Graduate Student Highlights

CU ��«��Ƶ PhD student Emily Kibby has won the prestigious Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 20:53:13 +0000

CU ��«��Ƶ PhD student Emily Kibby has won the prestigious Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 03/02/2024 - 13:53

CU ��«��Ƶ PhD student Emily Kibby has won the prestigious Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award in recognition of her work researching bacterial immune responses.

Her work recently was recognized with the Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, given by the Fred Hutch Cancer Center to honor outstanding achievement during graduate studies in the biological sciences. Kibby and her fellow winners were chosen for the quality, originality and scientific significance of their research and will be honored at a symposium May 3 in Seattle.

“Emily is highly deserving of the Weintraub award because she is a dedicated scientist whose fearlessness and innovative thinking have allowed her to open new research areas in my lab,” says Aaron Whiteley, a CU ��«��Ƶ assistant professor of biochemistry.

Click here for more details about this award and Emily's exciting work!

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Paving the Way in Research for Diverse Perspectives: Meg Palacio

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 22:20:43 +0000

Paving the Way in Research for Diverse Perspectives: Meg Palacio Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/15/2023 - 15:20

Leading as an Inclusive Researcher

Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion of historically excluded students in STEM has been a large part of my identity and effort throughout my graduate school journey. As a Chicana, I recognize the barriers imposed upon disadvantaged groups and know that I would not be where I am today without the aid of programs that increase support for diverse students in science. I felt a responsibility to give back to the same community that helped me to succeed as a young researcher. So, I have been involved in various outreach and mentoring programs such as the Society for the Advancement of Chicano and Native Americans in STEM (SACNAS), Peer-2-Peer mentoring, Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training Program (SMART), Longmont High School SMART Program, STEM Routes, and the Uplift Program. I also co-founded and was the former chair of the Biochemistry Department’s DEI committee. Outreach work is what can inspire the next generation of scientists and it is critical that we create an inclusive environment for all identities to be able to thrive.

My Research: Biochemistry for Creating New Tools for Human Health

My research focuses on elucidating the role of biomolecular condensates in transcription regulation. Biomolecular condensates are membraneless liquid droplets that possess a high concentration of local proteins and/or nucleic acids. These condensates offer spatiotemporal control of protein function and could be utilized by the cell to regulate processes such as transcription. Specifically, most of my efforts have focused on developing a fluorescent assay to simultaneously visualize in real-time condensate formation and human RNA polymerase II transcription using a defined reconstituted in vitro system. I knew this project was a great fit for my thesis research because it combined researching the regulation of a fundamental process with the development of a new method or tool. Additionally, the implication of biomolecular condensates in coordinating transcription is a relatively new idea and subsequently, there are a lot of available questions that need to be addressed so we can better understand the underlying mechanism. Finally, I also find studying human transcription intriguing. It a complex orchestration of a multitude of proteins and nucleic acids where the precise timing is critical for proper gene expression.

My Life's Journey

Biochemistry truly fascinates me, every organism surrounding us survives because of all these thousands of intricate biochemical interactions. I am inspired by the idea that I could be someone who contributes to understanding how these interactions regulate processes that give rise to life. I chose CU ��«��Ƶ because it felt like an environment where I could succeed. Graduate students here appeared to be genuinely happy. They were working hard in lab and simultaneously enjoying their weekends hiking or spending time with friends. These students were publishing in top journals and still finding time to enjoy life. That dynamic is exactly what I wanted in a program. Additionally, the research in the biochemistry department and the CU community is astounding and the faculty are easy to talk to despite their impressive backgrounds. Plus, who wouldn’t love the Rockies in their backyard?

Meg looks to go above and beyond to provide resources for causes where she's directly plugged in, “I hope to secure additional funding for causes important to me and one of those programs is the Longmont High School SMART Program, an afterschool program in a largely Hispanic community that exposes students to protein structure, function, and modeling.” Download Meg's CU ��«��Ƶ Biochemistry journey.

