Staff

Dr. Gloria Borgstahl is a Professor in the Eppley Institute in Cancer Research and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). She obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 1992 at the University of Iowa. Dr. Borgstahl was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Getzoff and Dr. Tainer at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA from 1992-94 and with Dr. Terwilliger at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, NM from 1994-96. In 1996 she joined the Chemistry Department at the University of Toledo as an Assistant Professor. In 2002 she was tenured and joined the Eppley Institute where she established an outstanding X-ray crystallography facility. She is an expert in macromolecular crystallography and knowledgeable in all aspects of protein expression, purification, crystallization, X-ray diffraction, and structure determination.

Dr. Paul Sorgen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UNMC. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 1999 at the University of Florida (Dr. Cain). Dr. Sorgen was a postdoctoral fellow at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine with Dr. Girvin from 1999-2003. In 2003 he joined the faculty at the UNMC. His laboratory is focused on the structure and function of membrane proteins and their complexes with other proteins with an emphasis in NMR. His primary interest is on how specfic domains of gap junction proteins regulate channel gating by acidification, phosphorylation, and molecular partner interactions.

Mrs. Kolar is a multidisciplinary researcher with over 30 years of experience. As manager of both the PrEP and CSG labs, she is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day progress of projects, as well as performing experiments in recombinant protein production for X-ray crystallography and NMR studies. She delegates tasks to the other NCSB technicians, helps troubleshoot,  communicates issues to NCSB directors and users, and sets the agenda for the biweekly staff meetings.

Mr. Ezell is a Senior Research Assistant, and is the NMR Facility Manager. As the manager, he maintains cryogen levels in the superconducting magnets, works with other staff and vendors to effect repairs and keeps the instruments tuned and operating at peak efficiency. He also trains new users in instrument operation and supplies NMR spectra to researchers who are not interested in operational procedures, but who need NMR data in their research.

Mr. Lovelace is a Research Associate, and is the X-ray Crystallography Facility Manager. He is a bioengineer with expertise in computer science and automation, as well as experience in single crystal X-ray diffraction. He has received training in maintaining X-ray equipment and in data collection from Rigaku, and performed research at several national synchrotron facilities. He is responsible for training new users, aiding in data collection and processing, keeping the X-ray system, crystallization robots and the lab information systems running smoothly.

Mr. Kellezi received a B.S. in Biotechnology at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and started working in the PrEP and CSG laboratories in 2004. He has experience with overexpressing soluble intrinsically disordered and membrane proteins in bacteria and purifying them using column chromatography for NMR studies.

Mr. Brodie received a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Humboldt State University in 2006 and started working in the PrEP laboratory in 2009. He is experienced in protein expression and purification.