amount: $750. Graduate Faculty Research support (for IUCR 2017 congress), 2017 (CSU). Amount $1250. Graduate Faculty Travel Award (for ACA 2015 meeting), 2015 (CSU). Amount: $800. Graduate Faculty Travel Award (for IUCR 2014 meeting), 2014 (CSU). Amount: $1.2K. Merit Recognition Award (research and teaching), 2014 (CSU). Amount: $1K. | ||
| Creative and Activities: | ||
| Very recent only --
Vitali, J., Nix, J.C., Newman, H.E. and Colaneri, M.J. (2023) Crystal Structure of Methanococcus jannaschii Dihydroorotase Proteins 91, 91-98. Vitali, J., Nix, J.C., Newman, H.E. and Colaneri, M.J. (2023) Dihydroorotase from Methanococcus jannaschii with substrate and product bound. Amer. Cryst. Assoc. Annual meeting at Baltimore, MD. Abstract 379. Colaneri, M.J., Teat, S.J. and Vitali, J. (2023) A case of UV-induced proton-coupled electron transfer in Copper-doped Zinc Creatinine Sulfate: An EPR, DFT, and Crystallographic Investigation. Amer. Cryst. Assoc. Annual meeting at Baltimore, MD. Abstract 381. Davis, A.K. and Vitali, J. (2023) Purification of Methanococcus jannaschii Dihydrorotase and co-crystallization with a substrate analog. 65th Annual May Conference of the Microscopy Society of Northeastern Ohio at John Carroll University, University Heights, OH. 5/24/23. Davis, A.K. and Newman, H.E. were undergraduate students. | ||
| Research Interests: | ||
| My research involves the structural analysis of macromolecules by X-ray diffraction. Such studies provide direct and unambiguous information regarding all the details of the three-dimentional atomic arrangement of these molecules. This information is necessary in order to understand their properties and function.
My current efforts focus in acquiring a better understanding of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis at the molecular level. In this connection, I have determined the structures of the catalytic trimer of Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) and of dihydroorotase (DHOase) from the hyperthermophilic and barophilic archaeon M.jannaschii. The ATCase research suggested paths that the thermally unstable substrate carbamoyl phosphate (CP) may take to reach the active site protecting itself from thermal degradation. DHOases form a very diverse family of proteins. The M. jannaschii DHOase is the first archaeal DHOase studied and its X-ray structure helped define the traits of archaeal subtype. A second area of research aims to understand how co-factor copper ions translocate within or between proteins. Using a combination of X-ray crystallography of small molecule models and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) it appears that copper can physically tunnel between protein binding sites. Past research includes complexes of bovine thrombin with inhibitors including the leech protein hirudin, one Fab fragment, S100b, the EF-Tu-Ts complex, pectin lyase B, histidine decarboxylase, the Gly121Tyr mutant of ornithine decarboxylase from Lactobacillus 30a, the UP1 fragment of hnRNP A1, myoglobin, and insulin. Postdoctoral fellow: Aditya Singh, Ph.D., 10/2007-3/2009 | ||
| Teaching Areas: | ||
| Algebra and Calculus based Physics
Biophysics Crystallography Undergraduate Research Students Oana Sipos, 1/2004 - 5/2007 (Physics, NIH grant support) Nermina Covic, 7/2005 - 11/2006 (Physics, NIH grant support). Went to the Medical School in Domenica Khadidja Benmerzouga, 4/2007 - 9/2009 (Physics, in part NIH grant support and in part Engaged Learning). Accepted in Master in Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland State University. Frank Marealle, 3/2008 - 5/2008 (Physics, NIH grant support). Accepted in the Biomedical Engineering doctoral program of Northeastern University in Boston, MA (2008). Jonathan Allen, 7/2008 - 9/2008 (Physics, Engaged Learning) Accepted in the doctoral program of the Ohio State University School of Pharmacy (2009). Nura Orra, 1/2009 - 9/2009 (Physics, Engaged Learning). Accepted in the doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program of Ohio University. Charlie Dorflinger, 6/2010 - 9/2010 (Physics, Engaged Learning). Accepted in the doctoral program of the Ohio State University School of Pharmacy (2014). Elissar Daher, 5/2012 - 12/2013 (BGES, Honors). Honors thesis "A Preliminary Study of Ornithine Transcarbamoylase in Methanococcus jannaschii." Honors Student Research Support to Elissar Daher (CSU), summer 2013, amount: $500. Accepted in CWRU Dental school (2014). Joseph Skladany, 1/2014 - 5/2014 (Physics) Amy Dadisman, 5/2017 - 8/2017 (BGES USRA). Accepted in the Medical School of Ohio State University (2018) Haley Newman, 1/2018-5/2019. (BGES) Undergraduate Research Award (URA) to Haley Newman (CSU); spring 2019. Amount: $1000. She is currently a surgical/transplant ICU nurse at Cleveland Clinic. Ryan Godin, 5/2018 - 9/2018 and 5/2019 -9/2019 (Physics USRA),1/2020-7/2020; 1/2022-5/2022. BGES Honors Research. Currently PhD student at the University of Iowa. Angelica Houston, 1/2019-5/2019 (BGES). She went on to get a Masters in Education Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. Mohamed Alsabony 6/2019-8/2019 (Physics USRA) He went on to the Medical School of Ohio