The Taatjes Lab - BCHM

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A Creative and Community Minded Researcher - Clair Huffine

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 20:57:20 +0000

A Creative and Community Minded Researcher - Clair Huffine Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/26/2023 - 14:57

Clair Huffine is a 2025 PhD candidate in the Cameron Laboratory. She recently won the 2023 Biophysics Supergroup Outstanding Research Presentation Award; is a 2023 P.E.O. SCHOLARS Award applicant; and in 2022 was an NIH/CU Molecular Biophysics trainee and received Honorable Mention for GRFP - the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

A Creative and Community-minded Researcher

Giving back gives me energy. In addition to board service with S.C.O.P.E (Science Community Outreach Program and Education), I co-founded QSci: Queers in STEM in order to build a thriving community for LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty. Additionally, I am a member of P.E.O., a women’s philanthropic organization whose mission is to fund women’s education at all levels, high school to graduate school. With a love for all things green, I spend my weekends backpacking, tending my jungle of houseplants (complete with my “jungle-cat” Kiki), or fly fishing. I also work as a freelance artist, primarily creating digitally painted landscapes or graphic design work for board games. These skills have been transferable to my scientific career with creating compelling scientific figures for my papers and presentations, increasing community engagement with monthly QSci Posters, and crafting memorable and attractive logos for S.C.O.P.E. My portfolio can be found at clairhuffine.com.

Research: Biochemistry for Climate Change

Bacterial cells are often thought of as lacking subcellular organization. However, bacteria do in fact possess both membrane-bound regions as well as, unique from eukaryotes, protein encapsulated regions in order to accomplish incredible biochemical feats. In Dr. Jeffrey Cameron’s lab, I use time lapse fluorescence microscopy to track the redox state inside the carboxysome, which are protein-encapsulated bacterial microcompartments that house the CO2-fixing machinery for cyanobacteria (commonly known as blue-green algae) and allow them to efficiently remove CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it into sugars and biomass. Having always been driven by the plight of climate change, I hope to provide insight into this CO2-capturing mechanism to ultimately offset increasing atmospheric CO2-levels and slow climate change. I plan to pursue a career focused on addressing climate change through applied research and scientific outreach.

My Life's Journey

I grew up in northern Virginia and with a biology and chemistry degree in hand and moving from one mountain range to the next, I began my graduate degree at the ��«��Ƶ the Fall of 2020. I wanted to pursue my graduate degree that held inter- and intra-lab teamwork in science as an ideal. I couldn’t help but notice how collaborative and welcoming the scientific environment at CU ��«��Ƶ was. Students and faculty alike were enthusiastic to share their work, make new interdisciplinary connections, and support their peers in any way possible. I joined through the Interdisciplinary Quantitative (IQ) Biology program, which focuses on crossing disciplinary boundaries, encouraging collaboration, and developing computational skill sets.

Clair has a volunteer mindset about life, “Science does not occur in a vacuum; dissemination of research and engagement of the wider community is essential for scientific progress. As such, I have volunteered time across several organizations to foster connections, act as a scientific liaison, and spark excitement about cutting edge research driving science forward..” Not to mention, when she's not in the lab, Clair is using her creative talents to support interesting graphics for student-led groups she is involved in, as well as creative illustrations for scientific papers. Download Clair's CU ��«��Ƶ Biochemistry journey.

The Cameron Lab - BCHM

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A Blooming Scientist: Emily Kibby

Anonymous — Wed, 31 May 2023 14:51:49 +0000

A Blooming Scientist: Emily Kibby Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/31/2023 - 08:51

Emily Kibby is a 2025 PhD candidate in Biochemistry in the Aaron Whiteley Research Group. She became an NIH Signaling and Cellular Regulation Trainee in 2020 and in 2021 received a Graduate Teaching Award.

