Meet the Graduates

I am a student in the M.D./Ph.D. program at MUSC and a part of the College of Medicine and the College of Graduate Studies. My future research will focus on cell signaling crosstalk between retinoic acid and TGFb signaling pathways in cardiac development. I am currently taking medical school classes in preparation for the Step 1 US Medical Licensing Exam in the spring.

My job duties will vary greatly each day and depend on the progress of the center. I am currently working on research involving a protein known as the sodium hydrogen exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1) and its impact on non-small cell lung cancer. The types of experiments I have been using since I started include cell proliferation, migration, adhesion and stress fiber formation.

My thesis project is investigating habitat selection, diet, and movements of coyotes at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

As a graduate student, I study the physiological and behavioral aspects of trematode infection in fish. This has ranged from determining induced oxidative stress in the liver tissue of infected fish to shoaling, or social living, as a behavioral "> avoidance strategy to these non-contagious, mobile parasites. To accomplish this, I devise experiments in both the lab and field, with the aid of extensive literature review.