Berl Ray Oakley

Dr. Oakley joined KU's Department of Molecular Molecular Biosciences in 2008 after 26 years at The Ohio State University. His research interest focuses on mitosis, microtubules and the cell cycle. Molecular genetic tools he and his colleagues have developed for the fungus Aspergillus nidulans have led to an interest in fungal secondary metabolites, bioactive compounds that include important toxins, as well as many medically important compounds such as antibiotics, cholesterol reducing compounds (statins), immune suppressors and antifungals.

During his tenure at KU, he has worked with colleagues at the University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin, and others, to develop applied molecular genetic methods to elicit the production of scores of novel fungal secondary metabolites. At Ohio State University, his lab made a number of significant discoveries. Most notably, they discovered gamma-tubulin, showed that it is essential for mitotic apparatus formation in A. nidulans, showed that it is present in flies and humans, and showed that it is located at microtubule organizing centers such as centrosomes. They also mapped the two human gamma-tubulin genes within the human genome.

In 2021, Dr. Oakley was elected a Fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology.

Learn more about Berl Oakley on the Department of Molecular Biosciences website.