A BLOOMING SCIENTIST

It was only in high school that I started to appreciate chemistry and developed an interest in biology. Up until then I thought I might be a writer and most likely an educator - following in the footsteps of my parents. I became fascinated with understanding the molecular mechanisms that serve as the foundation for life. As is true for many people, I would say the mentorship I’ve received (and given) and the people that I have worked with have been really important parts of my development as a scientist.

RESEARCH: WHERE MICROBIOLOGY MEETS BIOCHEMISTRY

I focus on understanding bacterial immune systems, and investigating the many ways that bacteria have to protect themselves from viruses and other threats. I’ve always been fascinated by the diversity of microbes and the interactions in host-pathogen conflicts, so I love working on a system where both the host and the pathogen are microbes! I think I’m always going to be fascinated by the same things that I love now, but that might expand to looking at the immune systems of other organisms like fungi or archaea, and I anticipate that I will also broaden the strategies I use to answer scientific questions. Genetics are and will always be an incredibly powerful tool to answer the types of question I am excited about, but I’m hoping to learn and use other strategies to investigate microbial conflict systems. Emily’s first first-author paper was just published in Cell (Volume 186, Issue 11, P2410-2424.E18, May 25, 2023)!

MY LIFE’S JOURNEY

I chose the CU ��«��Ƶ Department of Biochemistry because I really loved the collaborative and supportive community found in this department - not to mention the excellent shared facilities and science. I arrived at CU ��«��Ƶ as a first-year grad student Fall of 2019 and managed to experience most of the first year in person before we were shut down due to COVID. Professor Aaron Whiteley started his lab in January of 2020 and after initial rotations, I found the Aaron Whiteley Lab was a great fit with my research interests! Mentoring and teaching are in my DNA and early-on I became involved in undergraduate mentoring, tutoring students through the Student Academic Success Center, and volunteering with Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) and the Science Community Outreach Program and Education (SCOPE). Along my journey toward a PhD I’m hoping to learn new skills and strategies for framing, communicating, and investigating exciting scientific questions, and then putting those strategies into practice to do some cool science! Because I have received really helpful mentorship, I wish to continue mentoring others and get other young scientists excited along the way. When I’m not in the lab, I enjoy the many outdoor activities accessible in ��«��Ƶ, playing volleyball, and other group activities that our community is known for! I hope that my career will lead me to an academic environment where teaching is paramount - but never removed from the joy and application of the research.

Emily has an inquisitive mindset about life, “I just love that biochemistry gives a window to better understand the molecular strategies used by us and other organisms to live. “Life” as we think about it is already so incredible, the fact that we can understand it on a molecular level and that we still have so much to learn has always been really exciting to me. I also love that biochemistry has so many applications for making life on this shared planet better for everyone.” Not to mention, when she's not in the lab, Emily is using her teaching mindset to tutor and mentor undergraduate students and provide support to her fellow graduate students. Download Emily's CU ��«��Ƶ Biochemistry journey.

Aaron Whiteley Research Group - BCHM

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A Dedicated Science Champion: Calvin Voong

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 20:47:11 +0000

A Dedicated Science Champion: Calvin Voong Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 04/17/2023 - 14:47

Calvin Voong is a 2024 PhD Candidate in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology in the Goodrich-Kugel Research Group. In 2019 he received a Graduate Teaching Award; in 2021 he received a Department Service Award; and in 2023 was a member of the Graduate Recruiting Team.

LOS ANGELES LEADS TO BOULDER

I grew up in the greater Los Angeles area in a historically underrepresented community, where the expectations were centered on being diligent and working hard – a necessity to make ends meet. During my undergraduate studies, I commuted to Long Beach State University from my family home, which often led me to being on the road around 6am and leaving for home later into the evenings. The combination of long days and familial expectations were mentally and physically challenging for my studies, but I made it! However, when I went to graduate school, I wanted to do things differently; I wanted to focus on creating a healthy lifestyle while being diligent in my studies and scientific endeavors. CU ��«��Ƶ Biochemistry gave me that opportunity and access to world-class facilities, to people who are curious - collaborative – supportive, to advisors who made time for their students, to a great community, and to a healthy outdoor environment.

