#IAmScience
Sep. 27, 2017
Vinit Shanbhag #IAmScience
Vinit Shanbhag is a Ph.D. candidate in biochemistry and works in Michael Petris’ lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Allison Scott By Allison Scott | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I like to discover. The excitement of uncovering things that could have an impact on millions of lives is fascinating.” Vinit Shanbhag isn’t your typical student. His extensive background both overseas in India and at the Florida Institute of Technology serve to prove just that and prepared him for his next adventure at Mizzou. “When I came here for the on-campus interviews, the department…
Sep. 15, 2017
Paul Caldo #IAmScience
By Allison Scott | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because research allows me to challenge my understanding of the world around me and strive toward figuring out the unknown.” Paul Caldo isn’t your typical undergraduate student. As a junior, Caldo is double majoring in Biology and Psychology, which gives him a unique perspective on science as a whole. It is in the overlap between his majors, however, that most interests him. “I am fascinated with development in both psychology and biology because the early stages of life lay the foundation for who and what you will become,” he…
Aug. 11, 2017
Katelynn Koskie #IAmScience
Katelynn Koskie, a Ph.D candidate, works in Mannie Liscum’s lab. | Photo by Samantha Kummerer, Bond LSC By Samantha Kummerer | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I want to help unravel the mysteries of nature that will improve our futures and positively impact our planet.” Katelynn Koskie didn’t always know she loved plants. As an undergraduate, she focused on what was above her rather than what grew below her. “I was really interested in how galaxies interact and then I started to think, ‘you know I’ve always thought plants were really, really cool,’ and I…
Aug. 11, 2017
Beverly Agtuca #IAmScience
Beverly Agtuca was born in New York, but has family in the Philippines, a country that struggles with malnutrition and undernourishment. Her overall goal for her research is to help countries that struggle with undernourishment by increasing the agricultural productivity in those countries. “When I was little, I went on summer vacation to visit my family, which included my grandmother in the Philippines,” she said. “Everyday my grandmother wanted me to go out to the rice fields from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. with the other children to get rice for our meals. That was not…
Aug. 4, 2017
Samuel McInturf #IAmScience
Samuel McInturf, Ph.D. candidate “#IAmScience because it’s fun. You’re paid to work with exotic materials and instruments to solve problems that drive at how life manifests.” Samuel McInturf’s father is an accountant and his mother is an HR director, but somehow he ended up falling in love with science. By the 4th grade he had already asked his parents to buy him a compound microscope. He completed his undergraduate degree in plant biology at University of Nebraska, Lincoln with a minor in biochemistry. Now, he’s finishing up his fifth year pursuing a Ph.D…
July 25, 2017
Megan Sheridan #IAmScience
Megan Sheridan, a Ph.D candidate in biochemistry, works in Dr. Michael Robert’s lab. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because it’s extraordinary knowing that a small step towards a treatment could positively impact someone’s life down the road.” Megan Sheridan doesn’t let anything slow her down. From presenting at the Society for the Study of Reproduction’s Trainee Research Competition last week—and winning first place—to finishing up her thesis while working in Dr. Michael Roberts’ lab, she’s always juggling multiple projects. Sheridan is finishing up a Ph.D…
July 21, 2017
Kevin Kaifer #IAmScience
Kevin Kaifer, a Ph.D candidate who works in Dr. Christian Lorson’s lab. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because there are people suffering all over the world and this is where I’m most likely to make any kind of an impact.” When he came to MU three years ago, Kevin Kaifer knew he wanted to work in Bond LSC. He felt it was where the best science and collaborations were happening on campus, and everything that he needed for his research – a vivarium, a DNA…
July 18, 2017
Christopher Garner #IAmScience
Christopher Garner, Ph.D moments before his successful dissertation defense. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I believe that the collective pursuit of scientific knowledge is what moves us forward as a species.” In the time leading up to Christopher Garner’s dissertation defense, you never would have known if he was nervous. He was confident and composed, and the conference room at Bond LSC was completely filled with his professors, friends and well-wishers. Dr. Walter Gassmann gave a complimentary introduction to the dissertation, saying, “I don’t know…
July 14, 2017
Walter Gassmann #IAmScience
Walter Gassmann, the new Interim Director of Bond LSC. | Photo by Roger Meissen, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because science is the best way to solve problems and help people. And the laws of nature write fascinating stories.” Walter Gassmann, the new Interim Director of Bond LSC, has been an important part of the MU science community for more than a decade. He’s a member of the Interdisciplinary Plant Group, a researcher in Bond LSC and a professor in the Division of Plant Sciences within the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural…
July 6, 2017
Paige Gruenke #IAmScience
Paige Gruenke, a Ph.D candidate in Dr. Donald Burke’s lab in Bond LSC. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I am fascinated by life on a molecular level and inspired that my research could positively impact medicine.” As a graduate student in Donald Burke’s lab at Bond LSC, Paige Gruenke explores the role of ribonucleic acid, or RNA. That means her work involves a lot of test tubes. She looks at how specialized RNA molecules, called aptamers, bind tightly and specifically to proteins from HIV…
June 27, 2017
Kwaku Tawiah #IAmScience
Kwaku Tawiah, a Ph. D candidate in biochemistry at MU, stands near his lab station in the Burke Lab in Bond LSC. | photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because of where I come from. If you look at Africa, we have some of the most dangerous infectious diseases in the world…When you see these diseases first-hand and the havoc they cause, you want to solve the problem. People with different perspectives will make a difference in medicine.” Growing up in Ghana gave Kwaku Tawiah a different…
June 21, 2017
Shannon King #IAmScience
Shannon King, a Ph.D candidate in the Biochemistry department at MU. She works in Scott Peck’s lab at Bond LSC. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC. By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I plan to use my career to help develop agricultural innovations for the hard-working farmer.” Most of Shannon King’s support system – her friends, grandparents, and boyfriend – are all farmers. They’re her inspiration and part of the reason her career goal is to use science to help farmers. She’s currently a Ph.D candidate in the Biochemistry department at MU…