Alise Renee Muok
a.r.muok@biology.leidenuniv.nl
Research Experience
Current Postdoctoral researcher
Laboratory of Dr. Ariane Briegel
Leiden University, Leiden Netherlands
Research: Determine the three-dimensional structure of protein complexes and supramolecular protein structures with cryo-electron microscopy techniques.
2012-2018 Graduate Student in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology (BMCB)
Thesis Mentor: Brian R. Crane, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Cornell University, Ithaca NY, USA
Research: Investigate the structure and function of bacterial sensory proteins to identify mechanisms of signal transduction using structural and biochemical methods.
2010-2012 Undergraduate Researcher
Daniel Kliebenstein Laboratory
University of California Davis, Davis CA, USA
Research: Identify secondary metabolites present in Arabidopsis thaliana that are responsible for preventing herbivory by generation and analysis of gene knock-out lines.
Education
2018 PhD in Biochemistry
Minor: Biophysics
Brian Crane Laboratory
Cornell University, Ithaca NY, USA
2012 Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry
University of California, Davis CA, USA
Grants and Awards
The Dutch Research Council Veni Fellowship, Leiden University, 2020 - Present
Written by Alise Muok, Awarded to Alise Muok
KWF Unique High Risk Project, Leiden University, 2019 - Present
Written by Alise Muok, Awarded to Alise Muok and Ariane Briegel
Leading Fellowship for International Postdocs, Leiden University, 2018 - 2020
Written by Alise Muok, Awarded to Alise Muok
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP), Cornell University, 2014 – 2018
Written by Alise Muok, Awarded to Alise Muok
National Institutes of Health Training Grant, Cornell University, 2012 - 2013
Written by Alise Muok, Awarded to Alise Muok
Liliane D. Wells Scholarship, UC Davis, 2010 - 2012
Written by Alise Muok, Awarded to Alise Muok
Formal teaching experience
2013-2014 Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Cell Biology
Cornell University, Ithaca NY
15 hrs/week, 24 weeks total (2 semesters)
Responsibilities: Independently instructed the laboratory component of the Cell Biology course to ~30 students. I was responsible for designing and giving lectures, directing experiments, grading assignments, and administering exams.
2012 Supplemental Instructor for Organic Chemistry
San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton CA
6 hrs/week, 15 weeks total (1 semester)
Responsibilities: Prepared lectures, demonstrations, and problem sets for students who desired assistance in understanding the course material.
2011-2012 Supplemental Instructor for General Chemistry
San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton CA
6 hrs/week, 30 weeks total (2 semesters)
Responsibilities: Prepared lectures, demonstrations, and problem sets for students who desired assistance in understanding the course material.
Outreach and activities
2021 Social media committee member for the Bacterial Locomotion and Signal Transduction (BLAST) Conference
I helped organize all social aspects of the conference including announcements and updates, introduced the speakers on social media platforms, and asked questions from the audience to the speakers.
2020 Invited speaker at Weber Institute of Technology (High school)
I spoke to high-school students at my alma mater about my university and career experiences. I emphasized opportunities and support available for underrepresented groups.
2013-2017 Expanding Your Horizons, Cornell University
I worked directly with middle-school girls to conduct scientific experiments in an academic setting.
2017 Tech Savvy, Cornell University
I organized hands-on demonstrations to explain scientific concepts to middle-school and high-school girls.
2013-2014 4H After School at Belle Sherman Elementary, 4H Ithaca NY
Tutored grade-school immigrant children with English as their second language.
Scientific methodologies
Microscopy methods: cryo-electron microscopy, cryo-electron tomography, negative stain electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, light microscopy.
Molecular methods: bacterial plasmid cloning, protein purification, x-ray crystallography, small-angle x-ray scattering, mass spectrometry, isothermal calorimetry, multi-angle light scattering.
Spectroscopy methods: electron spin resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, circular dichroism.
Published manuscripts
A.R. Muok, D. Claessen, A. Briegel. (2021) Microbial hitchhike: how Streptomyces spores are transported by motile soil bacteria. ISMEJ.
A.R. Muok, Davi R Ortega, Kurni Kurniyati, Wen Yang, Zachary A Maschmann, Adam Sidi Mabrouk, Chunhao Li, Brian R Crane, Ariane Briegel. (2020) Atypical chemoreceptor arrays accommodate high membrane curvature. Nature Communications.
A.R. Muok and A. Briegel. (2020) Intermicrobial hitchhiking: how nonmotile microbes leverage communal motility. Trends in Microbiology.