MOLECULAR CURIOSITY TO SYSTEMS RESEARCH

I have always had an interest in understanding the molecular details and I am excited about drug design and biomolecular tool development. Through my research journey, I have developed an appreciation for the basic sciences – wanting to better understand the molecular details of how a system works - where I can modulate different properties of a particular biomolecular system to learn and explore. My current research path focuses on investigating how a DNA binding protein, HMGB1, navigates the structure of a nucleosome. As an architectural DNA binding protein, HMGB1 can modulate the local chromatin environment to help facilitate the binding of other transcription factors to their cognate DNA binding sites. Previous biochemical assays have shown that HMGB1 interacts with DNA and parts of the nucleosome; however, it is unclear from this set of literature how HMGB1 utilizes these different modes of interactions to help it search for DNA binding sites in the context of chromatin. Hence, to investigate this phenomenon, my research uses single-molecule microscopy to study the binding kinetics of HMGB1 on nucleosomes. Having a better understanding of how HMGB1 navigates the architecture of a nucleosome will allow us to better understand the mechanisms by which HMGB1 helps transcription factors bind to their cognate DNA sequences.

MY JOURNEY

��«��Ƶ has become my home. I am grateful for the opportunities that have allowed me to put all my energy into my academics and research pursuits, I am grateful for the complete support of my advisors and fellow lab members, and I am incredibly grateful that I have been given opportunities to explore my scientific endeavors by allowing my curiosity to lead the way. Being a full-time graduate student without needing to work multiple jobs to get me through my degree has been vital to my growth and success. Additionally, giving back to the community has been important to me, as I have co-created the CU Biochemistry Peer-to-Peer mentoring program to support the first-year graduate students, spearheaded the in-person recruitment process to support our administration, and trained a myriad of up-and-coming scientists to be confident and efficient in what they do. My experience giving back to the CU ��«��Ƶ Biochemistry community has been incredibly fulfilling. Coming from a low socioeconomic background, where many of my peers did not have the opportunities to pursue their academic goals and aspirations due to financial and cultural constraints, I am motivated to give back and support those like me. I am bringing forward ideas, creating opportunities in education for those around me, and encouraging the growth and development of those I work with. The CU ��«��Ƶ Biochemistry program has allowed me to grow, and in turn, allowed me to give back to the very community that fostered my success.

Calvin has a pay-it-forward mindset, “Success, and joy, is fostering education and opportunity for the underserved in scientific fields by building programs that offer paths into biotech or pharmaceutical development careers. I want this to be part of my life’s journey througout my career." Not to mention, when he's not in the lab, Calvin is using his photographic skills in documenting the excitement of science and his fellow graduate students. Follow Calvin's updates at decalvino.com or download Calvin's CU ��«��Ƶ Biochemistry journey.

Goodrich-Kugel Research Group - BCHM decalvino.com

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PhD student, professor win major inclusivity fellowship

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:01:32 +0000

PhD student, professor win major inclusivity fellowship Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/02/2021 - 10:01

Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine

Briana Aboulache and Karolin Luger win Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam fellowship, which looks to build a more inclusive scientific environment

Briana Aboulache, a graduate student at the ��«��Ƶ, and her advisor, Biochemistry Professor Karolin Luger, have won a significant fellowship that aims to advance diversity and inclusion in science.

Aboulache and Luger are among 50 student-advisor duos to win a 2021 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam fellowships, the institute recently announced. The awards are bestowed to graduate students conducting outstanding research and their advisers, and are targeted toward those who are committed to building a more inclusive scientific ecosystem.

Briana Aboulache

For up to three years, each adviser-student pair will receive an annual award totaling $50,000. This year’s fellows’ research includes studying how malaria parasite broods destroy red blood cells and trying to identify the source of pollution behind harmful algal blooms in a river used by the Seneca Nation and other communities.

