Konrad Buscher  

Home Institution
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Host Institution(s)
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology
Research Mentor: Klaus Ley, M.D.

E-Mail: konrad.buscher@gmail.com
Research Topic
see Abstract
Personal Reactions to the U.S. Experience
My lab-life is very inspiring in several ways. As the group I joined was just moving from Virginia to San Diego, a new lab had to be set up from scratch. It was interesting to be part of this process, opening my eyes to the fact that a smoothly running lab cannot always be taken for granted. Even after 6 months, desperate postdocs were still being observed swearing furiously and searching for little everyday items. Secondly, being responsible for my own project and being treated just like other graduate students by the PI was challenging, but gave me invaluable insight into competitive science. Weekly one-on-one meetings often resulted in interesting new directions that were worth taking a shot at (or in other words: much more work for me ;) However, it revealed the fascination of science and encourages me to stay attached to it in the future!
Having already spent six months in France, where I first experienced the excitement of differences, I always considered this stay abroad not only as a science-booster, but equally as a horizon-broadener in terms of culture and mentality. So I extensively used the weekends to participate in American traditions, e.g., attending a San Diego Padres baseball game, eating hot dogs + soda for $1.5O, talking to my redneck-stylist for 2 hours (now being convinced that every good American citizen does not only need a gun, but a bazooka, or even better, a tank in the backyard as well. This guy was serious!). On numerous occasions such as Thanksgiving, the US-hospitality was overwhelming. We bumped into a private dinner by mistake, and were welcomed as if we had been friends forever. With all these incidents taken together, I now have a much better feeling of the American way of life, also resulting in a little shift of my own perception of Germany.
Greatest Difficulties Encountered
Getting two visas with slightly overlapping time frames, one for the internship/famulatur in NY (in October) and one for research in SD (from November on), was a very complicated and time consuming story that finally ended by crossing the border to Mexico and re-entering the US (after 3hours of standing in line). I later realized that nobody really cared for my internship-visa so that I recommend just to use a tourist visa or the J1.
Most humorous incident
A facility manager changed about 400 locks in the whole lab by hand, which took him the whole day and annoyed everybody working there. The next day we got an email apologizing for the inconvenience, but this poor guy confused our lab with that of the neighbors’, so he had to reverse everything.
Helpful Hints for Future Students
- If you decide to obtain an international student ID, make sure to note your DOB in the American format! It saves you a lot of trouble!
- BMEP-Alumni are great for easily getting a famulatur/PJ.
- Before you buy a car, better take it to a garage for a quick check-up.
- AAA offers an inexpensive classic membership ($50-70) granting you 4 roadside assistance services a year (e.g. flat tire, no gas...).
- Give hiking a try! The diversity of California’s landscape is unique!
- (“Afoot and Afield: San Diego County,” a book by Jerry Schad, is the bible of hiking.)
- Give surfing a try! It’s gonna be addicting! Oh, you won’t hit California?! Sincere condolences! ;-)

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Abstract on Research Topic

The Role of the Transmembrane Domain of L-selectin in Determing Membrane Localization and Leukocyte Adhesion under Flow
Authors:
Konrad Buscher, Alexander Zarbock, Sebastian Riese, Rudolf Tauber, Klaus Ley

Institution:
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology

Purpose:
Leukocyte recruitment from blood to tissue, e.g. neutrophils invading sites of inflammation or T cells homing to lymph nodes, involves a cascade of adhesive interactions. The first contact to the endothelium leads to subsequent rolling and is crucially dependent on the selectin adhesion molecules. One of them is called L-selectin and is found almost exclusively clustered on the tips of microvilli of leukocytes which has been shown to substantially enhance its ability to support rolling. CD44 is a receptor for hyaluronic acid and is distributed on the leukocyte surface, but preferentially excluded from the microvilli.
To study the influence of different protein domains on microvillar positioning, adhesion and homing abilities, and signaling functions, we have engineered L-selectin / CD44 chimeric molecules. The focus of this project is to conduct a functional analysis of the ability of these molecules to initiate and support adhesion under flow. Intravital microscopy of bone marrow transplanted L-selectin knock-out mice or a flow chamber set up will be employed for in vivo or in vitro studies, respectively.

Results:
None published.