Dr.
Charles JacobsDr.
Charles Jacobs
Dr. Jacobs received his B.S. in Microbiology from The University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. He majored in Microbiology, and minored in Biology, Chemistry, and English. (Okay, the English minor wasn't planned, but when he finished filling out his schedule, he had somehow accumulated enough credits to attain a minor.)
He then attended The University of Texas at Austin, where he received a Ph.D in Microbiology. He studied cell differentiation in a pathogenic fungus, Wangiella dermatitidis, under the supervision of Dr. Paul Szaniszlo. He showed that the events regulating dimorphism in this fungus are related to cell cycle controls, and that one of the effects of dimorphism is excess delocalized chitin synthesis in the cell wall.
He has done postdoctoral work in cell differentiation with Dr. John Pringle where he studied the effects of microtubules on cell differentiation and growth. His work in Dr. Pringle's lab, using the yeast Saccahromyces cerevisiae, was important in defining the roles of microtubules in cell growth and development.
Currently, he is studying the roles of microtubules and metabolic pathways on the differentiation of the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis. While he was an Assistant Professor at Albion College, he and several undergraduates determined how the yeast phase of this plant pathogen buds. He has shown the microtubule cycle in U. maydis is similar to that in plants and animals, and has recently been studying mutants that have concurrently acquired resistance to microtubule inhibitors and have lost the normal budding mechanism.
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