University: University of Washington
Hometown: Redmond, WA
NIH Research Project:
Varying Levels of JCV Infection during Differentiation of Primary Human Progenitor-derived Oligodendrocytes
Mentor: Eugene O. Major, Ph.D.
Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Neuroscience
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
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I've always been fascinated by the human mind, especially my own. This led me to major in neurobiology and biochemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle. I loved learning about the underpinnings of thought and behavior in a field that was generating more information every year. I wanted to be part of that enterprise and combine my interest in neuroscience and biochemistry to understand neuro-degeneration in biomedical research. After I graduate, I hope to get an M.D./Ph.D. and conduct research on Alzheimer's disease.
My recent experience with undergraduate research affirmed that the research laboratory is where I am meant to be. I work in the ideal place to learn about the path toward an M.D./Ph.D. - a neuropathology lab at Harborview Medical Center where I train with Dr. Thomas Montine and Dr. Randall Woltjer, both of whom are M.D./Ph.D.s. My project compares protein insolubility between two neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease and the Parkinsonism dementia complex of Guam.
This summer I am looking at JC virus infection during differentiation from progenitor cells to oligodendrocytes in the laboratory of Dr. Eugene Major at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The JC virus lytically infects oligodendrocytes, causing the fatal demyelination of neurons in the disease Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML).
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