BOLIE SCHOLARS
Bolie Family Endowment for the Molecular Biology Graduate Program
In 2012, the Bolie Family established the Victor W. and Earleen Bolie Graduate Scholarship fund, which is dedicated to pre-doctoral training in the Molecular Biology Graduate Program. This generous endowment enables our program to fund training activities
that enhance the scientific and professional development of our trainees. Each year we use the Bolie Graduate Scholarship funds to fund:
Bolie Travel Award. Each trainee in Molecular Biology Graduate Program receives one of these awards during their pre-doctoral training, which enables them to travel to national or international conferences and present their work.
Bolie Mini-Sabbatical. The Bolie Mini-Sabbatical enables pre-doctoral trainees to travel for 1-2 weeks to a laboratory outside University of Colorado to learn new techniques and experimental approaches that expand their training beyond the expertise of their thesis laboratory.
Bolie Scholar Award. Each year, three Bolie Scholar Awards are given to outstanding senior pre-doctoral trainees in recognition of their scientific and educational contributions.
Meet the Bolie Scholars for 2023-2024!
I graduated from Colorado State University in 2015 with two simultaneous Bachelor of Science degrees: one in Microbiology and the other in Biomedical Sciences. I discovered my passion for science during undergrad while working in the lab of Dr. Mary Jackson, studying the cell envelope of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. I continued to explore and refine my research interests after graduation while working in industry, gaining experience at both a high-throughput molecular biology production laboratory and a synthetic biology startup.
I chose to pursue my long-standing interest in microbial physiology and metabolism during graduate school. Under the guidance of Dr. Andrés Vázquez-Torres, I have focused my research on understanding the role of arginine metabolism in Salmonella pathogenesis and response to oxidative stress. Excitingly, my recent findings have revealed that arginine metabolism is a previously unknown determinant of virulence that contributes to the antioxidant defenses of Salmonella by preserving pH homeostasis during oxidative stress. Currently, I am actively working to further develop these observations by investigating which arginine catabolism pathways in Salmonella may be important for maintaining pH homeostasis during oxidative stress.
In my free time, I enjoy hiking and backpacking, taking care of my houseplants and garden, spending time with my cats and partner, and playing percussion in the CU Anschutz Orchestra.
Luuli earned her B.S. in Neuroscience from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Following her undergraduate education, she worked as a research associate in the lab of Dr. Dan Tracey at Indiana University, where she studied the neurobiology and genetics of nociception, or pain signaling, using Drosophila. In 2019, Luuli entered the Molecular Biology PhD program at the University of Colorado- Anschutz Medical Campus and joined the lab of Dr. Santos Franco. Currently, Luuli studies cell fate specification in the developing brain using mouse models. Specifically, she is interested in understanding the signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms that instruct neural stem cells to produce glial cells called oligodendrocytes. Luuli is an active member of the SACNAS CU Anschutz Chapter, where she has helped develop and implement a summer science program for high school students interested in pursuing STEM careers. Outside of lab, she loves doing all of the outdoorsy Colorado things like hiking and camping. She also loves to cook. Luuli identifies as Southeast Asian American and Vietnamese.
I graduated from the University of North Carolina Asheville in 2014 with a degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology before becoming a professional research assistant in the lab of Dr. Sarah Goetz at Duke University, studying primary ciliogenesis (2015-2018). It was here that my love for science and discovery was ignited.
As a student in the Molecular Biology program, I am under the mentorship of Dr. Olivia Rissland. I study how synonymous codon usage impacts post-transcriptional gene expression and have discovered a new regulatory pathway by which the translation of nonoptimal codons inhibits further translation initiation. I am currently determining if this pathway is distinct to nonoptimal codons or ubiquitous across other types of translational slowdowns.
Outside of research, I love hanging out with friends and my partner, puzzling, listening to podcasts, thrifting, volunteering every week with cats at the local animal shelter (if you want to adopt, go to Dumb Friends League!), playing DnD, and getting out in nature.
Former Bolie Scholars
Name | Research Interest | Bolie Scholar Award Year |
| Katie Hoff | The impact of TUBA1A Tubulinopathy mutations on the regulation of microtubule dynamics. | 2022 |
| Arely Diaz | RNA-binding protein function in fat metabolism using Drosophila melanogaster | 2022 |
| Juila Ceglowski | TTLL12 Regulates Tubulin and Ciliogenesis in Polarized Epithelia | 2022 |
| Rachel Jones | Structure and evolution of a distinct class of exoribonuclease-resistant RNA (xrRNA) structures found in Flaviviruses. | 2021 |
| Linnea Wethekam | Understanding how cells regulate the expression of the α- and β-tubulin and the consequences of expression imbalance. | 2021 |
| Claire Gillette | The role of RNA-binding proteins in regulating energy homeostasis | 2021 |
James Till | Mechanisms of Nitric Oxide-induced gentamicin tolerance in Salmonella | 2020 |
Cayla Jewett | Membrane trafficking pathways in cell polarization and lumen formation. | 2020 |
Kristin Dahl | mTOR regulation of oligodendrocyte cytoskeleton rearrangement during myelination | 2020 |
Emily Duncan | Rab GTPase-mediated ubiquitylation in cell migration and invasion. | 2019 |
Laura White | RNA repair and translational regulation | 2019 |
Katie Yergert | Molecular Mechanisms Underlying mRNA Localization to Myelin Sheaths | 2019 |
Patrick Cherry | RNA processing regulates the Unfolded Protein Response | 2018 |
Gabby Li | Intrinsic control of microtubule dynamics | 2018 |
Tessa Arends | The role of alternative splicing in B cells | 2017 |
Erik Linklater | Regulation of cancer cell migration and invasion by Rab40b. | 2017 |
Cassi Estrem | Dynein regulation by its microtubule track and its influence on microtubule dynamics to properly position the mitotic spindle in budding yeast. | 2017 |
Margaret Balas | Long noncoding RNAs in heterochromatin establishment and maintenance | 2016 |
Kelsey Hazegh | Determining the method and mechanism by which split ends and alan shepard contribute to fat regulation in Drosophila and whether it has a conserved role in mammalian cells. | 2016 |
Hannah Scarborough | Targeting lung cancers | 2015 |
Louis Cicchini | Innate Host Immune Recognition during Human Papillomavirus Infection | 2015 |
Ryan Sheridan | The Role of RNA Polymerase II Elongation Control in Transcription Dynamics | 2015 |
Julie Woodman | The role of phosphorylation in regulating the Scc2 cohesin deposition factor | 2014 |
Seth Welsh | The functions of Early B Cell Factor 1 (EBF1) in transcriptional repression and human leukemia | 2014 |
Alexandra Antonioli | Determining the roles of factor H-Related proteins in Complement Regulation | 2014 |
Becky Fusby | The role of human SPT6 in transcription regulation by RNA polymerase II | 2013 |
Juliette Peterson | Gene-environment interactions influence on the risk for neural tube defect | 2013 |
Michael Holliday | Allosteric Communication Networks and Enzymatic Regulation as Mediated by Conformational Dynamics in the Cyclophilin Family of Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerases | 2013 |