Year you started the Neuroscience Program: 2004

Why you chose the UC Denver Neuroscience Program: During interviews, I was very impressed with the new research facilities at Anschutz Medical Campus. The collaborative nature of the interactions amongst faculty and current students was also a huge selling point. Professors are excited about their research here and strive to foster the same excitement in their students.

What labs you rotated in: Curt Freed, MD., Manisha Patel, PhD., Leslie Krushel, PhD.

What lab you joined and why: Leslie Krushel, PhD. I enjoyed the lab environment, the mentorship, and the relative novelty of my thesis project. The lab participates in Translation Club with 7 other labs (who, like the Krushel lab, work on protein synthesis at the level of translation regulation) where we discuss research happening in our labs and draw upon each other’s experience to troubleshoot experimental problems and come up with new avenues for our research.

Short description of your project: I study the mechanisms for translation initiation of Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) mRNA. Increased expression of APP and its cleavage by beta- and gamma-secretases into an insoluble 40-42 amino acid Amyloid Beta (A-Beta) peptide is thought to contribute to Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Thus, regulating APP protein expression levels may be one approach to ameliorate the disease. To this end, previous studies have focused on transcriptional regulation of the APP gene, but little is known about the control of APP synthesis via translational regulation. My research examines this.

Where you attended undergrad and what your major/minor(s) were: Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, class of 2003. I also studied abroad in Paris, France, for one year.

What you did (if anything) between undergrad and grad school: I worked as a technician at the Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, in a neuroendocrinology lab. I also worked as a data analyst at a cognitive science start-up company in Hadley, Massachusetts.

Other school affiliated activities/clubs you are involved in: Graduate Student Council President (2007-8), Senator for the Graduate School at school-wide Student Senate, Relations Manager of the Alternatives in Science Club, Past social chair for neuroscience program recruitment, Basic Neuroscience Advanced Training (BNAT) Club member, Organizer for Translation Club (2006-7), Core Class Revision Student Committee member (2007-8), Neuroscience Retreat Planning Committee (2007-8) and student host for keynote speaker.

What you like to do outside of school: I salsa dance pretty regularly (Denver has a great salsa scene), do pilates and yoga, hang out with my dog, learn languages, and practice speaking French by participating in Denver's large and numerous Francophone organizations/social groups. In the past, I have played intramural community softball and intramural floor hockey. I also like SKIING, rollerblading, swing dancing, hiking, and the occasional outdoorsy-Colorado-type-stuff.