Sarah Bertino '09 recently traveled to Washington, D.C. with Herman Lehman, associate professor of biology and chair of the biology department, to attend Neuroscience 2008, the Society for Neuroscience's 38th annual meeting. While at the meeting, Bertino presented a poster summarizing research she had done over the summer and previous academic year with Nicholas Berry '09, Daniel Bond '08 and Carlos Rico '10. Assistant Professor of Biology Wei-Jen Chang also collaborated on the research.

The conference provides the premier venue for neuroscientists to share research findings, thereby affording Bertino the opportunity to learn about some of the most exciting and cutting-edge research the field of neuroscience has to offer. She attended lectures, symposia and workshops and spoke with other neuroscientists.

Building on the previous work done by Bond for his senior thesis, Bertino and Berry compared the DNA of several insect species to each other and to rat DNA using bioinformatics, the application of information technology to molecular biology. Bertino also carried out a phylogenetic analysis of these same DNA sequences to determine their evolutionary relatedness to one another. The pair found that the tyramine beta-hydroxylase related (TBhR) gene is structurally similar and related to tyramine beta-hydroxylase (TBh), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBh), and monooxygenase X (MOX). Specifically, the TBhR amino acid sequence (i.e. the order of the subunits that make up the protein) is about 30% similar to TBh and contains the amino acids that are known to be essential for activity in TBh and DBh.

Bertino and Berry's summer research also focused on determining where and when the gene encoding TBhR protein is expressed in Apis mellifera (the honey bee). Their results indicate that TBhR is primarily expressed in the honey bee central nervous system, specifically those areas involved in olfaction (i.e. smell) and memory. Bond's work further indicated that TBhR is expressed throughout the fruit fly life cycle and found primarily in the central nervous system and gut. Based on these findings, they concluded that TBhR is a novel protein with putative monooxygenase activity (i.e. it adds a single oxygen atom to another molecule) that may be vital for nervous system development. They hope that understanding TBhR may contribute to our knowledge about neural development and odor processing in invertebrates and vertebrates.

Bertino is a biochemistry major and environmental studies minor from Natick, Mass. She has spent three summers conducting research at Hamilton. Her current work on TBhR is the focus of her senior thesis. Outside the laboratory, Bertino is an avid member of the sailing team and BioMatters. After graduating from Hamilton, she plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in molecular biology and becoming a college professor.

Berry is a biochemistry major and government minor from Frankfort, N.Y. Like Bertino, he has spent three summers conducting research at Hamilton, and his summer research has now become his senior thesis project. On campus, Berry is an EMT, Writing Center tutor and a writer for the science and technology section of The Spectator. He will be attending medical school following graduation.