Dr. Brian Strahl and his team at UNC Chapel Hill are researching the hypothesis that, just like DNA, the proteins that organize and help replicate genes within the nucleus of the cell also function as a “code.”  For my externship, I will be working alongside postdocs and graduate students to help isolate proteins from within bacteria cells and then study how these proteins interact with enzymes and other proteins within the cell.  Since these proteins play such an important role in DNA replication, understanding how they work may help us understand why unregulated cell growth occurs, and how we can combat cancer.