University: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Hometown: Libertyville, IL
NIH Research Project:
Teaching an Old Drug New Tricks: Asparagine Synthetase as a Predictive Biomarker of L-Asparaginase Activity in the NCI60
Mentor: John N. Weinstein, M.D., Ph.D.
Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology
National Cancer Institute
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I consider myself extremely lucky to be a student of biomedical research at a time when science is continually uncovering new horizons toward which to strive and innovative tools with which to get there.
The horizon in my sights is an understanding of stem cells. The study of human embryonic stem cells is less than a decade old and already the field is making amazing strides. The potential of human stem cells seems only to be bound by our lack of understanding, and I intend to aid in unleashing that potential. However, in order to understand these enigmatic cells at a fundamental level, we must be able to make sense of the colossal amount of data which continues to pour in from stem cell research. To this end, I have taken an interest in bioinformatics as a tool to help me take a broad, systems-wide approach, but then ask pointed, testable questions from the available information.
As a proud Badger from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, I work at the University of Wisconsin Hospital with Dr. Aimen Shaaban. Our work focuses on understanding embryonic stem cell derived blood and immune cells towards the goal of safe and effective transplantation.
As a UGSP Scholar at the NIH, I work with Dr. John Weinstein in the Genomics and Bioinformatics Group of the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Weinstein's group utilizes a traditional lab-bench-based approach complemented by a computational approach to developing and improving cancer therapies.
After finishing my senior year at UW-Madison, I plan to pursue a Ph.D., and then go on to live a long and fruitful life delving ever deeper into that great mystery we call nature.
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