Professor Justin Thackeray is a geneticist whose current research interest lies in understanding mechanisms of growth factor signaling pathway regulation, using the model system Drosophila melanogaster. His main focus has been investigating phospholipase C-gamma (PLC-gamma), which is a key regulator of receptor tyrosine kinases. Activating mutations of this enzyme are commonly found in many human tumors, so his recent work has been aimed at generating activating alleles of PLC-gamma using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, and chemical genetic screens to identify novel PLC-gamma inhibitors. He is also interested in promoting research as a key element of teaching, participating in both the Genomics Education Partnership and FlyCURE projects; both of which involve undergraduates in active genetics research. He has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Thackeray received his Ph.D. from the University of Leicester, UK. In 1989 he was awarded a two-year NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research focused on Drosophila neurogenetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the laboratory of Barry Ganetzky. In 1994 he moved to the East Coast to continue his postdoctoral studies at Yale University, in the laboratory of John Carlson, where he transitioned to his current focus on cell signaling. He has been on the faculty at Clark since 1996. He is a participating faculty member in both the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program, as well the Health, Science & Society program.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Thackeray has served on multiple Clark faculty committees, including Undergraduate Academic Board, Graduate Board (two years as chair), two terms on Planning and Budget Review (one year as chair), as well as three years as Faculty Secretary. He also served as chair of the Biology Department from 2015-2018.<\/p>\n
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Courses offered:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
IDND 015: Pandemic \u2013 From Horror to Hope<\/p>\n
BIOL 101: Introductory Biology I<\/p>\n
BIOL 117: Epidemiology<\/p>\n
BIOL 118: Genetics<\/p>\n
BIOL 218: Genetics and Disease<\/p>\n
BIOL 231: Recombinant DNA<\/p>\n
BIOL 236: Biology of Cancer<\/p>\n
BIOL 244: Biological Clocks<\/p>\n
BCMB 272: Biochemistry II<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1972,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"cu_faculty_f180_userid":"C19671355","cu_faculty_first_name":"Justin","cu_faculty_last_name":"Thackeray","cu_faculty_employment_status":"Full Time","cu_faculty_rank":"Associate Professor","cu_faculty_position":"Professor","cu_faculty_phone":"","cu_faculty_email":"jthackeray@clarku.edu","cu_faculty_location":"","cu_faculty_about":"
Professor Justin Thackeray is a geneticist whose current research interest lies in understanding mechanisms of growth factor signaling pathway regulation, using the model system Drosophila melanogaster. His main focus has been investigating phospholipase C-gamma (PLC-gamma), which is a key regulator of receptor tyrosine kinases. Activating mutations of this enzyme are commonly found in many human tumors, so his recent work has been aimed at generating activating alleles of PLC-gamma using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, and chemical genetic screens