“I really love solving biology problems with chemistry which is why I’m attracted to chemical biology. Specifically, discovering novel drug targets and developing novel drugs to treat cancer is really exciting to me. I think a massive limitation of our current drugs is how precisely they can be delivered which is why drug delivery is also exciting to me. Especially things like smart liposomes. They have the ability to reduce toxicity, increase safety and efficacy, and allow protein-based drugs to reach intracellular targets. It exciting to think of a world where powerful drugs have minimal side effects and can treat disease much more aggressively as a result.

I spent a lot of time in a lab where we used alphafold to predict G protein coupled receptor structures. Protein based drugs have so many advantages over small molecules and this insane leap in machine learning tools will surely revolutionize structure based small molecule design as well as design of protein therapeutics.

Finally, I do not know a ton about the immune system, but I’ve spent this spring/ summer taking notes on immunology lectures I found online and it’s very fascinating to me just how sophisticated and complex it is, especially with immunotherapies being all the rage in cancer treatments the last decade. I think nature has created some of the most eloquent solutions to its problems that there is no use reinventing the wheel. If something as complex and effective as the immune system exists, to me it makes more sense to prime/aid the immune system in attacking cancer. Help nature do the heavy lifting rather than doing it ourselves. This idea is really exciting to me, and I would love to work on projects that relate to the immune system but from a chemical biology / med Chem/ drug delivery perspective rather than being in a pure cell bio lab.”

“My research interests lie in answering how environmental exposures may interact with different risk factors such as sex, age, and genetics in the pathogenesis of diseases. I am also interested in exploring the epigenetic and epigenomic changes that occur after environmental exposures. I am partial to inhalational toxicology but am also excited to explore other areas of toxicology.”

“I am interested in understanding the underlying principles of protein engineering and design (PED). My goal is to utilize computational and experimental tools with the understanding of PED principles in developing novel protein-based therapeutics against human diseases.”

“I am interested in the cell-fate decisions stem cells make during development and how we can use this knowledge to aid translational research.”

“I am interested in using molecular genetic approaches to study the proteins and signaling pathways responsible for inheritable conditions and metabolic processes in eukaryotes. I believe that model organisms are an especially valuable tool for investigating these targets thanks to the wide array of molecular genetic tools available.”

“I am interested in studying cells involved in neuro-inflammatory mechanisms and understanding how those cells contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, I am interested in Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and seizure disorders.”

“As a graduate student, I would be interested in working on a project related to the development and application of novel optical imaging platforms. Specifically, I am interested in understanding the relationship between physiological / cellular interactions and disease-states. There are a number of faculty developing high-resolution microscopes (and adjacent technologies, such as molecular biosensors and genetic engineering) to approach neurological questions and cytoskeletal dynamics. Additionally, the expansion of these technologies may expand therapeutic / pharmaceutical efforts in the future.”

“I am interested in studying genetics, specifically epigenetics in cancer and disease. I am specifically interested in endometrial cancer, infertility, and other female diseases. I also have interested in translational medicine.”

“I am primarily interested in the development of cancer therapeutics and identification of relevant biomarkers. I gravitate towards more molecular biology and biochemistry approaches, but I have an interest in learning more about the computational side of this research.”

“My main research interest is in evolutionary and computational biology. I am interested in comprehending the evolutionary forces acting upon individuals that impact genetic diversity. The current scientific scenario is prolific due to the availability of large and complex genetic databases. The growing computational methods using statistics and machine learning allow the extraction of relevant information to have a deeper understanding of evolution. I am finalizing my master’s degree in evolutionary biology using computational methods to understand the dynamics of gene duplications.”