Bio
I always knew that I was going to earn a degree from ISU, my only question was which one. Thankfully, I met with Dr. Beitz and chose biochemistry. The biochemistry program and people within the department are truly something special. While I did not start out being a member of Stupka, I am quite glad I joined. During my time at ISU, I worked in Dr. Eric Underbakke’s laboratory on characterizing neuronal nitric oxide synthase’s movement from an inactive to active conformation. All of the hours spent in his lab helped tremendously increasing my knowledge as a scientist and in being comfortable in the lab setting.
Currently, I am a fourth year PhD candidate in Dr. Shannon Buckley’s laboratory at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The focus of the lab is on how dysregulation of the ubiquitin proteasome system, one of the cell’s main protein recycling systems, can lead to leukemias or lymphomas. In my study on the E3 ubiquitin ligase UBR5, we have proven a novel role of UBR5 involvement within mRNA splicing and I am trying to figure out this role in the context of lymphoma. My advice to current ISU biochemists, keep with Stupka, ask questions, and enjoy your adventure at ISU.