to identify novel PLC-gamma inhibitors. He is also interested in promoting research as a key element of teaching, participating in both the Genomics Education Partnership and FlyCURE projects; both of which involve undergraduates in active genetics research. He has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Thackeray received his Ph.D. from the University of Leicester, UK. In 1989 he was awarded a two-year NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct research focused on Drosophila neurogenetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the laboratory of Barry Ganetzky. In 1994 he moved to the East Coast to continue his postdoctoral studies at Yale University, in the laboratory of John Carlson, where he transitioned to his current focus on cell signaling. He has been on the faculty at Clark since 1996. He is a participating faculty member in both the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program, as well the Health, Science & Society program.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Thackeray has served on multiple Clark faculty committees, including Undergraduate Academic Board, Graduate Board (two years as chair), two terms on Planning and Budget Review (one year as chair), as well as three years as Faculty Secretary. He also served as chair of the Biology Department from 2015-2018.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courses offered:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
IDND 015: Pandemic \u2013 From Horror to Hope<\/p>\n
BIOL 101: Introductory Biology I<\/p>\n
BIOL 117: Epidemiology<\/p>\n
BIOL 118: Genetics<\/p>\n
BIOL 218: Genetics and Disease<\/p>\n
BIOL 231: Recombinant DNA<\/p>\n
BIOL 236: Biology of Cancer<\/p>\n
BIOL 244: Biological Clocks<\/p>\n
BCMB 272: Biochemistry II<\/p>","cu_faculty_degrees":"Ph.D. in Genetics,<\/span> University of Leicester, 1989\nB.S. in Biological Sciences,<\/span> University of Leicester, 1985","cu_faculty_cv":"https:\/\/faculty180.interfolio.com\/public\/download.php?key=SDRwNCtxSUpsamxBQ213WS9ucHFuNnMwT0hzQU11b2RPQkJ2cWc3amxyUmNRdVVXTkF4MU12ZURNaHYveEd1cFhnRFFSYzNQejdienhWWVpzYTZOSyt2d2RyOXRlcnhmTWZNY1BvaS95bkNnaHJaZWxNSXI4Zz09","cu_faculty_links":"[]","cu_faculty_scholarly_interests":"","cu_faculty_scholarly_works":"[{\"activityid\":11947,\"fields\":{\"Type\":\"Articles in Refereed Journals\",\"Title\":\"<p style="font-size:medium;"><span>G.3.2<\\\/span><span>\\u00a0is a novel allele of the gene\\u00a0connector enhancer of ksr\\u00a0(cnk) in\\u00a0Drosophila melanogaster<\\\/span><\\\/p>\",\"Journal Title\":\"microPublication biology\",\"Series Title\":\"\",\"Month \\\/ Season\":\"\",\"Year\":2024,\"Publisher\":\"\",\"Publisher City and State\":\"\",\"Publisher Country\":\"\",\"Volume\":\"2024\",\"Issue Number \\\/ Edition\":\"\",\"Page Number(s) or Number of Pages\":\"\",\"ISSN\":\"\",\"DOI\":\"\",\"CoAuthor\":null,\"URL\":\"\",\"Description\":\"Genetic screens in have long been used to identify genes found in a variety of developmental, cellular, and behavioral processes. Here we describe the characterization and mapping of a mutation identified in a conditional screen for genetic regulators of cell growth and cell division. Within a Flp\\\/FRT system, mutant results in a reduction of mutant tissue and a rough eye phenotype. We find that maps to the gene , providing further support that is a critical gene in eye development. This mutant was characterized, mapped and sequenced by undergraduate students within the Fly-CURE consortium.