While completing an undergraduate degree in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Rhode Island, I have worked in the laboratory of Dr. Niall Howlett investigating the biochemical properties of Fanconi anemia, an inherited bone marrow failure disorder resulting from a defect in a specific DNA repair pathway. I currently investigate the interplay between epigenetic markers and the localization of protein to chromatin in the presence of DNA damage. Utilizing Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and RNA interference techniques, I have gathered data suggesting a key methyltransferase plays a role in FANCD2 localization to chromatin. Through work during the academic year and an INBRE summer fellowship funded by the NIH, I contributed to a research manuscript and conference abstract and presented my findings at a research conference. During my fellowship, I also contributed to a comprehensive review of the recent discoveries in the molecular pathogenesis of Fanconi anemia, serving as first-author.
Concurrently, I have spent my time in the laboratory of Dr. David Nelson manipulating quorum sensing mechanisms in the marine pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus. This project has exposed me to new protocols in molecular genetics and