Wendy O. Sparks Curriculum Vitae March 2008

"Every calling is great when greatly pursued."

--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Contact:

Email: wosparks@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-1815

Education:

• Doctoral research in Genetics; Iowa State University; Ames, Iowa, U.S.A.; Spring 2005 - present.
• Master of Science in Genetics (minor in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology);
  Iowa State University; Ames, Iowa, U.S.A.; December 2004.
• Bachelor of Science in Animal Science (Science Concentration, with minor in Mathematics);
  Summa Cum Laude; Colorado State University; Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.A.; May 2000.

Research Experience:

Graduate Research: Spring 2005 - present. Bryony Bonning, Ph.D. Department of Entomology, Iowa State University.

I am studying the role of specific occlusion-derived Baculovirus envelope proteins in binding and fusion to receptors on the midgut epithelia of the virus' Lepidopteran host.

Graduate Research: Spring 2001 - December 2004. Susan Carpenter, Ph.D. Veterinary Microbiology and Preventative Medicine, Iowa State University.

Studied the genotypic and phenotypic evolution of equine infectious anemia virus throughout the resulting disease course, using molecular and computational tools.

Undergraduate Research: Summer 1999. Richard Bowen, Ph.D. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology Lab, Colorado State University.

Developed a reporter gene bioassay for type I interferon using human MxA promoter.

Teaching Experience:

• Formal
  • Assistant Instructor for combined undergraduate/graduate virology course, Fall 2006, 2007.
    Instructor and Mentor: Allen Miller, Ph.D.
    • Participated in course development, including: creating syllabus; determining assignments, projects, and exams; writing homework and exam questions; and developing rubric to grade term papers.
    • Developed student poster project on current topics in virology, with interactive, in-class poster session.
    • Delivered seven stand alone lectures addressing the topics of influenza, HIV, and poxviruses.
    • Work done in conjunction with the Iowa State Preparing Future Faculty program.
  • Teaching Assistant, Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Spring 2005.
    Lab coordinator: Claudia Lemper.
    Faculty Advisors: Clark Coffman, Ph.D. and Michelle Guo, Ph.D.
    • Introduced theoretical concepts of lab procedures to four sections of an upper level undergraduate lab.
    • Created multimedia presentations of material, weekly quizzes, interactive review, and final exam.
    • Demonstrated basic molecular techniques of pipetting, serial dilutions, sterile technique, and complex techniques of DNA manipulation with yeast, bacteria, fruit flies and plants.
• Informal
  • Organizer and Presenter, Iowa State University Teaching Seminar, Fall 2007.
    • Hosted by CELT, for training new teaching assistants
    • Invited Speaker for sessions on Leading a Lab and Grading
    • Participated in open Question and Answer session
  • Mentor, Freshman Honors Mentor Program, Spring 2007.
    • Mentored freshman Engineering major at Iowa State University
    • Wrote proposal and received grant for $250 toward research materials
    • Directed semester long research project, culminating with written report
  • Mentor, Women in Science and Engineering Internship, Summer 2006.
    • Mentored senior Biochemistry major from University of Iowa
    • Guided two month research project, culminating with written report and poster presentation

Publications:

• Journal Articles
  • Sparks, W.O., Dorman, K.S., Liu, S., and Carpenter, S. (2008). Naturally arising point mutations in non-essential domains of equine infectious anemia virus Rev alter Rev-dependent nuclear export activity. Journal of General Virology. 89:1043-8.
    [Abstract] [Print PDF]
  • Sponseller, B.A., Sparks, W.O., Wannemuehler, Y., Li, Y., Antons, A.K., Oaks, J.L., and Carpenter, S. (2007) Immune selection of equine infectious anemia virus env variants during the long-term inapparent stage of disease. Virology. 363:156-65.
    [Abstract] [Print PDF]
  • Lee, J., Murphy, S., Belshan, M., Sparks, W.O., Wannemuehler, Y. Liu, S., Hope, T.J., Dobbs, D., and Carpenter, S. (2006) Characterization of functional domains of equine infectious anemia virus Rev suggests a bipartite RNA-binding domain. Journal of Virology. 80:3844-52.
    [Abstract] [Print PDF]
  • Baccam, P., Thompson, R.J., Li, Y., Sparks, W.O., Belshan, M., Dorman, K.S., Wannemuehler, Y., Oaks, J.L., Cornette, J.L., and Carpenter, S. (2003) Subpopulations of equine infectious anemia virus Rev coexist in vivo and differ in phenotype. Journal of Virology. 77:12122-31.
    [Abstract] [Print PDF]
• Book Chapters and Theses
  • Sparks, W.O., L. Bartholomay, and B.C. Bonning. (2007) Insect Immunity to Viruses. In Insect Immunology, N.E. Beckage, Ed. Academic Press. (in press)
  • Sparks, W.O. (2004) Characterization of Rev variants selected during chronic and inapparent stages of EIAV infection. Masters Thesis, Iowa State University.
    [ISU Library Holdings]

Conference Presentations:

• All Iowa Virology Symposium; Iowa City, IA. (Oct. 13-14th, 2006) Poster presentation: "Isolation of peptides that compete with baculoviruses for binding to the gut of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens" Co-presented with Amy Rohlfin.
• All Iowa Virology Symposium; Ames, IA. (Oct. 22nd, 2004) Oral presentation: "Selection on Rev quasispecies during EIAV infection"
• Midwest Retrovirus meeting; Ames, IA. (Jun. 17th, 2004) Oral presentation: "Evolution of EIAV Rev during progression of disease"
• Iowa State University-University of Iowa Joint Bioinformatics Workshop; Ames, IA. (Aug. 6th, 2004) Poster presentation: "Predicted models of lentivirus Rev proteins share common structural features" Co-presented with Jae-Hyung Lee.
• Presidential University Lecture; Ames, IA. (Nov. 13th, 2003) Poster presentation: "Genetic and phenotypic segregation of EIAV variants during progression of clinical disease"
• American Society for Virology; UC Davis; Davis, CA. (Jul. 12th-17th, 2003) Oral Presentation: "In vivo evolution of EIAV Rev: Predicting phenotype from genotype" Wood, W.O. and Carpenter, S.
• American Society for Virology; University of Kentucky; Lexington, KY. (Jul. 20th-24th, 2002) Poster Presentation: "Genetic and phenotypic segregation of EIAV variants during progression of clinical disease" Wood, W.O., Baccam, S., Dorman, K., Carpenter, S.

Scholastic Awards and Funding:

• Graduate and Professional Student Senate Peer Teaching Award (Fall 2007)
• Teaching Excellence Award (Spring 2006)
• Preparing Future Faculty Fellow
• Research Assistantship with Bryony Bonning; Iowa State University (Fall 2005 - present)
• Teaching Assistantship; Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology (Spring 2005)
• USDA Animal Genetics and Biotechnology Group Graduate Training Fellowship; Iowa State University (Fall 2000 - Fall 2004)
• Colorado State McNair Scholar; Colorado State University (Summer 1999)

Activities and Personal:

• I sing with the Ames Choral Society.
  • Secretary: 2006-07, 2007-08.
  • Cabaret Chair: 2007, 2008
• Co-organizer for ISU Virology Journal Club, 2005, 2007.
• I assist with the Iowa State Insect Zoo, at the VEISHEA, Iowa State Fair, and State FFA convention events, 2006 - present.
• I enjoy cross-country running, hiking, and camping with my husband, Michael.

References:

• Bryony Bonning, Ph.D., Professor (mail), Department of Entomology, Iowa State University.
• Allen Miller, Ph.D., Professor (mail), Department of Plant Pathology, Iowa State University.

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