Justin Gregor
I am a fourth-year graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry. In brief, my research project involves the characterization of the epigenetic factor Set4's role in azole drug efficacy in the human fungal pathogen Candida glabrata with the goal of discovering a novel sterol-signaling pathway as well as characterizing novel factors associated with azole drug resistance. This work will ultimately lead to the development of new and/or improved antifungal drug therapies.
Uttara Jayashankar
I am a third-year PhD candidate in the department of Biological Sciences, working in Dr. Andrew Mesecar’s lab. My research focuses on characterizing the activation and inhibition of the 3-chymotrypsin like protease, a promising drug target conserved across multiple coronavirus genera, through structure determination and inhibition with small molecules.
Claudia Evans
I am a second-year graduate student in the Department of Chemistry working in Dr. Betsy Parkinson's lab. My research focuses on diketopiperazines as inducers of Streptomyces natural products. This work will ultimately lead to insight on the mechanisms behind the production of bioactive natural products in Streptomyces.
Christopher Vennard
I am a 3rd year graduate student in the Dept. of Chemistry working in the Sintim Lab. My area of research is antibacterial drug discovery through the disruption of cyclic dinucleotide signaling pathways in bacteria. Recently, I have been working to develop inhibitors for phosphodiesterase proteins present in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Borrelia burgdorferi.
Molly Youse
I'm a third year graduate student in the MCMP department working in Dr. Dan Flaherty's lab. My research focuses on a target-based approach to develop novel inhibitors for the essential N. gonorrhoeae carbonic anhydrase (NgCA). I am repurposing FDA-approved drug scaffolds with potent activity and exploring the structure-activity relationship of these molecules.