My primary research involves understanding how DEAD-box proteins, an essential family of RNA-dependent ATPases that are conserved in both sequence and structure, achieve their unique substrate specificity. To that effect, we are investigating the N- and C-termini extensions and binding protein co-factors of a yeast DEAD-box protein that is orthologous to a cancer-implicated DEAD-box protein in humans. My undergraduate researchers and I use a combination of biochemistry, molecular biology, and yeast genetics to tackle our research questions.
Additional research in my lab involves investigating the physiological stress response in both dogs and their humans that live on Eckerd’s campus. Like other projects in my lab, this research involves undergraduate students from experimental design to test for salivary cortisol levels to manuscript preparation.
