Welcome to Assistant Professor Adelita Mendoza, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Adelita Mendoza, Ph.D.
The CU «Ƶ Department of Biochemistry is welcoming Assistant Professor Adelita Mendoza, Ph.D. on January 6, 2025. Adelita is joining us following her role as a Postdoc Research Associate in Dr. Kerry Kornfeld’s Lab and the Abhinav Diwan Lab at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. As a former student of the University of Colorado at «Ƶ, she is excited to return to CU and has provided insight into the planned research in the Mendoza Lab and why this return is appropriate now!
What are you most looking forward to as you head back to CU «Ƶ as an assistant professor?
Coming back to CU «Ƶ as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry is amazing because I will start my lab in a wonderful department with outstanding colleagues. I am excited to experience all of the “firsts” of the Mendoza lab, and to build my research group with talented and creative people. I am ready to integrate my lab into the CU community and start making groundbreaking discoveries!
Give us thoughts on your post-doctoral experience at Washington University in St. Louis and how this will support your work at CU «Ƶ.
My research experience at Washington University has been challenging and rewarding! During my time as a post-doc in the Kornfeld and Diwan labs we discovered that lysosomes contain a compartment that responds to zinc perturbations in the model organism C. elegans. We think this compartment functions to allow lysosomes to perform their traditional functions while also conducting zinc metabolic activities. This sheds new light on what lysosomes can do- we already knew they were multi-functional, but now we can add zinc metabolic function. Furthermore, the response to zinc dyshomeostasis requires an interesting morphological change of the organelle, where lysosomes can contain a contracted or an expanded expansion compartment to support zinc storage. This finding also allows us to consider lysosomes as shape-shifting organelles and the shape change is necessary to respond to zinc dyshomeostasis.
My lysosome studies will be the bedrock for the start of the Mendoza lab and will allow us to ask questions about how this expansion compartment forms and how it is able to manage zinc trafficking. Being a member of the Department of Biochemistry will allow me to ask new exciting questions through availability of new resources and collaborations!
Please provide any details of your experience as a CU «Ƶ alumna that enhances your new role - or simply provides additional details of why «Ƶ is important in your career.
My return to CU presents a unique opportunity because I have experienced the university as a student and will (soon!) as a faculty member. I think that my history positions me to integrate into the culture of CU «Ƶ more effectively and this will allow me start strong. I am looking forward to serving students and helping them achieve their own goals. When I was a student, I had a community of mentors supporting me. That model always stuck with me throughout my training, and I will implement it in my job. There were many programs that helped me along when I was an undergraduate that I look forward to giving back to including the MASP, HHMI, and McNair Scholars Programs. I would love to recruit these hard-working students from these programs to work in my lab!