Mikhail K Levin

Duke University Medical Center
Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
Tom Kepler's Laboratory of Computational Immunology
2424 Erwin Road
11103E Hock Plaza, Suite 1102
DUMC Box 2721
Durham, NC 27705
Phone: 919-684-3924 (office)
FAX: 919-681-7918
email: svarneticist at gmail dot com

Research interests

I am interested in building reliable computational models for biological systems. To accurately predict system's behavior, the model should have well-defined parameters and be globally consistent with all available experimental measurements. To be able to validate models using heterogeneous sets of experimental data, I am developing an open source program, gfit, which has been applied to a number of problems in biology and other disciplines.

In Tom Kepler's group, I am working on a model of immune response in presense of different aduvants. The model will be validated based on measurements obtained by flow cytometry and other methods.

Education

1999-2002, Ph.D., Biochemistry, Dep. of Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Thesis: “DNA Unwinding Mechanism of the Helicase from Hepatitis C Virus”. Advisor: Dr. Smita Patel

1994-1999, MS, Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

1984-1992, Engineer Technologist (MS), Biotechnology, Moscow Institute of Fine Chemical Technology, Moscow, Russia

Employment

2008-current, Research associate, Duke University Medical Center, Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Dr. Thomas Kepler's Laboratory of Computational Immunology

2003-2008, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Connecticut Health Center, Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, Laboratory of Dr. John Carson

1999-2003, Predoctoral Fellow, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Laboratory of Dr. Smita Patel

1995-1999 Research Assistant, The Ohio State University, Laboratory of Dr. Smita Patel

Publications

[1] Markus Wieland, Mikhail K Levin, Karan S Hingorani, F. Noah Biro, and Manju M Hingorani. Mechanism of Cadmium-mediated Inhibition of Msh2-Msh6 Function in DNA Mismatch Repair”. Biochem. in press.

[2] Siying Chen, Mikhail K Levin, Miho Sakato, Yayan Zhou, and Manju M Hingorani. Mechanism of ATP-driven PCNA clamp loading by S. cerevisiae RFC”. J Mol Biol. in press.

[3] Mikhail K Levin, Manju M Hingorani, Raquell M Holmes, Smita S Patel, and John H Carson. Model-based global analysis of heterogeneous experimental data using gfit. Systems Biology. Methods in Molecular Biology. Ivan V Maly. Humana Press, Inc.2009.

[4] John H Carson, Yuanzheng Gao, Vedakumar Tatavarty, Mikhail K Levin, George Korza, Victor P Francone, Linda D Kosturko, Michael J Maggipinto, and Elisa Barbarese. Multiplexed RNA trafficking in oligodendrocytes and neurons”. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1779. 453–458. 2008.

[5] Yuanzheng Gao, Vedakumar Tatavarty, George Korza, Mikhail K Levin, and John H Carson. Multiplexed dendritic targeting of alpha calcium calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, neurogranin, and activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein RNAs by the A2 pathway”. Mol Biol Cell. 19. 2311–2327. 2008.

[6] Allison Paradise, Mikhail K Levin, George Korza, and John H Carson. Significant proportions of nuclear transport proteins with reduced intracellular mobilities resolved by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy”. J Mol Biol. 365. 50–65. 2007.

[7] Natalie M Stano, Yong-Joo Jeong, Ilker Donmez, Padmaja Tummalapalli, Mikhail K Levin, and Smita S Patel. DNA synthesis provides the driving force to accelerate DNA unwinding by a helicase”. Nature. 435. 370–373. 2005.

[8] Mikhail K Levin, Madhura Gurjar, and Smita S Patel. A Brownian motor mechanism of translocation and strand separation by hepatitis C virus helicase”. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 12. 429–435. 2005.

[9] Mikhail K Levin, Yuh-Hwa Wang, and Smita S Patel. The functional interaction of the hepatitis C virus helicase molecules is responsible for unwinding processivity”. J Biol Chem. 279. 26005–26012. 2004.

[10] Yong-Joo Jeong, Mikhail K Levin, and Smita S Patel. The DNA-unwinding mechanism of the ring helicase of bacteriophage T7”. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 101. 7264–7269. 2004.

[11] Mikhail K Levin and John H Carson. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and quantitative cell biology”. Differentiation. 72. 1–10. 2004.

[12] Mikhail K Levin, Madhura M Gurjar, and Smita S Patel. ATP binding modulates the nucleic acid affinity of hepatitis C virus helicase.”. J Biol Chem. 278. 23311–23316. 2003.

[13] Mikhail K Levin and Smita S Patel. Helicases as molecular motors. Molecular Motors. S Schliwa. Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2002.

[14] Smita S Patel, Mikhail K Levin, and Rajiv P Bandwar. Transient-state kinetics and computational analysis of transcription initiation. Kinetic analysis of macromolecules. The practical approach. Kenneth A Johnson. Oxford University Press2002.

[15] Natalie M Stano, Mikhail K Levin, and Smita S Patel. The +2 NTP binding drives open complex formation in T7 RNA polymerase”. J Biol Chem. 277. 37292–37300. 2002.

[16] Mikhail K Levin and Smita S Patel. Helicase from hepatitis C virus, energetics of DNA binding”. J Biol Chem. 277. 29377–29385. 2002.

[17] Mikhail K Levin and Smita S Patel. The helicase from hepatitis C virus is active as an oligomer”. J Biol Chem. 274. 31839–31846. 1999.

Recent presentations

March 2008, National Technology Centers for Networks and Pathways, All Hands Meeting, "gfit, software for global regression analysis of heterogeneous sets of experimental measurements" (poster)

February 2008, Biophysical Society 52nd Annual Meeting, "A universal approach for global fitting of experiments of different types to a computational model of a system" (poster)

August 2007, IBM T.J.Watson Research Center, "Integration of experimental data with computational models and statistical tools" (invited talk)

May 2007, GlaxoSmithKline, "gfit - environment for model-based global analysis of experimental data" (invited talk)

March 2007, Computational Cell Biology meeting, "gfit – An open environment for model-based global analysis of experimental data" (software demonstration)

March 2007, Biophysical Society 51st Annual Meeting, "Gfit - an Open Environment for Model-based Global Analysis of Experimental Data" (poster)

March 2006, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Department of Biochemistry, "Biological models and global analysis of experiments: utilizing your data to the full extent" (invited talk)

July 2005, 6th International Weber Symposium on Innovative Fluorescence Methodologies in Biochemistry and Medicine, "Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy of nuclear transport proteins in live cells" (poster)

June 2005, Wesleyan University, Hughes Summer Program, "Studying single molecules in live cells by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy" (invited lecture)

April 2005, UCHC, CCAM, Advanced Techniques in Live Cell Microscopy course, "Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy: virtual and physical" (lecture)

March 2005, UCHC, MMSB Retreat, "Spatial Monte Carlo simulation: application to FCS" (poster)

September 2004, UCHC CBIT, Advanced Techniques in Live Cell Microscopy course, "Analysis of FCS data in cells" (lunch talk)

last updated March 18 2009

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