\",\"Include description in output citation\":0,\"Origin\":\"PubMed\"},\"facultyid\":\"C19671355\",\"status\":[{\"id\":11947,\"status\":\"Completed\\\/Published\",\"term\":\"Fall\",\"year\":2024,\"termid\":\"2024\\\/01\",\"listingorder\":6,\"completionorder\":6}],\"userid\":\"C19671355\",\"attachments\":[],\"coauthors_list\":[\"Hanadi Chammout\",\"Delia L Adkins\",\"Aleece K Al-Olimat\",\"Zeinab Alsaad\",\"Beatrice M Altopp\",\"Tuqa Amer\",\"Feyi O Apampa\",\"Gwendolyn R Avery\",\"Isaac I Bazzi\",\"Emilia D Beck\",\"Elise L Beier\",\"B Shafe S Belisle\",\"Lane Benton\",\"Madison M Bolyard\",\"Olivia E Brain\",\"Eldon T Buckner\",\"Shria Ro R Chowdhury\",\"Jennifer R Cifranic\",\"Liam Cleary\",\"Tyler R Clum\",\"Autumn M Cruz\",\"Meghan V DeGray\",\"Isabel L Echeverry\",\"Haya El Dana\",\"Sarah K Elkadri\",\"Paige L Estep\",\"Luke R Falke\",\"Hannah J Foor\",\"Anika S Gullapalli\",\"Sandro S Hakim\",\"Hussein B Hazime\",\"Lauren E Heininger\",\"Emma G Hoeft\",\"Lauren M James\",\"Yeowon Jeon\",\"Megan R Johnson\",\"Laine P Jordan\",\"Zayd Khan\",\"Sydney K Kochensparger\",\"Fadi J Koria\",\"Ruby M Krasnow\",\"Veronica Lilly\",\"Eileen Lim\",\"Ian T MacCormack\",\"Andriy Malesh\",\"Mikayla G Mariano\",\"Audrey C Mentzer\",\"Katelyn H Messner\",\"Katlyn C Myers\",\"Emily R Newman\",\"Annie M Richters\",\"Liliana Romero\",\"Adam Rotem\",\"Reese J Saho\",\"Kaname Sawaki\",\"Ashley N Selders\",\"Elizabeth Shockney\",\"Farah A Sobh\",\"Isabelle F Speiser\",\"Breanna M Sproul\",\"Veronica J Sroufe\",\"Antonia Tollkuci\",\"Cassandra C Trevino\",\"Megan A Vapenik\",\"Erin M Wagner\",\"Kayla L Bieser\",\"Jamie L Siders\",\"Justin R Thackeray\",\"Jacob D Kagey\"],\"sort_date\":\"2024-9-01\"},{\"activityid\":8557,\"fields\":{\"Type\":\"Articles in Refereed Journals\",\"Title\":\"<span style="font-size:13px;">Supporting the democratization of science during a pandemic: Genomics Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) as an effective remote learning strategy<\\\/span>\",\"Journal Title\":\"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education \",\"Series Title\":\"\",\"Month \\\/ Season\":\"September\",\"Year\":2023,\"Publisher\":\"American Society for Microbiology\",\"Publisher City and State\":\"Washington, DC\",\"Publisher Country\":\"USA\",\"Volume\":\"24\",\"Issue Number \\\/ Edition\":\"3\",\"Page Number(s) or Number of Pages\":\"e00039-23\",\"ISSN\":\"1935-7877\",\"DOI\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doi.org\\\/10.1128\\\/jmbe.00039-23\",\"CoAuthor\":null,\"URL\":\"\",\"Description\":\"\",\"Include description in output citation\":0,\"Origin\":\"Manual\"},\"facultyid\":\"C19671355\",\"status\":[{\"id\":8557,\"status\":\"Completed\\\/Published\",\"term\":\"Fall\",\"year\":2023,\"termid\":\"2023\\\/01\",\"listingorder\":6,\"completionorder\":6},{\"id\":8557,\"status\":\"Revise & Resubmit\",\"term\":\"Spring\",\"year\":2023,\"termid\":\"2022\\\/03\",\"listingorder\":3,\"completionorder\":3}],\"userid\":\"C19671355\",\"attachments\":[],\"coauthors_list\":[\"David Lopatto\",\"GEP Consortium\",\"Justin R. Thackeray\"],\"sort_date\":\"2023-9-01\"},{\"activityid\":6036,\"fields\":{\"Type\":\"Presentations\",\"Title of Presentation\":\"Mimicking human T-cell leukemia\\\/lymphoma mutations