“I was struck by the scientific maturity of these students,” says David Asai, HHMI’s senior director for science education.

“They’re all doing great science, and they can talk about it in a way that people understand.” What’s more, he adds, their advisers are serious and thoughtful about their role as mentors and their plans to create healthy academic cultures at their universities.

Aboulache is pursuing a PhD in biochemistry and is in her third year in Luger’s lab. She studies how the chromatin remodeling protein SMARCAD1 interacts with nucleosomes during DNA repair, transcription and replication.

Luger said she has always believed that training the next generation of scientists is her most important and primary task.

We should expect to see talented students and scientists from underrepresented groups on college campuses and across all of science."

“One really good way to increase the diversity of scientists at all levels, be that academia, industry or outreach, is a tailored mentoring approach,” she said, adding: “I am so grateful to HHMI for recognizing this need and for providing me with the tools to become a better and more inclusive mentor.”

She said she looks forward to meeting other colleagues and their students to make the scientific endeavor better reflect the general population.

Aboulache said she was “extremely honored” to receive the Gilliam Award. “I am excited to be surrounded by great scientists, leaders and activists aimed at producing cutting-edge research while also increasing diversity in the sciences.”

Aboulache praised Luger as an exemplary role model. “She is an excellent, highly motivated leader who produces remarkable science and also cares deeply about her students and lab members.”

“As I continue to develop and mature as a scientist, I look forward to mentoring students in the lab and the classroom, and hope to one day go into teaching. I plan on instilling the valuable and effective leadership strategies that have helped me develop as a scientist to empower others to succeed,” Aboulache said.

Noting her own work to foster an inclusive environment in science, Aboulache said she hopes to continue creating a work environment “where people take the time to understand each other’s point of view, build trust, and align in a shared mission to perform revolutionary science that is accessible to everyone.”

Karolin Luger

She added: “My goal is to excite future generations about science and empower diverse groups to make meaningful impacts on the world.”

Mentorship is a Gilliam hallmark, says the HHMI, that’s sparking a “cultural shift” on campuses. Since its inception in 2004, HHMI’s Gilliam Program has worked to ensure that students from populations historically excluded and underrepresented in science are prepared to become scientific leaders.

To retain as many of these students as possible in PhD programs, it’s crucial to provide high-quality mentoring, as well as financial support, an inclusive lab environment and a supportive community, Asai says.

In total, the Gilliam Program has now selected 351 fellows, and, from 2015 to 2021, the program has focused heavily on developing academic mentors. To date, the program, in collaboration with the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), has trained 199 mentors on how to create an environment that helps students of all backgrounds feel like they belong—in the lab and in science.

Gilliam advisers participate in a year of mentor development activities that emphasize cultural awareness, including monthly online training and two in-person workshops at HHMI headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Together, the activities teach advisers how to listen and engage across cultures.

By training mentors and supporting the growing Gilliam community, the program aims to make the academic environment inclusive so that students see themselves in science. Eventually, Asai hopes, this will increase the diversity of scientists at the faculty level.

“Diversity in science should be the norm,” he says. “We should expect to see talented students and scientists from underrepresented groups on college campuses and across all of science.”

Members of the Gilliam community also support each other outside of the annual meeting. Fellows regularly celebrate one another’s successes and provide updates on their career journeys on social media.

And since 2017, the program has maintained a listserv where alumni and fellows can ask for career advice and post job opportunities. Even though some have never met in person, members of the community often answer questions and share their experiences.

HHMI created the Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study in honor of the late James H. Gilliam, Jr. A charter trustee of HHMI, Gilliam was a respected business and civic leader who spent his life nurturing excellence and diversity in science and education.

