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Taraka Dale
Group Leader, LANL, B-DO
Email
(505) 664-0995

Expertise

I am currently the Group Leader for Bioscience (‘B’) Division’s Microbial and Biome Sciences Group (B-IOME). I represent ~35 researchers to Division Management, support the Group in programmatic execution and development, and work to meet the Group’s infrastructure, safety, and security needs and requirements. In addition, in 2021, I served as Acting Deputy Division Leader for B Division. In that role I contributed to four primary areas: representing and advocating for Division operations and infrastructure, participating in the Chemistry, Environmental, and Life Sciences Directorate management team, helping to lead the B Division management team, and partnering with the B Division Leader to advance Division strategic direction, vision, programmatic growth, and division culture. I also served as Acting Deputy Group Leader in for five months in 2022 and completed both Laboratory Operations Management Academy (LOMA) and LANL’s Management Academy in 2021.

Education

Biochemistry, Biochemistry
University of Colorado at Boulder
1999 - 2005

Biochemistry, Biochemistry
Allegheny College
1995 - 1999

Positions

2022 - Present | Group Leader, LANL
1/2022 - 5/2022 | Acting Deputy Group Leader, LANL
2021 - | Acting Deputy Division Leader, LANL
2022 - | Scientist 4, LANL
2019 - | Team Leader, LANL
2018 - | Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico
2016 - 2019 | Scientist 3, LANL
2015 - 2018 | Bioenergy & Bioproducts Program Co-Manager / Platform Lead, LANL
2011 - 2016 | Scientist 2, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
2007 - 2011 | Postdoctoral Research Associate, Los Alamos National Laboratory
2006 - 2007 | Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Utah
2005 - 2006 | Postdoctoral Research Associate, Northwestern University

Awards

2022 Patricia E. Gallagher Environmental Award, for BOTTLE
2022 Los Alamos Team Distinguished Performance Award, for BioManIAC
2021 Los Alamos Awards Program, for serving as “Acting Deputy Division Leader”, LANL
2020 R&D 100 Award, “Smart Microbial Cell Technology: A high throughput platform to optimize biocatalysts”
2020 R&D 100 Special Recognition: Market Disruptor – Services, Silver, “Smart Microbial Cell Technology: A high throughput platform to optimize biocatalysts”
2018-2020 Los Alamos Awards Program, for “service on an internal proposal review committee,” LANL
2019 Distinguished Mentor Award Nominee
2017 Nominated as one of the algae industry’s top Scientist/Researcher in Algae Industry Magazine’s International Readers' Poll. Nominated as one of seven individuals for whom readers could vote.
2016 Los Alamos Awards Program, for “the Syn-Bio project,” LANL
2015 Los Alamos Awards Program, for “the Multi-scale Characterization project,” LANL
2014 Certificate of Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing, Algal Research, Elsevier Journal
2014, 2016 Certificate of Reviewing Excellence, Algal Research, Elsevier Journal
2012 Los Alamos Awards Program, for Algal Harvesting Prototype Development, LANL
2003 Diane Haddock Russell Award, Association for Women in Science Education Foundation Predoctoral Program
1998 Ruth Ann Verell Scholar, Summer Research Assistantship, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Publications