in Drosophila PLC-gamma\",\"Conference \\\/ Meeting Name\":\"63rd Annual Drosophila Research Conference\",\"Location of Conference \\\/ Meeting\":\"San Diego, CA\",\"Month \\\/ Season\":\"April\",\"Year\":2022,\"Sponsoring Organization\":\"Genetics Society of America\",\"CoAuthor\":null,\"URL\":\"\",\"Description\":\"\",\"Include description in output citation\":0,\"Origin\":\"Manual\"},\"facultyid\":\"C19671355\",\"status\":[{\"id\":6036,\"status\":\"Completed\\\/Published\",\"term\":\"Spring\",\"year\":2022,\"termid\":\"2021\\\/03\",\"listingorder\":6,\"completionorder\":6}],\"userid\":\"C19671355\",\"attachments\":[{\"attachmentid\":4428,\"mimetype\":\"application\\\/pdf\",\"filename\":\"jthackeray_GSA-poster.pdf\",\"filesize\":884609,\"downloadurl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/faculty180.interfolio.com\\\/public\\\/download.php?key=SDRwNCtxSUpsamxBQ213WS9ucHFuNnMwT0hzQU11b2RPQkJ2cWc3amxyUmNRdVVXTkF4MU12ZURNaHYveEd1cHp1OHdremU5Y0dZd1JzVXAxUDBsZjVUVDBHb3pQODV1cGZtZ0JzSCtEdlhoM2dadUxUK2xwM3l4VGZsNDNsdHE%3D\"}],\"coauthors_list\":[\"Justin R. Thackeray\",\"Mariah Torcivia\",\"August Raymond\"],\"sort_date\":\"2022-4-01\"},{\"activityid\":5935,\"fields\":{\"Type\":\"Articles in Refereed Journals\",\"Title\":\"Student attitudes contribute to the effectiveness of a genomics CURE\",\"Journal Title\":\"Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education\",\"Series Title\":\"\",\"Month \\\/ Season\":\"March\",\"Year\":2022,\"Publisher\":\"American Society for Microbiology\",\"Publisher City and State\":\"\",\"Publisher Country\":\"USA\",\"Volume\":\"\",\"Issue Number \\\/ Edition\":\"\",\"Page Number(s) or Number of Pages\":\"\",\"ISSN\":\"\",\"DOI\":\"\",\"CoAuthor\":null,\"URL\":\"\",\"Description\":\"A paper arising out of my participation in the Genome Education Partnership, a group of >100 colleges and Universities.\\nThis is the complete list of authors, in order that they appear in the submitted manuscript:\\nDavid Lopatto, Anne Rosenwald, Rebecca Burgess, S. Catherine Silver Key, Melanie Van Stry, Matthew Wawersik, Justin DiAngelo, Amy Hark, Matthew Skerritt, Anna Allen, Consuelo Alvarez, Sara Anderson, Cindy Arrigo, Andrew Arsham, Daron Barnard, James Bedard, Indrani Bose, John Braverman, Martin Burg, Paula Croonquist, Chunguang Du, Sondra Dubowsky, Heather Eisler, Matthew Escobar, Michael Foulk, Thomas Giarla, Rivka Glaser, Anya Goodman, Yuying Gosser, Adam Haberman, Charles Hauser, Shan Hays, Carina Howell, Jennfer Jemc, Christopher Jones, Lisa Kadlec, Jacob Kagey, Kimberly Keller, Jennifer Kennell, Adam Kleinschmit, Melissa Kleinschmit, Nighat Kokan, Olga R Kopp, Meg Laakso, Judith Leatherman, Lindsey Long, Mollie Manier, Juan Martinez-Cruzado, Luis Matos, Amie McClellan, Gerard McNeil, Evan Merkhofer, Vida Mingo, Hemlata Mistry, Elizabeth Mitchell, Nathan Mortimer, Jennifer Myka, Alexis Nagengast, Paul Overvoorde, Don Paetkau, Leocadia Paliulis, Susan Parrish, Stephanie Peters, Mary Preuss, James Price, Nicholas Pullen, Catherine Reinke, Dennis Revie, Srebrenka Robic, Jennifer Roecklein-Canfield, Michael Rubin, Takrima Sadikot, Jamie Sanford, Maria Santisteban, Kenneth Saville, Stephanie Schroeder, Christopher Shaffer, Karim Sharif, Diane Sklensky, Chiyedza Small, Sheryl Smith, Rebecca Spokony, Aparna Sreenivasan, Joyce Stamm, Rachel Sterne-Marr, Katherine Teeter, Justin Thackeray, Jeffrey Thompson, Norma Velazquez-Ulloa, Cindy Wolfe, James Youngblom, Brian Yowler, Leming Zhou, Janie Brennan, Jeremy Buhler, Wilson Leung, Sarah Elgin, and Laura Reed.