Dr. Rosemary Stuart
Professor of Biological Sciences

Dr. Stewart's research is focused on the process of assembly of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used as a model. The Mitochondrial respiratory chain is composed of a number of large multi-subunit complexes that are embedded in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Mitochondria are the part of cells that produce energy, which comes in the form of adenosine triposphate, ATP, the "energy currency" Enzymes - smaller molecular machines- work together to produce the ATP molecules. Her work is focused on two aspects of this process. First, how these enzymes are assembled in the mitochondria, and second, how their lever of work is regulated. If the Mitochondria are not working properly and not enough ATP is produced, the energy output of the body is limited. If too much is produced active or unregulated, toxic byproducts can result. The knowledge generated can be used by other researchers to translate into the treatment of diseases and medical conditions. Some heart and neurological conditions in humans can be traced back to mitochondrial defects.

This award will allow Dr. Stuart to continue her work on the assembly and function of the F1F0-ATP synthase. She will also continue to carry out her National Institutes of Health-funded grant, which focuses on the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier protein, as defects in this protein have been shown to underlie a number of cardiac myopathies and neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, it will allow her to devote time to an entirely new research project which will involve studying the mammalian homolog of the Hig1 protein.

Dr. James A. Marten
Chair and Professor of History

According to Dr. James A. Marten, it's too easy for individuals to view children as passive observers and victims of their times. That couldn't be further from the truth, based on his research. Children are important actors in history and can provide important insights into the periods and events they lived in.

In 1999, Marten's book The Children's Civil War was selected by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Book of the year and helped establish Marten as an important interpreter of the social history of the Civil War period. He has written, edited or co-edited 13 books and has two more books in progress. His monograph Sing Not War: Civil War Veterans in Guilded Age America will be published in 2011, and his edited work, Children and Youth During the Civil War Era, is nearing completion and under contract with New York University Press.

Marten's contributions to the field go beyond his own work and publications. He was a co-founder of the Society for the History of Children and Youth, which hosted its first conference at Marquette in 2001. The society now counts nearly 300 members from more than 20 countries and publishes a triennial journal. He also serves as senior co-editor of the six-volume anthology The Cultural History of Children and the Family, coordinating 72 volume editors and authors from four continents and 13 countries and co-editing one of the volumes. Marten believes this work is as important as his personal writing, allowing him to bring in and support junior scholars in the field, as well as help refine and bring clarity to the field.

Dr. Stephen M. Downs
Wehr Professor of Biological Sciences

Since working on his master's thesis at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., Dr. Stephen M. Downs has been interested in the process of normal egg maturation in mammals. He specifically studies the metabolic pathways that help regulate development of oocytes, unfertilized egg cells.

Downs strives to understand how the signal transduction function — the communication system — of oocytes drives production of normal eggs to complete maturation. Though he focuses mainly on the most basic, scientific level of understanding egg maturation, he is inspired by the applications of his research, which range from optimizing fertility treatments to understanding how to treat and prevent diabetes. The results of his studies are instrumental in understanding what causes fertility problems because successful reproduction depends on proper egg maturation. His research also has been applied to maximizing fertility efficiency in domestic livestock by perfecting in vitro procedures.

A major goal of Downs' research is to identify the specific molecules and metabolic pathways that regulate egg maturation, which is of prime importance in preventing errors in chromosome segregation and in promoting the production of high-quality oocytes that are capable of normal fertilization and embryo development. Understanding how these metabolic pathways regulate normal maturation is important because abnormalities in the process can lead to abnormal development of eggs, manifested in chromosomal irregularities such as Down syndrome.  Most recently, Downs' work has focused on the effects of a stress-response protein on regulating oocyte maturation in mice. Results of these studies could show a connection between physical, chemical, and metabolic stress and abnormalities in development.

Downs plans to keep exploring how signal transduction function affects other areas of human development. He also is studying the role of certain enzymes in embryonic development to see if similar signaling systems operate after fertilization of oocytes.