University: North Carolina State University
Hometown: Aulander, NC
NIH Research Project:
Toxicty of Parkinson's-associated Chemicals on Neuronal Cells Following Induction of PINK1
Mentor: Andrew B. Singleton, Ph.D.
Laboratory of Neurogenetics
National Institute on Aging
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As a child, I spent many summers in the company of my grandparents. During one of those summers, however, my grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. I watched as his life changed. So began my interest in helping people through scientific research. Because of this experience, my research interest lies in the area of neurodegenerative disorders.
Currently, I am going into my fourth year at North Carolina State University. I am majoring in biology and structural and molecular biochemistry with minors in biotechnology, genetics, and Spanish. At NCSU, I work with Dr. Patricia Estes on central nervous system development, specifically of the midline of the CNS in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.
As a UGSP Scholar, I am training under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Singleton and Dr. Mark Cookson in the Cell Biology and Gene Expression Unit of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics within the National Institute on Aging. During the previous summer, my project involved exploring transcriptional responses involving DJ-1 and PINK1, genes whose mutations are known to cause familial Parkinson's disease.
This summer, I am working on examining the role of PINK1 in the PTEN/Akt pathway by exposing cells to various drug treatments and examining toxicity and transcriptional responses associated with these treatments.
Upon graduation from NC State, I plan to enter an M.D./Ph.D. program in neuroscience
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