Bio
Luke Helgeson graduated from Iowa State University in 2009 with a B.S. in Biochemistry. During his time at ISU, he performed undergraduate research in the laboratory of Dr. Gaya Amarasinghe, where he helped to determine the structure of an Ebola protein domain using x-ray crystallography. Luke was active with the BBMB Undergraduate Club during his 4 years at ISU including: serving as President, running and organizing multiple Stupka Undergraduate Research Symposia, as well as flipping countless pancakes for the monthly Breakfast Club. He was the recipient of the 2009 Robert Stupka Memorial Scholarship. After graduating from ISU, Luke continued his training in biochemistry; completing his doctoral studies at the University of Oregon under the mentorship of Dr. Brad Nolen. While in the Nolen Lab, he published multiple articles on the regulation of branched actin nucleation. Luke was the 2014 recipient of the Pete von Hippel Award as an outstanding Senior PhD student. Upon receiving his doctoral degree in 2014, Luke remained in the Pacific Northwest, joining the laboratory of Dr. Trisha Davis at the University of Washington as a postdoctoral fellow. At the University of Washington, Luke researches the mechanisms of how kinetochore microtubule attachments are strengthened and maintained during chromosome segregation.