\",\"Include description in output citation\":0,\"Origin\":\"Manual\"},\"facultyid\":\"C19671355\",\"status\":[{\"id\":5935,\"status\":\"Completed\\\/Published\",\"term\":\"Summer\",\"year\":2022,\"termid\":\"2021\\\/05\",\"listingorder\":6,\"completionorder\":6},{\"id\":5935,\"status\":\"Submitted\",\"term\":\"Spring\",\"year\":2022,\"termid\":\"2021\\\/03\",\"listingorder\":2,\"completionorder\":2}],\"userid\":\"C19671355\",\"attachments\":[],\"coauthors_list\":[\"Justin R. Thackeray\"],\"sort_date\":\"2022-3-01\"},{\"activityid\":1832,\"fields\":{\"Type\":\"Articles in Refereed Journals\",\"Title\":\"A docked mutation phenocopies dumpy oblique alleles via altered vesicle trafficking\",\"Journal Title\":\"PeerJ\",\"Series Title\":\"\",\"Month \\\/ Season\":\"\",\"Year\":2021,\"Publisher\":\"\",\"Publisher City and State\":\"\",\"Publisher Country\":\"\",\"Volume\":\"\",\"Issue Number \\\/ Edition\":\"\",\"Page Number(s) or Number of Pages\":\"\",\"ISSN\":\"\",\"DOI\":\"10.7717\\\/peerj.12175\",\"CoAuthor\":null,\"URL\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peerj.com\\\/articles\\\/12175\\\/\",\"Description\":\"\",\"Include description in output citation\":0,\"Origin\":\"Manual\"},\"facultyid\":\"C19671355\",\"status\":[{\"id\":1832,\"status\":\"Completed\\\/Published\",\"term\":\"Fall\",\"year\":2021,\"termid\":\"2021\\\/01\",\"listingorder\":6,\"completionorder\":6},{\"id\":1832,\"status\":\"Accepted\",\"term\":\"Summer\",\"year\":2020,\"termid\":\"2019\\\/05\",\"listingorder\":4,\"completionorder\":4},{\"id\":1832,\"status\":\"Revise & Resubmit\",\"term\":\"Summer\",\"year\":2020,\"termid\":\"2019\\\/05\",\"listingorder\":3,\"completionorder\":3}],\"userid\":\"C19671355\",\"attachments\":[],\"coauthors_list\":[\"Suresh Kandasamy\",\"Kiley Couto\",\"Justin R. Thackeray\"],\"sort_date\":\"2021-9-01\"},{\"activityid\":1831,\"fields\":{\"Type\":\"Articles in Refereed Journals\",\"Title\":\"Facilitating Growth through Frustration: Using Genomics Research in a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience\",\"Journal Title\":\"Journal of microbiology & biology education\",\"Series Title\":\"\",\"Month \\\/ Season\":\"\",\"Year\":2020,\"Publisher\":\"\",\"Publisher City and State\":\"\",\"Publisher Country\":\"\",\"Volume\":\"21\",\"Issue Number \\\/ Edition\":\"1\",\"Page Number(s) or Number of Pages\":\"\",\"ISSN\":\"\",\"DOI\":\"\",\"CoAuthor\":null,\"URL\":\"\",\"Description\":\"A hallmark of the research experience is encountering difficulty and working through those challenges to achieve success. This ability is essential to being a successful scientist, but replicating such challenges in a teaching setting can be difficult. The Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) is a consortium of faculty who engage their students in a genomics Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE). Students participate in genome annotation, generating gene models using multiple lines of experimental evidence. Our observations suggested that the students' learning experience is continuous and recursive, frequently beginning with frustration but eventually leading to success as they come up with defendable gene models. In order to explore our "formative