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Researchers from  the MacMillan Lab at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas Texas are looking to rent a flatbottom boat or airboat that can navigate through the shallow areas of Cedar Lake at the San Bernard National Wildlife Reserve. This will assist them in their research.

 

The MacMillan Lab researchs natural products as a tool for biological discovery. Five cubic centimeters of sediment will be collected from various parts of Cedar Lake. The microbes from this sediment will be isolated and the chemicals that the microbes produce that have antibiotic/anticancer properties, will be evaluated.

 

"My research laboratory at UTSW focuses on the discovery of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious disease. Historically, the majority of antibiotics that are used in humans were originally discovered from bacteria collected from terrestrial resources. Over the past 10 -15 years there has been an effort to look at marine-derived bacteria for the same purpose and it turns out to be a unique resource. Since beginning my lab 6 years ago, we have collected sediment samples from around the world (Bahamas, South Pacific, Australia) to look for unique marine bacteria. Much to our surprise, samples that we have collected in Galveston and Trinity Bay have turned out to provide the most interesting and productive bacteria. So we are looking to expand our collections along the Texas Gulf Coast. Our work to discover new cancer therapeutics is supported by funding from multiple sources including the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute." –John MacMillan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Chilton/Bell Scholar in Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry , University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

 

If you have a shallow draft boat or air boat that is available to rent to them, email Aaron Legako at Aaron.Legako@UTSouthwestern.edu or John MacMillian at john.macmillan@utsouthwestern.edu