Biography
I grew up in American Fork, Utah and majored in Microbiology at BYU. I earned a PhD in genetics at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., then did a postdoc in transcriptional regulation at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston before coming back to BYU as a faculty member. My husband and I have four kids, all grown. I enjoy snow skiing, water skiing, hiking, and reading.
Research Interests
One major focus of research in the Bridgewater Lab is the novel nuclear variant of BMP2, which we discovered in 2010 and named nBMP2. BMP2 has previously been recognized as a secreted growth factor that participates in bone and cartilage formation, limb formation, patterning, heart development, and apoptosis. We discovered another form of BMP2 that is translated from the same mRNA transcript but from an alternative downstream start codon, which eliminates the signal peptide and thus prevents trafficking through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi. Instead, translation occurs in the cytoplasm and a nuclear localization signal directs translocation to the nucleus. We generated a “knock-in” mouse line in which nuclear translocation of nBMP2 is blocked while secreted BMP2 is produced normally, and we discovered in that model that nBMP2 affects skeletal muscle contractions, learning and memory, and immune response.Our second area of emphasis is the gut microbiota and its effects on obesity, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and depression. We have recently published evidence suggesting that stress can alter the composition of the gut microbiota in females much the same way a high fat diet does. We are testing the hypothesis that bacteriophages (viruses that target bacteria) can be used therapeutically to inhibit the growth of inflammation-causing bacteria in the gut.
Teaching Interests
Molecular BiologyHonors and Awards
- Expert Speaker, Gut-Brain Axis Summit, San Franciso, CA (2017 - 2017)
- Featured Speaker, 26th Annual Russell B. Clark Gerontology Conference, BYU (2016 - 2016)
- Featured Speaker, 26th Annual Russell B. Clark Gerontology Conference, BYU Gerontology Program (2016 - 2016)
- BYU New Graduate Student Dinner, Keynote Speaker, BYU Office of Graduate Studies (2015 - 2015)
- Keynote Speaker, Inauguration of the Richard G. Scott Science Scholarship, Utah Valley University (2012 - 2012)
- Science Symposium Series, Inaugural Speaker, Utah Valley University (2012 - 2012)
- Forum Speaker, Brigham Young University (2010 - 2010)
- Scholarship Award, BYU Faculty Women's Association (2009 - 2009)
- College Outstanding Mentor Award, BYU College of Life Sciences (2008 - 2008)
- Young Scholar Award, Brigham Young University (2004 - 2007)
- Alice Louise Reynolds Women-In-Scholarship Lecturer, BYU Harold B. Lee Library (2006 - 2006)
- College Creative Achievement Award, BYU College of Biology and Agriculture (2006 - 2006)
- Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Foundation (1997 - 1999)
Administrative Assignments
- Life Sciences: Dean (2022 - Present)
- BYU: Associate Vice President (2018 - 2022)
- College of Life Sciences: Associate Dean (2016 - 2018)
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology: Department Chair (2011 - 2014)
Memberships
- International Society for Microbial Ecology (2014 - Present)
- American Association for Cancer Research (1999 - Present)
- American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (1997 - Present)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (1990 - Present)
- American Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (2013 - 2014)
Professional Citizenship
- Editorial Review Board Member, Scientific Reports (2018 - 2019)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, Regenerative Medicine Panel (2018 - 2018)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, Regenerative Medicine Panel (2017 - 2017)
- Conference-Related Role, LDS Life Sciences Research Symposium (2013 - 2016)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NIH Musculoskeletal, Oral, and Skin Sciences (MOSS) Integrated Review Group (2016 - 2016)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, Regenerative Medicine Panel (2016 - 2016)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, Regenerative Medicine Panel (2016 - 2016)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NIH Skeletal Biology Structure & Regeneration Study Section, Musculoskeletal, Oral, and Skin Sciences Integrated Review Group (2011 - 2011)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NSF Physiological & Structural Systems Cluster Proposal Review Panel of Symbiosis Defense and Self-Recognition (2011 - 2011)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NIH Skeletal Biology Structure and Regeneration Study Section, Musculoskeletal, Oral, and Skin Sciences Integrated Review Group (2010 - 2010)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NIH Skeletal Biology Structure and Regeneration Study Section, Musculoskeletal, Oral, & Skin Sciences Integrated Review Group Special Emphasis Panel (2010 - 2010)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NIH Musculoskeletal, Oral, & Skin Sciences, Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research Review Group (2009 - 2009)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NIH Skeletal Biology Structure & Regeneration Study Section, Musculoskeletal, Oral, and Skin Sciences Integrated Review Group (2007 - 2007)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NIH Skeletal Biology Structure & Regeneration Scientific Review Group (2006 - 2006)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NSF (2006 - 2006)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, Centers of Research Translation Special Review Group (2006 - 2006)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NSF (2005 - 2005)
- Grant Proposal Reviewer, External, NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program (2003 - 2004)
- Board Member, Board of Directors, Texas Society for Biomedical Research (1998 - 1999)