Dr. Lydia Daniels

Genetics
K. Arndt
T.-L. Ashman
G. Campbell
D. Chapman
G. Hatfull
J. Hildebrand
L. Jacobson
S. Kalisz
J. Martens
V. Oke
W. Saunders
B. Stronach
S. Tonsor
R. Wood

Microbiology
G. Hatfull
R. Hendrix
J. Lawrence
V. Oke
J. Pipas
M. Popa
I. Campbell
R.L. Duda
S. Godfrey

Molecular Biology
K. Arndt
J. Franzen
P. Grabowski
G. Hatfull
R. Hendrix
L. Jen-Jacobson
J. Martens
C. Peebles
J. Pipas
J. Rosenberg
A. Schwacha
C. Walsh

Plant Biology
T.-L. Ashman
W. Carson
S. Kalisz
V. Oke
C. Partanen
S. Tonsor
B. Traw

Science Education
A. Bledsoe
K. Curto
L. Daniels
S. Godfrey
N. Kaufmann
C. LaFave
J. Newman
E. Polinko
M. Popa
L. Roberts
T. Seiflein
R. Sherwin
A. Slinskey Legg

Structural Biology
M. Grabe
J. Hempel
R. Hendrix
L. Jen-Jacobson
J. Rosenberg
A. VanDemark

Former Faculty

Photo of Dr.
Daniels

Science Education; Writing in the Biological Sciences

Director of Undergraduate Programs

Dr. Daniels received her Ph.D. in 1983 with Robert Glew at the University of Pittsburgh Scool of Medicine and joined the Department in 1998.

Currently, Dr. Daniels is not accepting graduate students in her laboratory. Dr. Daniels is not accepting undergraduate researchers, and does sponsor students in other laboratories.

Professional Interests - Publications - Contact Information - Lab Personnel

Professional Interests of Lydia Daniels

"It is with words that we do our reasoning, and writing is the expression of our thinking." - W.I.B. Beveridge

While the soul of science lies in experimentation, the life blood of science lies in communication. The most brilliant experiment, the most incisive argument, the most compelling explanation is useless unless communicated to other scientists. Teaching prospective scientists to be effective and efficient communicators juxtaposes my passions; writing and teaching science. I am delighted to serve the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh as a lecturer in Biochemistry (BioSc 1000 and in Scientific Writing (BioSc 1010.

Since almost 74,000 scientific journals are published yearly, the value of solid writing skills cannot be overestimated. Writing about biology is also an effective way to learn about biology. Writing is an active process. To write well, we must think critically about the information we have gathered, and then ask how this "new" knowledge fits into our "old" understanding. Finding connections between what is known and what is new is the core of the learning process; in this way, writing becomes learning. Teaching Writing in the Biological Sciences (BioSci 1010), I seek:

To develop the students# ability to read the scientific literature critically and to place new ideas within the context of their current understanding of biological topics.
To guide students through the conventions of writing a scientific paper in order to produce a concise, precise and coherent document.
To show that writing is integral to the learning process, not an endpoint.

Medical biochemistry broadly defines my professional interests. I am interested in the perturbations to metabolic homeostasis caused by disease, particularily inherited disease. My graduate work focused on the role of a broad-specificity soluble ß-glucosidase in the manifestations of Gaucher's disease, an inherited defect in glycosphingolipid metabolism. Dr. Robert H. Glew, a talented teacher and prolific writer then at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, was my mentor.

Recognizing the study of genetics as integral to the understanding of inherited metabolic disease, I pursued post-doctoral training in genetics in the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Jones at Carnegie-Mellon University. I characterized the vacuole protease-deficient mutant of S. cerevisae, pep4, learning the techniques of molecular biology.

Teaching Introduction to Biochemistry (BioSci 1000) represents for me an opportunity to share my understanding the chemical and physical laws underlying molecular processes that determine human health and disease gained during my graduate and post-graduate education. I hope that my enthusiasm for all topics biochemical, from enzyme kinetics to nutritional biochemistry, serves to inspire the students in my class to continue their exploration of the why and how questions of molecular biology beyond their university years.

