BOLIE SCHOLARS

I graduated from George Fox University in the Spring of 2021 with a B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology. As an undergraduate, I worked in the lab of Anthony Paul Barnes at Oregon Health and Science University where I studied murine neocortex development. Directly after graduating, I moved to Colorado to join the Molecular Biology program at CU Anschutz in the Fall of 2021.

As a student in the Molecular Biology Program, I joined the Lab of Dr. Rytis Prekeris where I study the mechanisms of cell polarity during cell migration. Specifically, I have been investigating the process of lamellipodia formation by examining how branched actin polymerization can be spatially and temporarily regulated. I have narrowed my focus to the Rap family of GTPases and understanding how they can be regulated and effect Rho GTPase activity.

Outside of the lab, I enjoy playing disc golf, paddleboarding, playing board games, drinking lots of coffee, and spending time with my wife.

I graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.A. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and a minor in Biochemistry in the fall of 2012. Afterwards, I spent the next 7 years working in various Biomedical research labs studying everything from ion channels to immunology to COPD to breast cancer.

I started graduate school in the Biomedical Science Program in the fall of 2019 and elected to join the Molecular Biology PhD program and the lab of Dr. Olivia Rissland in the spring of 2020. I have since dedicated my time trying to understand the inner workings of 2A peptides, which are short amino acid sequences that cause the ribosome to skip forming a peptide bond while translating, resulting in multiple separate proteins being produced from a single open reading frame. My research has helped to uncovered thousands of new 2A peptide sequences as well as a previously unknown class.

Throughout graduate school I have also involved myself heavily with the student-run science communication organization on campus, Project Bridge Colorado (https://www.cuanschutz.edu/services/project-bridge). I have helped develop, organize and lead multiple science communication efforts including The Science Gong Show, STEM Poster Day at the Capitol and The Science Bridge Podcast.

Outside of graduate school I enjoy spending time with my husband and 2-year-old daughter, eating good food and playing videogames!

I graduated from North Dakota State University in 2019 with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. During my time at NDSU, I worked in the lab of Dr. Nancy Shappell studying how run-off estrogen levels from manure affect local watersheds and factors that influence drug metabolism rates in dairy cattle.

After graduating NDSU, I joined the Biomedical Sciences Program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. From this umbrella program, I chose to matriculate into the Molecular Biology program and joined Dr. Neel Mukherjee’s lab for my PhD. Here I am developing both wet and dry lab skills. I am working on several projects including characterizing the mechanism of target regulation for the RNA binding protein Musashi-2 and using ribosome profiling of stem cell derived beta cells to identify novel peptide products that could be triggering an autoimmune response.

Outside of lab, I enjoy gardening, hiking, and spending time with my two cats, dog, and baby girl.