Thesis Thursday with Julie Huynh

My name is Julie Huynh and I am a UBRP alum. While I was in UBRP, I worked in the lab of Dr. Hanna ‘Johnny’ Fares. We used the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans (a roundworm), to understand why mutations in the MCOLN1 gene causes lysosomes (which are like the trash cans of your cells—they get rid of unwanted material) to not work and neurons to die in patients who have the lysosomal storage disorder, Mucolipidosis Type IV. I finished my undergraduate and master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology with Dr. Fares and am currently a research associate at FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), a national nonprofit organization devoted to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. I am a part of FORCE’s CDC funded XRAYS (eXamining Relevance of Articles for Young Survivors) program, which we just launched in August 2015. XRAYS was developed to empower young breast cancer survivors and young women and men at high risk for breast cancer by giving them tools they can use to evaluate reports of new breast cancer related research. I will be attending the University of Arizona’s MD PhD program this fall where I am excited beyond words to begin my journey in becoming a physician-scientist. In my free time, you can find me frequenting coffee shops, painting, writing and taking photos of places I travel to or my dog.

The University of Arizona’s Undergraduate Biology Research Program is partnering with KXCI 91.3 to produce “Thesis Thursday,” a weekly segment featuring student researchers talking about their undergraduate thesis projects, or research projects while working with University professors. Students describe their research, their overall goals and career interests and where they think their research will lead. As well, they get a chance to share the music and interests that motivate them.

Broadcast three times every Thursday with a new student each week.

Thursdays: 9:55 AM, 11:55 AM, and 2:55 PM

Produced by Cathy Rivers