University: Skidmore College
Hometown: Jackson Heights, NY
NIH Research Project:
Role of DJ-1 in Cell Death Signaling Pathways
Mentor: Mark R. Cookson, Ph.D.
Laboratory of Neurogenetics
National Institute on Aging
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Since I was a child, I possessed a natural attraction towards the sciences. I always kept busy wondering about the natural world, and I dreamed about a future spent uncovering the many mysteries that surround life. Unfortunately, I had to leave my native Colombia in order to search for better economic and academic opportunities. I did not speak English and was already in high school, but with hard work, a positive attitude, patience, and some luck, I finished high school and began college.
I am currently a junior at Skidmore College studying neuroscience and chemistry. Since my freshman year, I have conducted research under the mentorship of Dr. Marc Tetel. Dr Tetel's lab focuses on how the ovarian steroid hormones, estradiol and progesterone, act in the brain to regulate reproductive behavior and physiology. The lab has been investigating nuclear receptor coactivators, which are proteins that dramatically enhance steroid receptor-mediated transactivation of genes. My ongoing project is to investigate the role of nuclear receptor coactivators in puberty and in the development of sexual behavior in hamsters.
As a UGSP Scholar, I am working with Dr. Mark Cookson in the Laboratory of Neurogenetics at the National Institute of Aging. I am studying the function of DJ-1, which is a gene that seems to protect neurons from damage caused by oxidative stress. It is known that a mutation in this gene causes a familial form of Parkinson's disease. I am investigating how DJ-1 protects cells under oxidizing conditions by characterizing possible interactions of this gene with pro-cell death molecules.
After graduating, I plan to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. and advance the knowledge of neurodegenerative diseases. |
