Graduate Students Seeking Internships

Profiles

Shivani Garg

Email: garg@iastate.edu

Institution: Iowa State University

Position: PhD student in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology since August 2008

Research Mentor: Dr. Basil Nikolau

Research Title: 3-Ketoacyl ACP Synthase III – Characterization of Novel Biocatalysts for Diversifying FAS/PKS Metabolic Pathways

Project Summary: Development of novel ketoacyl synthases that can utilize different types of substrates and thus can lead to production of diverse array of chemical precursor molecules.

Research Skills: Recombinant DNA technology; Protein expression, optimization and purification; Enzyme assay development; Molecular biology techniques (plasmid/DNA preparation; PCR; restriction digestion; ligation; gel electrophoresis); Protein-ligand interaction studies using STD NMR technique.

Software Expertise: Languages – C; Visual Basic; .Net technologies. Database- MSSQL. Other software- PyMol, ChemDraw.

Summary: I am a biochemist in training at Iowa State and have three years of experience in enzyme engineering and structure-funtion relationship studies. My research focuses on novel biocatalyt development and has equipped me with a skill-set required for carrying out molecular cloning, protein expression, purification, and protein characterization studies.

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Christopher Leber

Email: cleber@uci.edu

Institution: University of California, Irvine

Degree Level: Graduate Student-Thrust 2

Research Mentor: Dr. Nancy Da Silva

Research Title: Development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for the synthesis of short chain fatty acids

Project Summary: Currently investigating the different types of fatty acid synthases found in mammalian, fungal, and bacterial cells. Integrating the bacterial fatty acid biosynthesis genes into the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome. Expressing the active holo form of the mammalian fatty acid synthase in S. cerevisiae.

Research Skills: Cell Culture Techniques- Mammalian, fungal, and bacterial. Experimental Equipment-GC-MS, SEM, PCR, UV Spec, Real-Time PCR, Western Blot, SDS-PAGE, and HPLC.

Software Expertise: Flash, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Premier, and HTML.

Certifications: A+ Certified and Network + Certified

Summary: I am a high-achieving and motivated chemical engineer with an interest in scientific applications that are multi-disciplinary in nature. Currently, at the University of California-Irvine, I am investigating the different types of fatty acid synthases found in mammalian, fungal, and bacterial cells. I have cell culture experience in all three organisms and am proficient in a variety of experimental equipment and procedures.

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Liam Royce

Email: laroyce@iastate.edu

Institution: Iowa State University

Degree Level: Graduate Student-Thrust 2

Research Mentor: Dr. Laura Jarboe

Research Title: Enhancing Tolerance of E. coli for Short-Chain Fatty Acids

Research Summary:

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