Dr. Vertel received her B.S. degree in Biology from Cornell University in 1968 and was awarded her Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Chicago in 1974. Her postdoctoral research was conducted in the Departments of Biochemistry and Pediatrics at the University of Chicago. Dr. Vertel was an Assistant Professor of Biology at Syracuse University from 1980 to 1986 and at the SUNY Health Sciences Center at Syracuse from 1985. She joined the faculty of University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School in 1987. Dr. Vertel has served on the Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiochemistry Study Sections of the NIH. Her research is supported by the National Arthritis Foundation and the NIH.

Research

Dr. Vertel's research is concerned with the formation of extracellular matrix. Her studies emphasize matrix production in cartilage, and are based on the idea that normal matrix formation is regulated through synthetic, processing and quality control events that occur in distinct subcellular compartments prior to secretion. The laboratory uses immunohistochemical, biochemical, and molecular approaches in conjunction with live cell imaging to develop a broad view of the formation of extracellular matrix. Experiments are focused on intracellular events within cartilage cells involved in the synthesis, processing and quality control of aggrecan and other matrix molecules, and on the underlying mechanisms. Immunolocalization at the levels of light and electron microscopy is used to visualize coordinate biosynthesis and matrix deposition, while biochemical studies provide complementary information about processing and biosynthetic intermediates of matrix molecules. In order to dissect these events further, genetic constructs of matrix molecules (and their domains) are utilized in transfection experiments and live cell imaging studies using GFP-tagged versions of the proteins. Models of chondrodystrophies are under active investigation.

Contact information

Barbara M. Vertel, Ph.D.
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
The Chicago Medical School
3333 Green Bay Road
North Chicago, Illinois 60064

Email: barbara.vertel@rosalindfranklin.edu
Phone: (847) 578-3443, 3472, 3351
Fax: (847) 578-3253