College of the Pacific
Anne Moore
Dr. Moore’s research focuses on the material properties of spider silks and the biological functions to which the spiders put them.
This interdisciplinary project is highly collaborative and undergraduate centered.
The NSF-funded project is producing significant results in both evolutionary biology and materials science.
It is significant to evolutionary biology because the diversity of silk radiated as the diversity of spiders did.
The wide range of mechanical properties found in the different silks can be correlated to differences in molecular and nanostructure, thus, discovering principles by which to make a better polymer.
Essentially, the lab uses traditional comparative methods from biology to answer cutting-edge questions in nanotechnology.
The project features an innovative blend of teaching and research that has been featured in the Council for Undergraduate Research Quarterly, and Dr. Moore has led several national workshops to help faculty at other institutions develop their own student-centered research projects.
In Dr. Moore’s lab, students choose from projects that involve high-speed video analysis, micro-dissection, protein gel electrophoresis, scanning electron microscopy, computer programming, or tensile materials testing.
She has directed over 40 undergraduates in the last five years.
Currently, sophomore Ronda Rufsvold and senior Catherine Wells are using scanning electron microscopy to discover the nanostructure of black widow egg case silk.
The results will help determine where two newly identified proteins are located within the silk fibers.
The proteins were discovered by students in Dr. Vierra’s lab.
Dr. Moore teaches: Principles of Biology, Ecology, Marine Biology, and Environmental Concepts.
Anne Moore
Associate Professor of Biology
Biological Lab Sciences Bldg, Room 112
Email: amoore@pacific.edu
209-946-2182
Area: Biophysics, ecology, marine biology, and properties of spider silk proteins