Briana Aboulache and Karolin Luger win Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam fellowship, which looks to build a more inclusive scientific environment

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Dealing with Adversity: Graycen Wheeler

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 19:37:06 +0000

Dealing with Adversity: Graycen Wheeler Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/05/2020 - 13:37

Graycen Wheeler is a 6^th year graduate student in BCHM's Liu Lab. She was initially attracted to CU Biochem by the strong web presence and diversity of research in the department’s labs. During graduate recruitment, “the interview process wasn’t nearly as anxiety-inducing and I felt natural interacting with grad students and prospective advisors.” Graycen joined the department with good grades and plenty of undergraduate research experience, but a couple of challenges along the way quickly taught her that success would require new skills, a little luck, and a lot of persistence.

Finding a Home

For many grad students, the first year of grad school induced a crisis of identity; Graycen and her classmates rotated between labs while establishing professional relationships, brushing up on research skills, and preparing for her written exams, all while taking a rigorous course-load. “A lot of people say being in graduate school is a break from your real life—and it’s not. You have to constantly assess what you’re giving up to stay in school.” Compounding these stressors, at the end of her first year, Graycen received the disappointing news that her first choice for a permanent lab was no longer accepting graduate students. Furthermore, her written exams were scheduled a few short weeks after first-year students join their labs.

Graycen stuck with it, and after “wandering into a microscopy lab,” fell in love with systems biology: “I loved the huge tangled mess of cell-signaling. With microscopy, there’s also lots of programming and image analysis which is always a delight.” Graycen had completed her first two rotations based on her undergraduate experience with structural biology. The opportunity to moonlight in multiple labs with varying research focuses before making a choice was a major draw, even amongst related programs at CU, for Graycen, it paid off. In her new lab, Graycen felt “like a mad scientist from a cartoon looking over my microscope.” She also made new friends, including a lab mate that she now plays tabletop games with: “I found my roommate and some great friends through that game. That’s a great benefit of this program—close ties to other departments.”

Beyond the Bench

It was these friends that Graycen turned to for support when she learned that she had failed her written comp test: “I was playing in a departmental softball league, and we had a game the day I found out that I had failed.” Some of the faculty that had administered her exam were playing, and needless to say, it was the last place she wanted to be. After the game, Graycen decided to hang out with some teammates where she received kind and encouraging words from her peers. “Grad school is hard, no matter what program you choose. There will always be times that it sucks; it felt great to be surrounded by people who reminded me of that.”

Over the intervening years, Graycen has added writer, producer, and podcast host to her CV thanks to her work with CU’s blog Science Buffs. Graycen writes for Science Buffs and is a co-host and co-producer for the Buffs Talk Science podcast: “Science Buffs wanted to start a highly produced podcast a la Radio Lab on NPR, but these would take 6+ months to produce without a big staff. We were working on an idea for a podcast that we could get out in a reasonable time frame.” Graycen takes full advantage of the format: “I get to say, ‘asking on behalf of the non-scientist’ and pretend you’re asking for the regular listeners out there. The podcast is a great chance to talk to people I’d normally be intimidated by in a more informal setting.”

Sharing Science

Graycen has also found that the format has a disarming effect on expert guests: “Everybody is pretty nervous to go on a podcast, so they end up a lot less intimidating; we have professors and other experts over for dinner and discuss their research in a more informal setting. The interviews themselves are also a blast.” Graycen and her co-host have managed to parlay several of their interviews into game nights. Graycen’s favorite stories to tell are about bad scientists: “Our first episode on Buffs Talk Science was on Ryan Zinke, who was a scientist for the Trump administration. He was constantly offering his professional opinion ‘as a geologist’ when he had never worked as a geologist and had only studied geology briefly in college. I like stories with a little bit of controversy, which leaves listeners to formulate their own opinion.”

When she’s not in the lab, working on a new story, or dominating faculty in softball, you might find Graycen mountain biking: “The single tracks in Eerie are great. The prettiest trail I’ve been on was in Bailey, which also happens to be the Bigfoot sighting capital of Colorado.” She also keeps bees, which she inherited from a former classmate who’s now doing patent law in New York. Follow Graycen’s work on Science Buffs and on Twitter @grrriosa.

