Brewster Bio Sheet
Jay Brewster is the Associate Provost and a Professor of Biology at Pepperdine University. He is a teacher, research scientist, and advocate for undergraduate research programs. He has taught in the Natural Science Division at Pepperdine University since 1997. He earned his B.S. degree at Lubbock Christian University and the Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University. He was awarded the Howard A. White Award for Teaching Excellence in 2006, and was named the Frank R. Seaver Professor of Natural Science in 2010. His research efforts focus upon signal transduction pathways that regulate cell survival and apoptosis. He has mentored over 100 undergraduate research students in his laboratory resulting in undergraduate-authored publications and conference presentations. His research group is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Parsons Foundation, and by the National Science Foundation. Dr. Brewster currently serves as director of the NSF-funded summer undergraduate research in biology (SURB) program at Pepperdine.
Education is not filling a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
William B. Yeats
Education and Training:
2007-Present: Professor of Biology, Pepperdine University, Malibu CA
2001-2007: Associate Professor of Biology, Pepperdine University, Malibu CA
2004: Visiting Scholar, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Dept. of Pharmacology, laboratory of Kim Heidenreich
1997-2001: Assistant Professor of Biology, Pepperdine University, Malibu CA
1995-1997: Research Associate: Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Great Falls, MT, Consortium Project; Laboratories of Doug Coffin and George Carlson
1993-1995: Postdoctoral Fellow: McLaughlin Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Great Falls, MT, Laboratory of Bill Crain
1993: Internship: Transgenics Inc., Bozeman, MT
1993: Ph.D. - Rice University, Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Houston TX; Laboratory of Michael Gustin
Dissertation: "Cloning and Characterization of Genes Required for Osmoregulation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae"
1989: B.A - Science Education, Lubbock Christian University, Lubbock TX
Professional Affiliations:
The American Society for Cell Biology
The Southern California Conferences for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR) - Board of Directors
Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR): Pepperdine Liaison
The Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT)
Project Kaleidoscope: Science Education
Summer Undergraduate Research in Biology Program (SURB) - Pepperdine University - Program Director
External Grants and Fellowships Awarded:
National Science Foundation (2016-2019) – Research Experience for Undergraduates (DBI-150352), “Biological Adaptations to Stress - Molecular, Cellular, and Ecological”, Principal Investigator.
National Science Foundation (2010-15) – Research Experience for Undergraduates (DBI-1062721), “Undergraduate Research in Biology: A Way of Discovery”, Principal Investigator.
*Four supplement awards were also awarded during the DBI-1062721 grant).
National Institutes of Health (2008-11) Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15 GM065139-02A1), “Analysis of apoptotic signaling induced by the endoplasmic reticulum” – Principal Investigator.
National Science Foundation (2005-10) – Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU site grant), “Undergraduate Research in Biology: A Way of Discovery”, Co-Principal Investigator.
National Institutes of Health (2002-06) Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15 GM065139-01), “Characterization of OST-based activation of apoptosis” – Principal Investigator.
Ralph M Parsons Foundation (2003) Equipment grant for fluorescence microscope and other equipment. Co-Principle Investigator
National Science Foundation (2003) – Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU site grant), “Undergraduate Research in Biology: A Way of Discovery”, Co-Principal Investigator.
National Science Foundation (2002) – Major Research Inst. Grant (MRI/RUI - 0215516), “Acquisition of a Real-Time Quantitative PCR Instrument for Undergraduate Research and Teaching” – Co-Principal Investigator.
National Science Foundation (2000-03)-Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site grant (DBI 9987543) "Undergraduate Research in Biology: A Way of Discovery"; Co-principal investigator.
National Institutes of Health (1995), Postdoctoral Training Fellowship, “Sex specific gene expression in early mouse embryos” - (approved by NIH, but was not activated due to associateship offer from Stowers Institute).
National Institutes of Health (1991-93), Predoctoral Training Fellowship for JLB.