Hometown
I grew up in Sandusky, Ohio; it is about an hour or so west of Cleveland
Undergraduate College/University
I attended Case Western Reserve University for my undergraduate career
Undergraduate major
I majored in Biochemistry, and I earned two minors in German and Russian languages.
Research Interests
In the Mieyal lab I am currently trying to isolate the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) 1B using novel hemaglutanin (HA) tagged matrix-affinity antibody beads and characterize the relationship of PTP1B with S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) and the overarching enzyme glutaredoxin—an enzyme active during periods of high oxidative stress in the cell. The cysteinyl-moiety is modified through either nitrosylation or glutathionylation in the presence of GSNO, and this modification inactivates PTP1B. We hope to use the isolated PTP1B collected from HA-tagged antibodies and radiolabeled amounts of GSNO to quantify nitrosylation or glutathionylation in the glutaredoxin system. I am also working on cloning the mammalian expression PJ3H vector—a plasmid which produces PTP1B and the HA fusion tag in tandem—into a bacterial expression vector in order to facilitate expedient production of the PTP1B protein in high amounts.
Commonly used lab techniques
Gel electrophoresis, Western blotting, enzymatic assays, DNA isolation techniques, and various cloning techniques such as ligation and bacterial transformation.
Why I chose Case Western Reserve University
Since I attended Case for my undergraduate studies, I was already familiar with its excellent reputation as a superb research and teaching institution, and the decision to attend Case to pursue my graduate studies was a relatively easy one given what I already knew about Case.
Where I see myself in the future
I see myself either in the pharmaceutical industry developing anti-cancer or anti-viral drugs or teaching and doing research in a university setting. I also have a strong desire to become a physician in either the oncology or pathology setting to expand on my pharmacological studies, and so I may attend medical school in the years after I have earned my doctoral degree.
Hobbies and outside interests
I like to bike, play video games, blog, and read both fiction and nonfiction novels. In addition to those activities, I have an intense interest and love for languages, and I practice and keep up with them whenever I can.
Final Thoughts
“True science teaches us to doubt and, in ignorance, to refrain.” -Claude Bernard