Minority Predoctoral Fellowship

I have only recently begun my MD/PhD degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. My experiences in research ranged from a project I performed as an undergraduate at Duke University to the 3 years I spent as a technician at the Rockefeller University. Due to those experiences, my research interest pertain to topics in the fields of biochemistry and cell biology. In particular, the topics of protein characterization and more specifically, structure/function analyses of protein complexes involved in ion transport. My initial goals are to expand our knowledge in those fields through course work in conjunction with research in relevant laboratories. This will enable me to gain the experience and tools to make an informed decision as to what my thesis project should be. To that end, I am enrolled in courses in the fields of biochemistry, genetics, immunology and physiology. Currently, I am rotating the laboratory of Dr. Nancy Carrasco in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology. DR. Carrasco'S laboratory focuses on the characterization of the thyroid sodium/iodide symporter termed NIS. This integral membrane, which has 13 membrane spanning segments, is involved in the uptake of iodide in the thyroid. Mutations in NIS have been linked to diseases that cause the development of an enlarged thyroid gland, which is termed a goiter. Furthermore, this protein is expressed in breast cancer cells. Dr. Carrasco's work on this symporter will not only provide a better understanding of thyroid disease and malignancy but also of ion transporters. It is this types of research that I intend to undertake at Einstein.