Liu Lab - BCHM Science Buffs Blog Buffs Talk Science Podcast @grrriosa - Twitter

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RNA and Beyond: Otto Kletzien

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 18:41:06 +0000

RNA and Beyond: Otto Kletzien Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/05/2020 - 12:41

Otto Kletzien likes to stay busy. He’s a Signaling and Cellular Regulation (SCR) fellow, one of approximately 15 in the department, an active participant and former leader of CU ��«��Ƶ’s RNA Club chapter, for which he ran operations and finance, a contributor to the Synthetic Biology Journal Club, and he’s a proud dog dad. Join us to learn more about Otto’s life as a research-focused CU Biochem graduate student.

Discovery and Innovation in RNA Research

Otto’s longstanding interest in RNA research landed him in the right place for pursuing graduate school. Colorado’s celebrated history of RNA research has roots right here at CU ��«��Ƶ. Seminal discoveries include shedding light on the biocatalytic functions of RNA, characterizing enzymes for synthesizing and modifying RNA, and developing novel techniques for the identification of RNA ligands and the chemical synthesis of RNA. Otto hopes to continue this legacy of discovery and innovation through his work on RNA-protein complexes and riboswitches in the Batey lab. “Rob’s [Batey] lab was my first choice. He liked riboswitch work, studying the structure and designing and engineering RNA for specific applications.” It wasn’t just Batey’s research that caught his eye, “I also felt like I fit into the lab environment. We have a similar sense of humor and we have fun.” Batey’s lab also allows for flexibility and autonomy in a largely graduate student-driven environment, and Otto has enjoyed taking project ideas in new directions in collaboration with peers and other faculty both intra- and inter-departmentally.

Day to day, you’ll likely find Otto working in vitro, running electrophoresis gels, or conducting an RNA assay. This means quite of bit of calculation, perfecting bioinformatic pipelines, and optimizing assay panels. His thesis focuses on identifying RNA features that drive affinity for RNA-binding proteins, in order to better understand why they are biologically relevant. “This protein domain that recognizes RNA is very abundant, but poorly understood and I want to figure out more about what sort of RNA features they recognize.” In addition to his graduate thesis, Otto enjoys having the flexibility to explore other areas by contributing to different projects in the lab. As a side project, he’s adding to work that piques his early interests in riboswitches.

Otto’s interest in RNA research has also led him to join and take on a leadership role in the CU ��«��Ƶ RNA Club. The club was founded in the 1980’s and continues to bring together researchers from CU ��«��Ƶ, CU Denver Anschutz, and Colorado State to discuss current RNA research by grad students, post-docs, and faculty. “It was an opportunity for me to stay on top of RNA research, meet others, and make some good friends.” Although Otto has moved on, RNA club still meets bi-monthly and is always looking for new members!

Turning the Research Corner

Otto has been working on expanding his research repertoire by also learning to code. “We [Rob and I] always planned for me to do some bioinformatics training.” Taking advantage of training opportunities to build this skillset proved valuable to Otto’s professional development and opened up new avenues for his lab work. Like many biochemists, Otto didn’t take computer science courses as an undergraduate, so he took advantage of continuing education resources offered by the department. There’s a workshop every summer on next-generation sequencing run by Robin Dowell and Mary Ellen through BioFrontiers for grad students and postdocs: “The ENCODE consortium generates lots of bioinformatics data, so just learning how to use command line and figuring out the basic programs for quality control checks, gathering raw data, finding things that are conserved and filter out background.” Otto’s hands-on experience working with these systems has not only helped him take his research in new directions, but also means a stronger resume, and tools that he will undoubtedly continue to use in the future. “A lot of the labs that make this software don’t make money. They don’t get paid for the software so it’s less likely to be user friendly,” which is why opportunities to learn the fundamentals from experts with institutional knowledge within the department are so critical.