State University. James Finnerty, 8/2019-12/2019. BGES Ann Tushar, 8/2019-5/2020. Currently has a research position in Lerner Research Institute. Seth A. Ayotte, 7/2020-12/2021 (USRA) Alyssa K. Davis, 5/2022 - 12/2022. BGES (USRA, summer 2022). S23: Outstanding Scholar of College of A&S. F23: accepted to CWRU Medical Schoo. Graduate Research Students Dan Meleason, Fall 2008 (Physics, NIH grant support) Graduate Student Committees Baixi Su-Alexander (Electrical Engineering, D.E. 5/2008) Ozge Can (Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, D.E. 12/2008) Boo Seok Yun (Clinical Chemistry, Ph.D. program) William Martin (Clinical Chemistry, Ph.D. 12/2018) Anup S. Mathew (Electrical & Computer Engineering, D.E. 12/2020) Xuyang Shi (Electrical & Computer Engine | ||
| Professional Affiliations: | ||
| American Crystallographic Association
Pittsburgh Diffraction Society Microscopy Society of Northeastern Ohio Ohio Academy of Sciences | ||
| University Service: | ||
| A&S Budget and Planning Committee, 9/23-present
COSHP Nominating Committee, 7/12-5/22. Chair: 2015-5/2022. COSHP Steering Committee, 7/15 - 6/22 A&S Special Nominating Committee, cochair with Maria Gigante 5/22-6/22 A&S Nominating Committee, 7/22 - 6/23, Chair A&S Steering Committee, 7/22 - 6/23. COSHP Steering at large, 7/15 - 6/16 Graduate Faculty Review Committee, 8/23 - present Graduate Student Awards Committee, 8/23 - present Graduate Grade Dispute Committee, 8/20 - 9/22 Graduate Grade Dispute Committee, 8/09 - 9/11 Graduate Faculty Review Committee, 8/07 - 8/09 Graduate Admissions and Standards Committee, 8/05-8/07 Faculty Senate, 9/23 - present Voting, Committees and Elections Working group (for the merging of COSHP and CLASS), 9/21 - 12/21 Academic Technology Committee, 9/20 - 8/22; 5/13 - 7/14 Minority Affairs Committee, 8/16 - present Academic Technology Committee, 5/13 - 7/14 Diversity and Inclusion Committee (formerly Minority Affairs Committee), 9/16 - 8/20. Environmental Health and Safety Advisory Board, 9/12-9/13 Equal Opportunity Hearing Panel, 10/11 - 8/16 Physics Peer Review Committee, 1/12 - present Steering Committee in Medical Physics, 1/03 - 11/18. Minutes taker 9/11-11/18. Physics Faculty Committee, 1/03 - present. Various Physics Search Committees Physics representative to the CSU-AAUP. 10/18 - present. | ||
| Professional Service: | ||
| Reviewer for Acta Crystallographica, Biochemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Accounts of Chemical Research, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, MDPI Biology, J. Phys. Chemistry A., MDPI Biomolecules, Protein Journal .
Chair of poster session on Biological Macromolecules in the 1994 Amer. Cryst. Assoc. Annual Meeting at Atlanta, Georgia. Chair of the Theory Session of Contributed Papers in the "2005 World Year of Physics Einstein Centennial: From Brownian Motion to the Physics of Complexity" meeting of the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society at Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio (10/15/2005). Judge for the Mitegen and Society of Physics Students Undergraduate Poster Prize at the 2015 American Crystallographic Association meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Chair of the Theoretical and Computational Session (E4) of Contributed Papers in the "Physics in Biology and Medicine" Fall 2015 meeting of the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society at Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio (10/17/2015). | ||
| Research Grants: | ||
| Crystallization of complexes of Methanococcus jannaschii Dihydroorotase with ligands. Undergraduate Summer Research Award (USRA), 5/15/22-8/31/22. Amount: $5120
Following the Dihydroorotase reaction with pH in Methanococcus jannaschii. Undergraduate Summer Research Award (USRA), 5/15/20-8/30/21 (CSU). Amount: $5040. Crystallization of Dihydroorotase from Methanococcus jannaschii. Undergraduate Summer Research Award (USRA), 5/15/19-8/31/19 (CSU). Amount: $4500. Crystallization of an Archaeal Dihydroorotase. Undergraduate Summer Research Award (USRA), 5/15/18-8/31/18 (CSU). Amount: $5030 Structural Studies of an Archaeal Dihydroorotase. Undergraduate Summer Research Award (USRA), 5/17-8/17 (CSU). Amount $4830. Structural Studies of an Aspartate Transcarbamoylase. Faculty Scholarship Initiative; 9/14-3/16 (CSU). Amount: $5k. Structural Studies of an Aspartate Transcarbamoylase. Faculty Research Development Award; 7/09-12/10 (CSU). Amount: $15K. Structural Studies of the Pyrimidine Pathway. NIH R15 grant; 9/04-9/09 (CSU). Amount: $210K. Engaged Learning Undergraduate Program; summer 2010, summer 2009, summer 2008; ~ $4K per summer, Office of the Provost, CSU. Startup Package Fund (CSU) National Research Service Award from institutional training grant in experimental hematology; 9/92-7/94. (WSU) Determination of the Crystal Structure of the S100b Protein. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Research Fellowship; 5/87-5/89. (UVa) Research grants to students Haley Newman: Undergraduate Research Award (URA) (CSU); spring 2019. Amount: $1000. Elissar Daher: Honors Student Research Support (CSU); summer 2013, amount: $500. | ||