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Gwendolyn Stovall

  • Associate Professor of Practice
  • Molecular Biosciences
  • Freshman Research Initiative

Leads the FRI Aptamer Stream, where students use biochemistry and molecular biology to develop tools made of RNA and DNA.

Profile image of Gwendolyn Stovall
gwenstovall@utexas.edu
PAI
2.08b
G2800
FRI Aptamer Stream site

Biography

Research Interests: A part of the UT Freshman Research Initiative, the Aptamer Stream uses in vitro selection methodology to identify aptamers, which may be used in therapeutics, diagnostics, and molecular sensors. Aptamers are nucleic acid binding species or, as my class likes to call them, molecular stickers. Our research is based on the technology originally developed by Andrew D. Ellington.

Principal Investigator and Director (2016-present) of the UT High School Research Initiative. The program translates UT research to high school inquiry experiences and curriculum, provides teacher training, and connects high school classrooms to a supportive network of UT faculty and undergraduate peer mentors. The program is supported by the NIH Science Education Partnership Award (2016-21, 2022-27).

Provost’s Teaching Fellow, (2021-present). As a small cohort, Fellows are committed to improving teaching practice and campus culture at UT-Austin. Collectively, Fellows spearhead events that benefit the entire campus, including the monthly New Faculty Symposium, monthly Think Tanks where faculty discuss thorny issues in a safe and collaborative environment, and Eyes on Teaching. My PTF project, “Peer Mentor Leadership project,” guides undergraduate mentors into developing their vision of their leadership styles, building constructive leadership practices, and assessing the effectiveness of the practices.

CNS Professional Track Faculty Committee, (2020-2023). The goal of the CNS Professional Track Faculty Committee is to strengthen and stabilize PTF faculty and acknowledge the important role they play in the college’s learning community.

CNS Outreach Committee member, (April 2019-present, Chair 2021-22). This committee advocates for and supports the CNS Outreach community, strengthening an interconnected outreach ecosystem,.

CNS Outreach Sub-Committee (Chair), (2022-23). This subcommittee brings awareness to existing UT outreach programs and helps professional track faculty plug into outreach opportunities.

 

Past/Termed

Faculty Council member representing tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty, (August 2019 – August 2021). The Faculty Council is one of the two legislative bodies here at the University. It serves as the faculty’s voice and advises the administration on matters regarding undergraduate educational policy, including requirements for degrees, admissions, and honors, as well as recommendations from special and standing University committees.

CNS Mentorship Sub-Committee (Chair), (2020-2023, Chair 2021-22). The goal of the CNS Professional Track Faculty Mentor Sub-Committee is to formalize a faculty mentorship program, provide professional education and best practices for mentorship, assess the mentoring landscape of the CNS PTF, as well as several items related to creating a healthy and sustainable environment for faculty mentorship.

Research

A part of the UT Freshman Research Initiative, the Aptamer Stream uses in vitro selection methodology to identify aptamers, which may be used in therapeutics, diagnostics, and molecular sensors. Aptamers are nucleic acid binding species or, as my class likes to call them, molecular stickers. Our research is based on the technology originally developed by Andrew D. Ellington.

Education

  • Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin (2011)
  • B.S. Chem., The University of Georgia (1999)
  • B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Georgia (1999)

Publications

  • Miller AA, Rao AS, Nelakanti SR, Kujalowicz C, Shi T, Rodriguez T, Ellington AD, Stovall GM. Systematic Review of Aptamer Sequence Reporting in the Literature Reveals Widespread Unexplained Sequence Alterations. Anal Chem. 2022 Apr 14. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c04407. (AA Miller provided cover artwork for issue, https://pubs.acs.org/toc/ancham/94/22. Paper was highlighted in the July 29, 2022 International Society on Aptamers newsletter.)

  • Rangappa GT, Ferrell HC, Gucer D, and Stovall GM: Developing aptamers and 21st century skills through innovative course-based aptamer research. Atlas of Science, 2021. https://atlasofscience.org/developing-aptamers-and-21st-century-skills-through-innovative-course-based-aptamer-research/ (Summary of Stovall, et al 2019 paper.)

  • Rao A, Assadourian J, Miller A, Nnadi N, Stovall GM. Aptamers. In: Offermanns S., Rosenthal W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2020. 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21573-6_5182-1, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57401-7_5182.

  • Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD: Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. Sensors 2019, 19 (15) 3270. DOI: 10.3390/s19153270.

  • Clark G, Russell J, Enyeart P, Garcia, B, Wessel A, Jarmoskaite I, Polioudakis, D, Stuart Y, Gonzalez T, MacKrell A, Rodenbusch S, Stovall GM, Beckham J, Montgomery M, Tasneem T, Jones J, Simmons S, Roux S:  Science Educational Outreach Programs That Benefit Students and Scientists.* PLoS Biology 2016, 14 (2):e1002368. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002368. *A 2016 top 50 most downloaded article (PLOS Biology, May 2017).

  • Beckham JT, Simmons SL, Stovall GM, Farre J. “Chapter 10: The Freshman Research Initiative as a Model for Addressing Shortages and Disparities in STEM Engagement.” Directions for Mathematics Research Experience for Undergraduates. E-book. Ed. Mark A. Peterson, Ed. Yanir A Rubinstein. World Scientific, 2015. 181-212. DOI: 10.1142/9789814630320_0010.

  • Stovall GM, Bedenbaugh R, Singh S, Meyer AJ, Hatala PJ, Ellington AD, Hall B:  In Vitro Selection Using Modified or Unnatural Nucleotides.  Current Protocols in Nucleic Acid Chemistry 2014, 9.6.1–9.6.33.  DOI: 10.1002/0471142700.nc0906s56.

  • Ledbetter MP, Hwang, TW, Stovall GM, Ellington AD: Continuous in vitro Evolution of a Ribozyme Ligase: A Model Experiment for The Evolution of a Biomolecule.  Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 2013, 41(6):433-42.  DOI: 10.1002/bmb.20742.

  • Stovall GM:  Evaluation of Protein Aggregation and Organismal Fitness.  PhD Dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, May 2011. 

  • Narayanaswamy R, Levy M, Tsechansky M, Stovall GM, O’Connell J, Mirrielees J, Ellington AD, Marcotte EM: Widespread reorganization of metabolic enzymes into reversible assemblies upon nutrient starvation.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 2009, 106(25):10147-52. DOI:10.1073/pnas.0812771106. 

  • Li N, Ebright JN, Stovall GM, Chen X, Nguyen H, Singh A, Syrett A, Ellington AD:  Technical and Biological Issues Relevant to Cell Typing by Aptamers. Journal of Proteome Research 2009, 8(5):2438-48. DOI:10.1021/pr801048z.

  • Lee JF, Stovall GM, Ellington AD: Aptamer therapeutics advance. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology 2006, 10:282-289. DOI:10.1016/j.cbpa.2006.03.015.

  • Stovall GM, Cox JC, Ellington AD: Automated optimization of aptamer selection buffer conditions. Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation 2004, 9:117-22. DOI:10.1016/j.jala.2004.04.010.

Awards

  • Teaching Excellence Award in Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas College of Natural Sciences (2014).
  • "The Clock Award," recognized by Services for Students with Disabilities for creating “an inclusion environment for all students at The University” (UT-Austin, 2016).
  • Transformational Online Instruction Contributions (TONIC) Award, The University of Texas (2021).