Graduate Students

DNA damage recognition, response, and repair

Understanding the structural biology of RNR- Hsp70 complexes.

I am a 2023 NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the Truman Lab. I study the interplay between the Hsp70 chaperone code and metabolism in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae.  If you would like to know more about my work and my journey in higher education check out my website M&STEM

My research involves looking at chemokine interactions with specific receptors, and determining if we can modify these interactions by introducing peptides to inhibit signaling. If successful, we can then alter cell signaling, and most importantly cell migration. These ideas are being tested with breast cancer cells and will be applied to new therapeutic ideas for breast […]

Our lab investigates the relationship between fungi and their endobacterial symbionts. In my project, I screen fungal isolates that are important crop pathogens for the presence of these endohyphal bacteria. Future studies include isolating bacteria from the fungal host and testing changes in pathogenicity in the presence and absence of endohyphal bacteria.