frustration" hypothesis, we gathered data from faculty via a survey, and from students via both a general survey and a set of student focus groups. Upon analyzing these data, we found that all three datasets mentioned frustration and struggle, as well as learning and better understanding of the scientific process. Bioinformatics projects are particularly well suited to the process of iteration and refinement because iterations can be performed quickly and are inexpensive in both time and money. Based on these findings, we suggest that a dynamic of "formative frustration" is an important aspect for a successful CURE.\",\"Include description in output citation\":0,\"Origin\":\"PubMed\"},\"facultyid\":\"C19671355\",\"status\":[{\"id\":1831,\"status\":\"Completed\\\/Published\",\"term\":\"Spring\",\"year\":2020,\"termid\":\"2019\\\/03\",\"listingorder\":6,\"completionorder\":6}],\"userid\":\"C19671355\",\"attachments\":[],\"coauthors_list\":[\"David Lopatto\",\"Anne G Rosenwald\",\"Justin R DiAngelo\",\"Amy T Hark\",\"Matthew Skerritt\",\"Matthew Wawersik\",\"Anna K Allen\",\"Consuelo Alvarez\",\"Sara Anderson\",\"Cindy Arrigo\",\"Andrew Arsham\",\"Daron Barnard\",\"Christopher Bazinet\",\"James E J Bedard\",\"Indrani Bose\",\"John M Braverman\",\"Martin G Burg\",\"Rebe C Burgess\",\"Paula Croonquist\",\"Chunguang Du\",\"Sondra Dubowsky\",\"Heather Eisler\",\"M A Escobar\",\"Michael Foulk\",\"Emily Furbee\",\"Thomas Giarla\",\"Rivka L Glaser\",\"Anya L Goodman\",\"Yuying Gosser\",\"Adam Haberman\",\"Charles Hauser\",\"Shan Hays\",\"Carina E Howell\",\"Jennifer Jemc\",\"M L Johnson\",\"Christopher J Jones\",\"Lisa Kadlec\",\"Jacob D Kagey\",\"Kimber L Keller\",\"Jennifer Kennell\",\"S Catherine Silver Key\",\"Adam J Kleinschmit\",\"Melissa Kleinschmit\",\"Nighat P Kokan\",\"Olga R Kopp\",\"Meg M M Laakso\",\"Judith Leatherman\",\"Lindsey J Long\",\"Mollie Manier\",\"Juan C Martinez-Cruzado\",\"Luis F Matos\",\"Amie J McClellan\",\"Gerard McNeil\",\"Evan Merkhofer\",\"Vida Mingo\",\"Hemlata Mistry\",\"Elizabeth Mitchell\",\"Na T Mortimer\",\"Debaditya Mukhopadhyay\",\"Jennifer L Myka\",\"Alexis Nagengast\",\"Paul Overvoorde\",\"Don Paetkau\",\"Leocadia Paliulis\",\"Susan Parrish\",\"Mary L Preuss\",\"James V Price\",\"Nichol A Pullen\",\"Catherine Reinke\",\"Dennis Revie\",\"Srebrenka Robic\",\"Jennifer A Roecklein-Canfield\",\"Michael R Rubin\",\"Takrima Sadikot\",\"Jamie S Sanford\",\"Maria Santisteban\",\"Kenneth Saville\",\"Stephanie Schroeder\",\"Christopher D Shaffer\",\"K A Sharif\",\"Dian E Sklensky\",\"Chiyedza Small\",\"Mary Smith\",\"Sheryl Smith\",\"Rebecca Spokony\",\"Aparna Sreenivasan\",\"Joyce Stamm\",\"Rachel Sterne-Marr\",\"Katherine C Teeter\",\"Justin Thackeray\",\"Jeffrey S Thompson\",\"S T Peters\",\"Melanie Van Stry\",\"Norma Velazquez-Ulloa\",\"Cindy Wolfe\",\"James Youngblom\",\"Brian Yowler\",\"Leming Zhou\",\"Janie Brennan\",\"Jeremy Buhler\",\"Wilson Leung\",\"Laura K Reed\",\"Sarah C R Elgin\"],\"sort_date\":\"2020-1-01\"}]","cu_faculty_awards_and_grants":"","cu_faculty_title":"Professor, Biology","cu_faculty_department":"Biology","cu_faculty_affiliated_departments":"Biology","footnotes":""},"cu_faculty_group":[],"cu_faculty_department":[15],"cu_faculty_position":[],"class_list":["post-157","cu_faculty","type-cu_faculty","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_faculty_department-biology"],"yoast_head":"\n