AP2IX-4, A CELL CYCLE REGULATED NUCLEAR FACTOR, MODULATES

GENE EXPRESSION DURING BRADYZOITE DEVELOPMENT IN

TOXOPLASMA GONDII

Sherri Y. Huang

Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree

Doctor of Philosophy

in the Department of Pharmacology &

Indiana University

April 2017 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

______Gustavo Arrizabalaga, Ph.D., Chair

______William J. Sullivan, Jr., Ph.D.

Doctoral committee ______Tao Lu, Ph.D.

______Yuichiro Takagi, Ph.D. January 10, 2017

______Jian-Ting Zhang, Ph.D.

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My journey through graduate school would not have been possible without the mentorship, friendship and support of my scientific mentors, labmates, friends and family. I would first like to thank my mentor and thesis adviser, Dr. William Sullivan Jr. Through these years, the mentorship of Dr. Sullivan has been invaluable. He has encouraged me to constantly hone my scientific communication skills and to evaluate my thoughts scientifically. He always took the time to sit down with me and review my lab presentations, posters, conference talks and my thesis dissertation. His love for is infectious, pun intended. I would also like to thank members of my thesis committee: Dr. Gustavo Arrizabalaga, Dr. Tao Lu, Dr. Yuichiro Takagi, and Dr. Jian-Ting Zhang. Their help encompassed scientific experimentation and encouragement, both invaluable to a graduate student. I especially thank them for one thesis committee during which they encouraged me to take more intellectual risks. Through his tough scientific questions at lab and committee meetings, Dr. Arrizabalaga helped push me to become a better scientist. Drs. Takagi, Tao Lu, and Jian-ting Zhang, your humor and words of encouragement also helped me greatly when I doubted my abilities. Next I would like to thank my zany and brilliant lab colleagues, past and present, in the Sullivan and Arrizabalaga labs: Dr. Michael Harris, Dr. Michael Holmes, Dr. Vicki Jeffers, Leah Padgett, Jen Martynowicsz, Joe Varberg, Kaice LaFavers, Dr. Chunlin Yang, Tamila Garbuz, Dr. Raj Gaji, Dr. Robert Charvat, Sol Bogado, Dr. Anne Bouchut, Gian Gballou, Dr. Ting-Kai “Tank” Liu and Dr. Imaan Benmerzouga. Dr. Michael Holmes, thank you for your expertise and scientific opinion as we worked together on the AP2IX-4 story (I secretly hope to become brilliant like you, soon). Joe, Kaice and Leah, thank you for being wonderful and helpful fellow graduate students. Michael Harris and Jen, you two always made lab fun with talk of science and other geeky subjects. Vicki, you were the one who mentored me during my rotation, thank you for always being

iii patient as you demonstrated a technique or explained a concept to me. Tank, thank you for your friendship and obviously for the reagents you generated that launched my thesis work. Robert, thank you for being a great friend, fellow bubble tea aficionado, and ever-reliable encyclopedia of microscopy protocols. Raj, I remember I felt disappointed in my performance after my first lab meeting; thank you for talking with me. Imaan, thank you for all your work in teaching me how to perform mouse work, but no thank you to the “strawberry milkshake” analogy you made regarding homogenized mouse brains. Gian, thank you for your dedication in assisting with the cyst burden quantifications. Sol, you always inspired me with your fun and positive, Turbo-kicking attitude. Anne, I remember how you used to carry three grocery bags up five flights of stairs without huffing and puffing. This was the rigor with which you worked at the bench, and it was very inspiring. I would also like to thank members of the Michael White Laboratory for their collaboration