Current Research
From the Beginning...
In the summer of 2015, I was chosen to participate in the SDSU Keck research program. Dr. Casas and Dr. Maloy hosted the program; they both oversaw our research and development. In this intensive program, I studied global climate change and emerging infectious disease with applications in microbiology, and other interdisciplinary areas. At the end of the program, I presented my independent research findings on cholera toxin in the Tijuana Estuary to professors and students at SDSU.
Starting in fall 2015, I began participating as the youngest research assistant in Dr. Sohl’s cancer research lab. The main focus of my research project in Dr. Sohl’s lab is to illuminate the structural features and catalytic pathway of Isocitrate Dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations related to gliomas and leukemia. Ultimately, these studies will provide necessary tools for identification and drug development. I presented my work on IDH1 at the 2016 SDSU Student Research Symposium and the 2016 ABRCMS in Tampa, Florida. This research was part of a larger project published in the Journal of Biochemistry in May 2017, where I serve as a co-author. By the end of 2016, Dr. Sohl, in recognition of my independent research abilities, worked with me to develop my own project characterizing the endothelium-specific receptor tyrosine kinase Tie2. When mutated, this kinase can cause venous malformations for which no current therapies are available. In this work, I developed a purification strategy using an optimized expression in insect cells and am working on determining the catalytic rates of the kinase and its two most common mutants. I presented the Tie2 research at the 2017 SDSU Undergraduate Research Symposium and the 2017 SDSU Student Research Symposium and won the Undergraduate Research Excellence Award. This research is now published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, where I serve as first-author. With the knowledge gained from these research experiences, I was honored to spend the summer of 2017 at the Mayo Clinic in the lab of Dr. Joseph Loftus through the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). I studied the protein Fn14, the smallest transmembrane Tumor Necrosis Factor receptor family member. When bound to its ligands, Fn14 activates signaling proteins in pathways involved in glioma survival. In this ten week program, I analyzed the possibility of inhibiting STAT5 activation which stimulates the transcription of Fn14. The preliminary results showed that inhibition of STAT5 could only decrease expression of Fn14 by half, suggesting a more complex system at work. At the end of my rotation, I presented my work to Mayo professors and clinicians. These experiences have advanced my critical thinking skills and my tenacity in research, preparing me for a successful graduate school career. My experiences at SDSU and other locations have equipped me to earn a Ph.D. unlocking the many mysteries of enzyme mechanisms. I was motivated to switch my major to biochemistry for the intellectual challenge and the exhilaration of knowing the secrets of our biology. In my career, I seek the same elation and am driven to persevere till I find the place where I belong. I strive to follow in the footsteps of many women scientists before me to continue to open the STEM field to women and other underrepresented communities. I don’t want them to have to face the same experiences I did as a budding scientist. To bridge this gap, I will learn to speak science in a way that everyone can understand and cultivate scientific literacy in the community and beyond. Graduate school at the University of Washington will provide me an avenue to share my passion for chemistry and develop my research skills even further. |