T32 AWARDEES

Undergraduate: BS, Genomics and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, 2021

Research: Investigating the role of Vgll3 as a transcriptional regulator in embryonic hindbrain cell fate pathways

Lab: Charles Sagerstrom

Undergraduate: BS, Biochemistry, University of Arizona, 2019

Research: Investigating the oxidized low density lipoprotein mediated decrease in liver lymphatic capillary permeability that results from chronic liver disease progression.

Lab: Matthew Burchill

Undergraduate: BA, Molecular Biology, Pomona College, 2018

Research: Development of novel molecular techniques to detect and characterize vaccine persistence within the mammalian lymph node.

Lab: Jay Hesselberth & Beth Tamburini

Undergraduate: BS, Neuroscience, Univ of Minnesota Twin Cities, 2021

Research: Steroid hormone regulation of RNA Polymerase III and tRNA transcription

Lab: Carol Sartorius

Undergraduate:  Metropolitan State University of Denver, 2018, BS Biology

Research: My research is focused on resolving the molecular mechanisms that govern gammaherpesvirus infection outcomes in macrophage cells.

Lab: Linda Van Dyk

Undergraduate: BS, Molecular Biology, University of Denver, 2016

Research: Uncovering how the regulation of syntaphilin contributes towards mitochondrial dynamics.

Lab: Cecilia Caino

Undergrad: B.S. Bioengineering

Research:  In the Johnson lab, we are investigating the impact of post-transcriptional modifications on the biology of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Historically, the regulatory role of lncRNAs has been underexplored, but recent research has highlighted their involvement in gene dysregulation through epigenomic modifications. My project focuses on specific N6-methyladenosine (m6A) sites on the lncRNA HOTAIR and their influence on anti-tumor gene dysregulation, leading to accelerated growth and increased metastasis in triple-negative breast cancers. We aim to elucidate how these m6A sites alter the chromatin landscape of these critical genes. This research can provide a future biomarker for these more aggressive cancers as well as a therapeutic target.

Lab: Aaron Johnson

Undergrad: BS, Molecular Biology, Colorado College, 2019

Research:  Translation regulation in cancer metastasis

Lab: Neel Mukherjee & Heide Ford

Undergraduate:  BS, Biology, University of California, San Diego, 2018

Research: I am studying the mechanisms of nutrient sensitive mRNA localization, specifically how ribosomal protein mRNAs are localized on the apicobasal axis of enterocytes in response to patterns of feeding and starvation. 

Lab: Matt Taliaferro

Undergraduate:  BS, Biology, Stony Brook, 2016

Research: Defining the principles of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) of localized transcripts.

Lab: Sujatha Jagannathan

Undergraduate: BA, Biology, Hendrix College, 2016

Research: Determining the mechanisms of cell cycle oscillations of polycomb silencing.

Lab: Srinivas Ramachandran

Undergraduate: BS, Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, 2022

Research: Investigating the molecular mechanisms of genome instability and evolution in S. cerevisiae. 

Lab: Lydia Heasley

Undergraduate: BS, Cell & Molecular Biology, Western Washington University, 2019

Research: Uncovering the mechanism of mother centriole uncapping defects in trisomy 21.

Lab: Chad Pearson

Undergraduate: BS, Microbiology, University of Alabama, 2022

Research: I am studying the gene expression changes that mediate cellular activity downstream of PDGFRα and PDGFRβ signaling within the context of craniofacial development.

Lab: Katie Fantauzzo

Undergraduate: BS, Biology, Quest University Canada, 2017; MS, Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Hawaii Manoa, 2021

Research: Investigating the effect of polyglutamylation on microtubule severing during midbody abscission

Lab: Rytis Prekeris