Meagher Laboratory Cytoskelton Research

Richard Meagher is an internationally recognized authority on plant molecular genetics, the plant cytoskeleton, and phytoremediation. He is presently a Distinguished Research Professor in theGenetics Department at the University of Georgia, where he has been teaching and performing research since 1976. He served as Head of the Genetics Department from 1996 through 1998. He is currently teaching in both graduate and undergraduate Genetics courses.

Dr. Meagher's basic research has focused on the molecular cells biology of the actin cytoskeleton with a particular emphasis on the evolution and intereaction of genes and proteins in the ancient and divergent actin and actin binding protein gene families. Using the model plant Arabidopsis his group has shown that ancient subsets of actins, profilins, and actin deoplymerizing factor genes have co-evolved differential regulation in different organs and specialized interactions among protein variants in these organs. His group has published nearly 80 articles in this field including 10 in Plant Cell and the remainder in other distinguished journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Plant Physiology, Plant Journal, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Cell Motility and Cytoskeleton, Evolutionary Biology, Plant and Cellular Physiology, Plant Molecular Biology, and Plant Biotechnology.

In the last decade his research group has tried to merge their actin research with new concepts in the field of epigenetic control with the most extensive studies by any lab on the role of Actin Related Proteins (ARPs) in multicellular development. Through nearly 20 published research articles they have shown that ARP4, ARP5, ARP6, and ARP7 are essential to the epitgenetic regulation of dozens of pathways of plant tissue and organ development and to nutrient metabolism and uptake. Recent efforsts suggest that actin, ADF, and profilin protein variants participate in these processes in the nucleus.

Dr. Meagher’s research in the area of applied biotechnology received great international attention in 1996 with his publication of the first plants engineered to clean up the environment, in this case mercury pollution. More than 20 additional papers including several in Nature Biotechnology refined this phytoremediation research and helped to define part of the field of phytoremediation. His research group also published articles on the first plants engineered to extract and accumulate arsenic in above-ground tissues for later harvest. Because of its relevance to the hundreds of millions of people suffering from arsenic contaminated soil and water worldwide, this article was written up or discussed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Reuters New Networks and Radio, the National Geographic Television network, a 12 minute segment on theh National Geographic Special "Strange Days on Planet Earth", the NATO News Networks, and in several hundred newspapers in the USA, France, India, and Bangaladesh.

Over the past 34 years Dr. Meagher has lead a progressive and well-funded research program at the University of Georgia, receiving grants from various federal agencies including continuous support from both Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health for the last 17 years. He is the Principal Investigator on approximately two million dollars in active grants at UGA at this time and 20 million total, while at UGA. Dr. Meagher has published more than 156 basic research articles and book chapters.

In the past several years, Dr Meagher co-founded three biotechnology-based startup companies in the Athen’s area and one located in Korea. Abeome, Corp. has developed a new strategy for making monoclonal antibodies based on proprietary research two patents from Dr. Meagher’s laboratories. Monoclonal antibodies are powerful reagents that are essential as research tools, diagnostics, and thereapeutics. They are among the most successful emerging drugs for treating cancer and other diseases. Abeome has isolated hundreds of monoclonals to plasma membrane markers on the surface of ovarian cancer cells and shown that they kill these cells in culture. Current efforts focus on showning these antibodies regress human ovarian cancer cell tumors in mouse models.

Dr. Meagher's teaching

Earlier in his career, Dr. Meagher co-founded and directed the University’s Molecular Genetics Instrumentation Facility for automated DNA and protein sequencing and synthesis for plant, animal, proteist, fungal, and bacterial research. He also co-founded the Biological Scientists Computation Resource (currently the Research Computing Resource) one of the first computing networks in the world to analyze DNA, RNA, and protein sequences. RCR now serves over 200 laboratories.

Dr. Meagher received his B.S. with Honors in Biology from the University of Illinois in 1969. He received his Master in Biology and Bacterial Physiology in 1971 and his Ph.D. in Biology and Enzymology in 1973 from Yale University working on the biochemistry and evolution of enzymes involved in the degradation of aromatic compounds with Dr. L. Nicholas Ornston. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow on detecting carcinogens as mutagens with Dr. Bruce Ames in 1973-1974. In 1975, during his postdoctoral research with Drs. Herbert Boyer and Howard Goodman at UC San Francisco, he was the first person to clone a plant gene and also to express it in bacteria. While there he developed the first commercial preparations of any restriction endonuclease ever sold, the enzyme EcoRI, which is still widely used in basic and applied research.

