Marion Brodhagen, Ph.D.

Departmental Information

Phone: 360-650-2920
Fax: 360-650-3148
Office: BI 407
Office Hours: WF 9-10am
Lab: BI 436
Email: Marion.Brodhagen@wwu.edu

 

Education

(2006) Assistant Professor
Doctor of Philosophy, June 2003
Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, Oregon State University
Master of Science, June 1998
Botany and Plant Pathology Department, Oregon State University
Bachelor of Science, May 1992
Biology Department, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

Curriculum Vitae

Teaching Interests

BIOL 445 – Chemical Ecology 
BIOL 324 – Methods in Molecular Biology
BIOL 345 – Fundamentals of Microbiology
BIOL 346 – Microbiology Laboratory
BIOL 405 – Microbial Ecology
BIOL 205 – Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology

Research Interests

Some of the most intriguing questions across all biology surround the phenomena of intercellular and inter-organismal communication.  In ecological and microbial interactions, signaling between organisms is often achieved via secondary metabolites, and it is this biochemical language that is at the center of my research interests.  Secondary metabolites are compounds of widely diverse structures produced by living organisms, whose common characteristic is that they - although beneficial for the producing organism – are dispensable for its survival.  Many are familiar to us because of their bioactive properties:  penicillin produced by certain fungi, or caffeine in coffee beans.  But what functions do these compounds perform for the organisms that produce them?  

I believe that enormous insight can be gained from investigating ecological questions with molecular tools.  I am specifically interested in the interactions of plants with beneficial or harmful microbes (bacteria and fungi).  Along these lines, one of my currently funded projects focuses on chemical communication in the plant pathogenic fungus Aspergillus.  This fungus occurs worldwide, and is problematic because it contaminates seeds, grains, and nuts used as food or animal feed with the potently toxic secondary metabolite aflatoxin.  My laboratory is working on the elucidation of the mechanism by which Aspergillus perceives chemical signals called oxylipins, which are fatty acid-derived molecules produced by both fungus and host plant, and which mediate inter-organismal signaling that ultimately affects aflatoxin production.  A second project in the lab also involves Aspergillus, but is more technology-driven:  we are developing a low-cost, low-technology method for detecting aflatoxin in the field.

About Me

I grew up on a dairy farm in the flatlands of Wisconsin. When I’m not putzing in the lab with Petri plates and pipettors, you can find me out hiking, kayaking, or running along the trails in Bellingham.

Links

• Small Things Considered: The Microbe Blog
• The American Phytopathological Society
• The American Society for Microbiology