Bio:
I grew up in Hillsboro Oregon, a suburb of Portland.
I am very close to my family(my parents and my sister). My interest
in science came at an early age, from the age of three I had always
wanted to be a doctor, although the type varied over the years from
veterinarian to geneticist. I remember shocking my seventh grade science
teacher when she asked what I wanted to be when I grew up and I replied
a cardiothoracic surgeon. During my sophomore year of undergraduate
studies at Eastern Oregon University, I was taking comparative anatomy
and one day had the great epiphany that I didn’t want to “cut
people up” for the rest of my life. So with a change of major,
I went from Pre-med to chemistry. Then as I began to do undergraduate
research, I decided that biochemistry was the way to go. So, now here
I am trying to become a doctor, just not the kind that “cuts
people up”.
Why UNL?
Almost every time I tell someone where I’m
from they ask me “Why are you at UNL?” The answer to that
is complicated. It all started when I was looking for a grad school
and decided a good starting point was universities that my professors
had attended. My physical chemistry professor (Jeff Woodford) had
received his Ph.D. from UNL and suggested that I look into it. So
to make a long story short, a few applications and a two day drive
later, here I am.
Current Project:
Currently, I am a member of two research groups,
Dr. Parkhurst and Dr. James Van Etten (Plant Pathology). I am studying
the TATA binding protein and other transcription factors from Paramecium
Bursaria Chlorella Virus-1. The virus infects blue green algae and
is one of the largest known. I hope to soon have the basic binding
of the protein characterized. Once this is accomplished I will say
and fond farewell to the Plant Pathology department and East campus
to return to Hamilton hall to begin more advanced studies of these
proteins.