A.R. Muok, Teck Khiang Chua, Madhur Srivastava, Wen Yang, Zachary Maschmann, Petr P Borbat, Jenna Chong, Sheng Zhang, Jack H Freed, Ariane Briegel, Brian R Crane. (2020). Engineered chemotaxis core signaling units indicate a constrained kinase-off state. Sci. Signal.
A.R. Muok, A. Briegel, B.R. Crane. (2019) Regulation of the chemotaxis histidine kinase CheA: A structural perspective. BBA-Biomembranes.
A.R. Muok, Y. Deng, V.M. Gumerov, J.E. Chong, J.R. DeRosa, K. Kurniyati, R. Coleman, K. Lancaster, C. Li, I.B. Zhulin, B.R. Crane. (2019) A di-iron protein recruited as an Fe[II] and oxygen sensor for bacterial chemotaxis functions by stabilizing an iron-peroxy species. PNAS.
A.R. Muok, T. Chua, H. Le, B.R. Crane. (2018) Nucleotide spin-labeling for ESR spectroscopy of ATP-binding proteins. Applied Magnetic Resonance.
G.E. Merz, P. Borbat, A.R. Muok, J.H. Freed, B.R. Crane. (2018) Site-specific incorporation of a Cu+2 ion for measuring distances using pulsed dipolar ESR spectroscopy. J. Physical Chemistry.
R. Kerwin, J. Feusier, A. Muok, C. Lin, B. Larson, D. Copeland, J. Corwin, M. Rubin, M. Francisco, B. Li, B. Joseph, D. Kliebenstein. (2017) Epistatic by environment interactions among Arabidopsis thaliana glucosinolate genes impact complex traits and fitness in the field. New Phytologist.
A.R. Greenswag, A.R. Muok, X. Li, B.R. Crane. (2015) Conformational transitions that enable histidine kinase autophosphorylation and receptor array integration. J Mol Bio.
R. Kerwin, J. Feusier, J. Corwin, M. Rubin, C. Lin, A. Muok, B. Larson, B. Li, B. Joseph, M. Francisco, D. Copeland, C. Weinig, D.J. Kliebenstein. (2015). Natural genetic variation in Arabidopsis thaliana. eLife sciences Ecology.
Recent Lectures
A.R. Muok. Bacterial Locomotion and Signal Transduction Conference. Online. Jan 20th-22nd 2021. “Microbial piggyback: how Streptomyces spores utilize communal motility.”
A.R. Muok. Institute of Biology Spotlight Seminar. Leiden, NL. Dec 3rd 2020. “Microbial piggyback: how Streptomyces spores utilize communal motility.”
A.R. Muok. Institute of Biology Spotlight Seminar. Leiden, NL. April 2nd 2020. “Identifying novel features of the chemotaxis machinery in the pathogen Treponema denticola.”
A.R. Muok. University of Oxford, Department of Biochemistry Invited lecture. Oxfordshire, England. July 22nd 2019. “Investigating the structure and function of a di-iron protein recruited as an oxygen and Fe(II) sensor in bacterial chemotaxis”.
Articles written for scientific blogs
A.R. Muok, A. Briegel. Space-tolerant Micronauts. Small Things Considered. September 30th 2019. https://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2019/09/space-tolerant-micronauts.html
Press Coverage
2021 (March 22) Science Magazine. “The microscopic hitchhiker is both friend to plants and humans.”
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/microscopic-hitchhiker-friend-both-plants-and-humans?fbclid=IwAR3RviQ3zAA2XrY7WejkdnW3539hRothyLh_AXaWO15pB_YMRVaCGdwuGJ4
2021 (Mar. 23) Leiden, NL. Universiteit Leiden Nieuws article. “Researchers discover hitchhiking bacteria.”
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2021/03/researchers-discover-hitchhiking-bacteria
2020 (Nov. 13) Leiden, NL. Universiteit Leiden Nieuws article. “The nose of this wormy-shaped bacteria has a surprising symmetry.”
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2020/11/blog-post-alise-muok
2020 (July 16) Small Things Considered. “Streptomyces spores taking a ride…”. https://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2020/07/streptomyces-spores-taking-a-ride.html
2020 (June 20) Microbiome Digest – Bik’s Picks. https://microbiomedigest.com/2020/06/20/june-20th-2020/
2019 (Dec. 19) Leiden, NL. Universiteit Leiden Nieuws article. “Detecting pediatric cancer with bacteria.”
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2019/12/detecting-pediatric-cancer-with-bacteria