	Biographical Sketch 2010 Richard B. Meagher, Professor Department of Genetics Life Science Building University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602 Link to RBM's Curriculum Vitae
Richard Meagher is an internationally recognized authority on plant molecular genetics, the plant cytoskeleton, and phytoremediation. He is presently a Distinguished Research Professor in theGenetics Department at the University of Georgia, where he has been teaching and performing research since 1976. He served as Head of the Genetics Department from 1996 through 1998. He is currently teaching in both graduate and undergraduate Genetics courses. Dr. Meagher's basic research has focused on the molecular cells biology of the actin cytoskeleton with a particular emphasis on the evolution and intereaction of genes and proteins in the ancient and divergent actin and actin binding protein gene families. Using the model plant Arabidopsis his group has shown that ancient subsets of actins, profilins, and actin deoplymerizing factor genes have co-evolved differential regulation in different organs and specialized interactions among protein variants in these organs. His group has published nearly 80 articles in this field including 10 in Plant Cell and the remainder in other distinguished journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Plant Physiology, Plant Journal, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Cell Motility and Cytoskeleton, Evolutionary Biology, Plant and Cellular Physiology, Plant Molecular Biology, and Plant Biotechnology. In the last decade his research group has tried to merge their actin research with new concepts in the field of epigenetic control with the most extensive studies by any lab on the role of Actin Related Proteins (ARPs) in multicellular development. Through nearly 20 published research articles they have shown that ARP4, ARP5, ARP6, and ARP7 are essential to the epitgenetic regulation of dozens of pathways of plant tissue and organ development and to nutrient metabolism and uptake. Recent efforsts suggest that actin, ADF, and profilin protein variants participate in these processes in the nucleus. Dr. Meagher’s research in the area of applied biotechnology received great international attention in 1996 with his publication of the first plants engineered to clean up the environment, in this case mercury pollution. More than 20 additional papers including several in Nature Biotechnology refined this phytoremediation research and helped to define part of the field of phytoremediation. His research group also published articles on the first plants engineered to extract and accumulate arsenic in above-ground tissues for later harvest. Because of its relevance to the hundreds of millions of people suffering from arsenic contaminated soil and water worldwide, this article was written up or discussed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Reuters New Networks and Radio, the National Geographic Television network, a 12 minute segment on theh National Geographic Special "Strange Days on Planet Earth", the NATO News Networks, and in several hundred newspapers in the USA, France, India, and Bangaladesh. Over the past 34 years Dr. Meagher has lead a progressive and well-funded research program at the University of Georgia, receiving grants from various federal agencies including continuous support from both Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health for the last 17 years. He is the Principal Investigator on approximately two million dollars in active grants at UGA at this time and 20 million total, while at UGA. Dr. Meagher has published more than 156 basic research articles and book chapters. In the past several years, Dr Meagher co-founded three biotechnology-based startup companies in the Athen’s area and one located in Korea. Abeome, Corp. has developed a new strategy for making monoclonal antibodies based on proprietary research two patents from Dr. Meagher’s laboratories. Monoclonal antibodies are powerful reagents that are essential as research tools, diagnostics, and thereapeutics. They are among the most successful emerging drugs for treating cancer and other diseases. Abeome has isolated hundreds of monoclonals to plasma membrane markers on the surface of ovarian cancer cells and shown that they kill these cells in culture. Current efforts focus on showning these antibodies regress human ovarian cancer cell tumors in mouse models. Dr. Meagher's teaching Earlier in his career, Dr. Meagher co-founded and directed the University’s Molecular Genetics Instrumentation Facility for automated DNA and protein sequencing and synthesis for plant, animal, proteist, fungal, and bacterial research. He also co-founded the Biological Scientists Computation Resource (currently the Research Computing Resource) one of the first computing networks in the world to analyze DNA, RNA, and protein sequences. RCR now serves over 200 laboratories. Dr. Meagher received his B.S. with Honors in Biology from the University of Illinois in 1969. He received his Master in Biology and Bacterial Physiology in 1971 and his Ph.D. in Biology and Enzymology in 1973 from Yale University working on the biochemistry and evolution of enzymes involved in the degradation of aromatic compounds with Dr. L. Nicholas Ornston. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow on detecting carcinogens as mutagens with Dr. Bruce Ames in 1973-1974. In 1975, during his postdoctoral research with Drs. Herbert Boyer and Howard Goodman at UC San Francisco, he was the first person to clone a plant gene and also to express it in bacteria. While there he developed the first commercial preparations of any restriction endonuclease ever sold, the enzyme EcoRI, which is still widely used in basic and applied research.