My project mentor is Dr. Brian Strahl, who is a Principal Investigator in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the UNC School of Medicine. His main project right now is to catalogue the interactions of a library of peptides with the proteins already present on the tails of histones. This is no small feat, to be sure. While I’m here, I am attempting to see if there are peptide interactions with the proteins orca and orc1BAH275. It’s only a small piece of the larger project, but I’m still contributing to the larger work of the lab.
Another benefit that I’m hoping for is to work with a postdoc in the lab, Erin Shanle, to develop her curriculum for Biology 101. She will be teaching the course this coming fall and is looking for engaging activities and material. Seeing as I teach AP Biology, which is essentially the same as Biology 101, I should be able to provide some insight regarding her course.
Lastly, I am hoping to establish a long-term relationship with the Strahl lab. Whether it’s inviting Dr. Strahl in as a guest speaker, or establishing a summer intern program with students from DSA, I am hoping that our mentor-mentee connection continues to be beneficial for the lab, me, and my students.