I believe the essence of becoming truly educated lies in developing the skills of observation, investigation, and communication. My goal is to assist the biology students at the University of Pittsburgh to achieve that education.

Publication Archive
12 Citations
10 Abstracts
5 PDFs

Recent Publications of Lydia Daniels

Gopalan, V., L.B. Daniels, R.H. Glew, and M. Claeyssens (1989) Kinetic analysis of the interaction of alkyl glycosides with two human ß-glucosidases. Biochem. J. 262:541-548 (PDF Reprint: 1.5 MB)

Jones, E., C. Moehle, M. Kolodny, M. Aynardi, F. Park, L. Daniels, and S. Garlow (1986) Genetics of Vacuolar Proteases. Pp 505-518 in Cetus-UCLA Symposium on Yeast Cell Biology, , Ed. Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York

Woolford, C.A., L.B. Daniels, F.J. Park, E.W. Jones, J.N. VanArsdell, and M.A. Innis (1986) The PEP4 gene encodes an aspartyl protease implicated in the posttranslational regulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae vacuolar hydrolases. Mol. Cell. Biol. 6:2500-2510 (PDF Reprint: 2.2 MB)

Basu, A., R.H. Glew, L.B. Daniels, and L.S. Clark (1984) Activators of spleen glucocerebrosidase from controls and patients with various forms of Gaucher's Disease. J. Biol. Chem. 259:1714-1719 (PDF Reprint: 780 kb)

Daniels, L.B., and R.H. Glew (1982) b-Glucosidase assays in the diagnosis of Gaucher's disease. Clin. Chem. 28:569-577 (PDF Reprint: 2.3 MB)

Glew, R.H., L.B. Daniels, L.S. Clark, and S.W. Hoyer (1982) Enzymic Differentiation of Neurologic and Nonneurologic Forms of Gaucher Disease. J. Neuropathol. Exper. Neur. 41:630-641

Daniels, L.B., J.R. Gnarra, and R.H. Glew (1982) Effectors of three b-glucosidases from human liver. Pp 333-355 in Gaucher Disease: A Century of Delineation and research, Desnick, R.J., S. Gatt, and G.A. Grabowski, Ed. Alan R. Liss, New York

Daniels, L.B., P.J. Coyle, R.H. Glew, N.S. Radin, and R.S. Labow (1982) Brain glucocerebrosidase in Gaucher's Disease. Arch. Neurol. 39:550-556

Daniels, L.B., P.J. Coyle, Y.B. Chiao, R.H. Glew, and R.S. Labow (1981) Purification and characterization of a cytosolic b-glucosidase from human liver. J. Biol. Chem. 256:13004-13013 (PDF Reprint: 1.3 MB)

Daniels, L.B., D.B. Robinson, R.H. Glew, and R.F. Wylin (1981) Normal acid-phosphatase and angiotensin converting enzyme activities in serum of a patient with Gaucher's disease. Clin. Chem. 27:1782-1783

Daniels, L.B., R.H. Glew, W.F. Diven, R.E. Lee, and N.S. Radin (1981) An improved fluorometric leukocyte b-glucosidase assay for Gaucher's disease. Clin. Chim. Acta 115:369-375

Daniels, L.B., R.H. Glew, N.S. Radin, and R.R. Vunnam (1980) A revised fluorometric assay for Gaucher's Disease using conduritol-ß epoxide with liver as the source of ß-glucosidase. Clin. Chim. Acta 106:155-163

How to Contact Lydia Daniels

US Mail
University of Pittsburgh
Department of Biological Sciences
A237 Langley Hall
4249 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Phone, FAX, Internet
Office : (412) 624-6974
Lab :
FAX : (412) 624-4261
Email : lydiad+@pitt.edu
Web :

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