Kirschner Lab

Current work in the lab

I am currently working with Yifat Merbl using a mouse model of melanoma cancer to study the effects of certain genetic maipulations on tumor initiation and growth.

I am currently in charge of lab safety and organization. I also help people with various projects, such as cell culture, cloning, and assay development. I also do small mechanical and electronics repairs for the lab on various instruments. I also handle ordering and plasmid or antibody requests for the lab. I am also in charge of maintaining the Kirschner lab website.

Education

• PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from University of California at San Francisco (1999-2005)
  • Studied the role of cytoplasmic protein motifs (PDZ ligands) in the membrane recycling of G-protein coupled receptors.
  • Published papers on membrane trafficking.
• BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Penn State University (1995-1999)
  • Honors in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Minors in Chemistry and Microbiology
• US Navy Nuclear Power Program (1988-1994)
• Trained nuclear power plant operator
• Trained Electronics Technician
• Instructor for 1.5 years
• Supervisor for up to 15 people

Hobbies

I enjoy rock-climbing, hiking, swimming, and travelling. I also enjoy reading, watching movies, video games, and maintining vintage computers. One big hobby that now takes most of my time is to help raise two small children, Rohan and Uma.