I have always been curious about the natural world. As a child, I would ask my parents why wood burns instead of melting or why the sky was blue. Mrs. Hardtke, my first high school science teacher, asked us on the first day of class to venture outside and ask questions about everything we saw. She refined and cultivated my inquisition, leading me to realize that through studying science, I could answer the questions I so often encountered about the world. Throughout my time at the University of Washington, it was difficult to find an equally inspirational mentor like Ms. Hardtke in a Chemistry department so devoid of female leadership, regardless, I found myself motivated by this inequality. In addition, I discovered strength in the possibility …show more content…
Nelson’s lab, I am a member of the Order of Omega Honors Society and the Vice President of Phi Lambda Upsilon the Chemistry Honors Society (PLU). Through PLU, I volunteer at the Seattle World School, inspiring students by bringing science demos to their classrooms and answering questions about the overall college experience. Furthermore, I organize faculty talks directed at undergraduate students, including topics ranging from publicizing undergraduate research, to industry versus academia careers post-graduation. More recently I began working for the Department of Chemistry at UW, testing undergraduate organic chemistry experiments before deemed appropriate for the …show more content…
Most specifically aligned with my research interests at Yale is the work being done by Dr. Anna Pyle on RNA, specifically, how the biopolymer’s folding patterns and the resulting structure effect function. Although I don’t have research experience with biological macromolecules, my experience with synthetic macromolecules will help to contribute to my success, based upon an overall understanding of large, multiple component systems, in which each component has a unique effect on folding and resulting activity or properties. Using the same reasoning, I would provide an interesting perspective and set of technical skills to the research being done by Dr. Scott Strobel, also working towards understanding RNA, specifically riboswitches. Lastly, although slightly deviating from my current research experience, the work being done by Dr. Jonathan Ellman on enzyme inhibition in the treatment of disease recently became an interest of mine after learning about novel inhibitory cancer therapeutics in my biochemistry