In addition to the summer training program run by Biofrontiers, CU offers myriad resources for graduate students to learn programming and data science skills including a new Compuational Biology Minor that teaches undergraduates to combine computational thinking and algorithms to study biological problems and systems.

Getting into Research

Spending time purifying proteins in a lab as an undergrad was an important skill-building period. Otto also worked in the pharmaceutical industry for a year-long enough to learn how to organize and manage data and to firm up his research interests. This period fomented an interest in higher-level research, initially in bioengineering, which has since led Otto to the groundbreaking research he’s now conducting. Otto recommends getting into a lab, conducting research, and learning how to follow through on a project. Joining a lab as an undergrad set up the skills he uses today. In the Batey lab, Otto says the undergrads he works alongside are involved in every part of the protocol including creating libraries, running activity assays, and contributing to the data pipeline. If you’re an undergraduate interested in getting into a lab of your own, reach out to CU Biochem’s undergraduate program manager.

Batey Lab - BCHM SCR - BCHM Undergrad Research - BCHM IQ Biology - Biofrontiers RNA Club Comp Bio Minor

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Mo Gordon Wins 2020 SRAA Outstanding Poster Award

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 20:20:30 +0000

Mo Gordon Wins 2020 SRAA Outstanding Poster Award Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/06/2020 - 13:20

The Department of Biochemistry

Moshe Gordon, a Biochemistry graduate student in Dr. Joseph Falke's lab has been awarded the SRAA Outstanding Poster Award at the 2020 Biophysical Society Annual Conference in San Diego, California. Moshe presented his poster, titled "Single-Molecule Diffusion Studies of Membrane-bound PDK1-PKC Heterodimers Reveal a Monomee-Dimer Equilibrium with Regulatory Significance," during a graduate student competition and was one of two students selected from the Membrane Structure and Function category.

The Falke lab studies the leading-edge membrane of chemotaxing white blood cells. This highly specialized membrane possesses a sophisticated sensory pathway that enables white blood cells to follow chemical trails to sites of infection, inflammation, and tissue damage. The pathway includes multiple, membrane-bound master kinases responsible for integrating receptor and second messenger signals, ultimately yielding a signal output that controls the direction and speed of cell movement. In this project the lab measures the 2D diffusion, enzyme activities, and protein-protein interactions of single, membrane-bound kinase molecules via single molecule Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence microscopy (smTIRFM). In particular, Moshe's project focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which essential receptor-kinase and kinase-kinase interactions activate and inhibit the sensory pathway, respectively.

Falke Lab Biochem Research Graduate Program

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Graduate Student Highlights

CU ��«����Ƶ PhD student Emily Kibby has won the prestigious Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award

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Paving the Way in Research for Diverse Perspectives: Meg Palacio

Leading as an Inclusive Researcher

My Research: Biochemistry for Creating New Tools for Human Health

My Life's Journey

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A Creative and Community Minded Researcher - Clair Huffine

A Creative and Community-minded Researcher

Research: Biochemistry for Climate Change

My Life's Journey

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A Blooming Scientist: Emily Kibby

A BLOOMING SCIENTIST

RESEARCH: WHERE MICROBIOLOGY MEETS BIOCHEMISTRY

MY LIFE’S JOURNEY

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A Dedicated Science Champion: Calvin Voong

LOS ANGELES LEADS TO BOULDER

MOLECULAR CURIOSITY TO SYSTEMS RESEARCH

MY JOURNEY

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PhD student, professor win major inclusivity fellowship

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Dealing with Adversity: Graycen Wheeler

Finding a Home

Beyond the Bench

Sharing Science

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RNA and Beyond: Otto Kletzien

Discovery and Innovation in RNA Research

Turning the Research Corner

Getting into Research

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Mo Gordon Wins 2020 SRAA Outstanding Poster Award

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CU ��«��Ƶ PhD student Emily Kibby has won the prestigious Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award