Ross Lab

Good Luck Kathryn!

This week the lab says goodbye to member Kathryn Eckert. Kathryn, a senior Biology and Community Health major at Tufts University, was a 2012 CNUP Summer Research Program fellowship recipient. As one of thirteen undergraduate student recipients, Kathryn chose Ross Lab to gain great experience and conduct independent research. We thank Kathryn for her contributions to pain and itch research and were glad to have her with us! Best of luck Kathryn!

Over the last 10-weeks, Kathryn engaged in two research projects. The first project involved testing the involvement of kappa opioids in the regulation of itch, and Kathryn mastered doing some behavioral experiments in mice. The second project stemmed from an observation Kathryn made while in the lab. She discovered that residues that are phosphorylated on Olig1 are conserved on Bhlhb5. This similarity suggested that Bhlhb5 might be likewise regulated by phosphorylation, and Kathryn designed and executed experiments to test this hypothesis using site-directed mutagenesis and immunohistochemistry. Way to go Kathryn!

Kathryn hard at work.

As a fellowship recipient, Kathryn was awarded a $3,500 stipend from the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh to participate in 10-weeks of intensive and challenging laboratory-based research. More information about this program, as well as how to apply, can be found at: CNUP Summer Research Program

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