Huesemann M, Edmundson S, Gao S, Negi S, Dale T, Gutknecht A, Daligault HE, Carr CK, Freeman J, Starkenburg SR, Gleasner CD, Louie W, McGuire S (Submitted). DISCOVR strain, pipeline screening – Part I: Specific growth rate as a function of temperature and salinity for 38 candidate microalgae strains for biofuels production. Algal Research.Negi S, Daughton B, Carr CK, Klein B, Davis R, Banerjee S, Dale T* (Under Revision). Effect of plant growth-promoting molecules on improving biomass productivity in DISCOVR production strains. Algal Research. (*corresp. author)
Huesemann M, Knoshaug EP, Laurens LML, Dale T, Lane TW, McGowen J (Under Revision). Development of Integrated Screening, Cultivar Optimization, and Verification Research (DISCOVR): A Coordinated Research-Driven Approach to Improve Microalgal Productivity, Composition, and Culture Stability for Commercially Viable Biofuels Production. Algal Research.
Shin S, Jha R, Dale T (Accepted, 2022) Tackling the Catch-22 situation of optimizing a sensor and transporter system in a whole cell microbial biosensor design for an anthropogenic small molecule. ACS Synthetic Biology.
Pandey N, Davison S, Krishnamurthy M, Trettel D, Lo C, Starkenburg S, Wozniak, K, Kern T, Reardon S, Unkefer C, Hennelly S, Dale T* (2022). Precise genomic riboregulator control of metabolic flux in microbial systems. ACS Synthetic Biology 11, 10, 3216–3227. (*corresp. author)
Sanders CK, Hanschen ER, Biondi TC, Hovde BT, Kunde YA, Eng WL, Kwon T, Dale T* (2022). High-quality genome assembly and phylogenetic analyses support the reclassification of the oleaginous marine species Nannochloris desiccata (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta), formerly Chlorella desiccata. J. Phycology https://doi.org/10.1111/jpy.13242. (*corresp. author)
Sanders CK, Biondi TC, Eng WL, Kunde YA, Hovde BT*, Dale T* (2022). High-quality genome assembly of Nannochloris desiccata 2437 and its associated bacterial community. Microbiology Resource Announcements. (*corresp. authors)
Pardo I, Jha RK, Bermel RE, Bratti F, Gaddis M, McIntyre E, Michener W, Neidle EL, Dale T, Beckham GT, Johnson CW (2020). Gene amplification, laboratory evolution, and biosensor screening reveal MucK as a terephthalic acid transporter in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1. Metabolic Engineering, 62, 260-74.
Bentley GJ, Narayanan N, Jha RK, Salvachúa D, Elmore JR, Peabody GL, Black BA, De Capite A, Michener WE, Werner AZ, Klingeman DM, Schindel HS, Nelson R, Foust L, Guss AM, Dale T, Johnson CW, Beckham GT (2020). Engineering glucose metabolism for enhanced muconic acid production in Pseudomonas putida KT2440. Metabolic Engineering, 59, 64-75.
Gonzalez-Esquer CR, Wright K, Sudasinghe N, Carr CK, Sanders CK, Turmo A, Kerfeld CA, Twary SN, Dale T* (2019). Demonstration of the potential of Picochlorum soloecismus as a microalgal platform for the production of renewable fuels. Algal Research, 43, article 101658. (*corresp. author)
Tyler CRS, Sanders CK, Erikson RS, Dale T, Twary SN, Marrone BL (2019). Functional and phenotypic flow cytometry characterization of Picochlorum soloecismus DOE101 isolates. Algal Research, 43, article 101614.
Jha RK*, Narayanan N, Pandey N, Bingen JM, Kern TL, Johnson CJ, Straus CEM, Beckham GT, Hennelly SP, Dale T* (2019). Sensor-enabled alleviation of product inhibition in chorismate pyruvate-lyase. ACS Synthetic Biology, 8, 4, 775-786. (*corresp. authors)
Jha RK*, Bingen JM, Johnson CW, Kern TL, Khanna P, Trettel DS, Straus CEM, Beckham GT, Dale T* (2018). A protocatechuate biosensor for Pseudomonas putida KT2440 via promoter and protein evolution. Metabolic Engineering Communications, 6, 33-38. (*corresp. authors)
Marrone BL, Lacey R, Anderson DB, Bonner J, Coons J, Dale T, et al. (2018). Review of the harvesting and extraction program within the
Huesemann M, Dale T, Chavis A, Crowe B, Twary SN, Barry A, Valentine D, Yoshida R, Wigmosta M (2017). Simulation of outdoor pond cultures using indoor LED-lighted and temperature-controlled raceway ponds and Phenometrics™ photobioreactors. Algal Research, 21, 178-190.
Olivares J, Unkefer CJ, Sayre RT, Magnuson JK, Anderson DB, Baxter I, Blaby IK, Brown JK, Carleton M, Cattolico R, Dale T, et al. (2017). Review of the algal biology program within the national alliance for advanced biofuels and bioproducts. Algal Research 22, 187-215.
Bagwell CE, Abernathy A, Barnwell R, Milliken CE, Noble PA, Dale T, Beauchesne KR, Moeller PD (2016). Discovery of bioactive metabolites in biofuel microalgae that offer protection against predatory bacteria. Frontiers in Microbiology, 7, article 516, 1-12.
Krishnamurthy M, Hennelly SP, Dale T, Starkenburg SR, Marti-Arbona R, Fox DT, Twary SN, Sanbonmatsu KY, Unkefer CJ (2015). Tunable riboregulator switches for post-transcriptional control of gene expression. ACS Synthetic Biology 4(12), 1326-1334.
Coons JE, Kalb DM, Dale T, Marrone BL (2014). Getting to low-cost algal biofuels: A monograph on conventional and cutting-edge harvesting and extraction technologies. Algal Research 6, 250-270.
Dale T, Fahlman RP, Olejniczak M, Uhlenbeck OC (2009). Specificity of the ribosomal A site for aminoacyl-tRNAs. Nucleic Acids Research 37(4), 1202-10.
Habig JW, Dale T, Bass BL (2007). miRNA editing: we should have inosine this coming. Molecular Cell 25, 792-3.
Dale T, Uhlenbeck OC (2005). Amino acid specificity in translation. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 30(12), 659-65.
Dale T, Uhlenbeck OC (2005). Binding of misacylated tRNAs to the ribosomal A site. RNA 11(11), 1610-5.
Olejniczak M, Dale T, Fahlman, RP, Uhlenbeck OC (2005). Idiosyncratic tuning of tRNAs to achieve uniform ribosome binding. Nat Struct Mol Biol 12(9), 788-93.
Fahlman RP, Dale T, Uhlenbeck OC (2004). Uniform binding of aminoacylated transfer RNAs to the ribosomal A and P sites. Molecular Cell 16(5), 799-805.
Dale T, Sanderson L, Uhlenbeck OC (2004). The affinity of elongation factor Tu for an aminoacyl-tRNA is modulated by the esterified amino acid. Biochemistry 43(20), 6159-66.
Serra MJ, Baird JD, Dale T, Fey BL, Retatagos K, Westhof E (2002). Effects of magnesium ions on the stabilization of RNA oligomers of defined structures. RNA 8(3), 307-23.
Wolfson AD, LaRiviere FJ, Pleiss JA, Dale T, Asahara H, Uhlenbeck OC (2001). tRNA conformity. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 66, 185-93.
Dertinger D, Dale T, Uhlenbeck OC (2001). Modifying the specificity of an RNA backbone contact. J Mol Biol 314(4), 649-54.
Dale T, Smith R, Serra MJ (2000). A test of the model to predict unusually stable RNA hairpin loop stability. RNA 6(4), 608-15.
Giese MR, Betschart K, Dale T, Riley CK, Rowan C, Sprouse KJ, Serra MJ (1998). Stability of RNA hairpins closed by wobble base pairs. Biochemistry 37(4), 1094-100.

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