Jessica C
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at Vanderbilt University

Expertise

Biochemistry, microbiology, drug development

Bio

Hi! I am a PhD candidate in Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. I started my research career as an undergraduate at Indiana University where I studied protein dynamics on a superfast timescale (think 10X faster than the shutterspeed of a camera!). My graduate studies focus on characterizing the interactions between a new class of antibacterials and the bacterial type II topoisomerases, which are the enzymes that untwist, untangle, and unknot DNA during replication and transcription. In my free time, you can find me wrangling my overexcited puppy (her name is Indy), meeting my friends at Jeni's ice cream (their Brown Butter Almond Brittle is delicious), or drinking too much iced coffee (but I don't think such a thing is *actually* possible). I am enthusiastic about helping you investigate and curate your scientific interests, and I can't wait to work together.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Mechanisms of Antibacterial Resistance

In this project, you will select a drug-resistant infection and investigate the mechanisms by which resistance develops. Then, you will analyze current therapeutic treatment options and propose methods based on current research strategies to identify new therapies to overcome resistance. This project will culminate in a research style review.

Teaching experience

As an undergraduate, I served as teaching assistant for genetics for 2 semesters and for bioanalytical chemistry laboratory for 1 semester. Currently, I mentor an undergraduate student in my graduate laboratory.

Credentials

Work experience

Roche Diagnostics (2017 - 2018)

Analytical Chemistry Summer Intern

Education

Indiana University at Bloomington

BS Bachelor of Science (2019)

Biochemistry

Vanderbilt University

PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate