Microglia
Research has discovered dystrophic (defective development) human microglia. "These cells are characterized by abnormalities in their cytoplasmic structure, such as deramified, atrophic, fragmented or unusually tortuous processes, frequently bearing spheroidal or bulbous swellings." The incidence of dystrophic microglia increases with aging. Microglial degeneration and death have been reported in research on Prion disease, Schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, indicating that microglial deterioration might be involved in neurodegenerative diseases. A complication of this theory is the fact that it is difficult to distinguish between "activated" and "dystrophic" microglia in the human brain.
Mitchell Sogin
Dr. Sogin’s molecular phylogeny from ribosomal RNA sequences provided a framework for reconstructing the evolution of microbial eukaryotes. He documented early diverging eukaryotic lineages, giving the earliest evidence of a link between animals and fungi, to the exclusion of all other eukaryotes. His work demonstrated that the AIDS-related pathogen "Pneumocystis" shares a recent common ancestor with fungi instead of with the parasitic protozoa that cause malaria. He also discovered the “rare biosphere” which represents most of Earth’s microbial diversity. Sogin was the first to use PCR to amplify and sequence ribosomal RNA genes and to use next generation DNA sequencing to characterize complex microbial communities, which now dominates the field of molecular microbial ecology, including efforts underway within the Human Microbiome Project. He has contributed to analytical strategies to determine the taxonomic identity of marker gene surveys and with David Mark Welch of the Josephine Bay Paul Center has established the Visualization of Microbial Population Structures (VAMPS) website, which offers tools for comparing microbial community populations. As part of the Census of Marine Life, Sogin formed and led the International Census of Marine Microbes. His group currently collaborates on studies of human microbiome dynamics with Dr. Eugene Chang of the University of Chicago. They study pouchitis, a model for ulcerative colitis. Dr. Sogin also serves on the editorial boards of the "Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology" (formerly "Journal of Protozoology"), "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution", "Protist" (formerly "Archiv fur Protistenkunde"), "Applied and Environmental Microbiology", and "Environmental Microbiology".