Mentor:  Chris Alabi

Education:

Northwestern University – B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , 2019

Awards and Honors:

• McCormick Undergraduate Honors Program (June 2019)
• Omega Chi Epsilon Chemical Engineering Honor Society (June 2019)
• Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society (May 2019)
• McCormick Summer Research Grant (June 2017, 2018)
• Dean’s List Honors (2016-2019)
  

Research Experience:

• Undergraduate Research Assistant, Mrksich Lab, Northwestern University (2016-2019)
• Undergraduate Research Assistant, Ray Lab, Jackson State University (Summer 2016)
• High School Research Assistant, Leszczynski lab, Jackson State University (Summer 2015)

Current Research Activities:

Current development of small molecule drugs has relied heavily on the design of enzymatic inhibitors, rendering 80% of the proteome “undruggable” due to their nonenzymatic functions. To address the undruggable proteome, I am engineering novel drug constructs that are capable of redirecting intracellular proteins for degradation by harnessing the cell’s own naturally occurring protein destruction mechanism known as the ubiquitin-proteasome system. My specific research aims include exploring various constructs that bind to different protein targets, evaluating in vitro mode of action, and analyzing cell permeability. The intended outcome of this work to introduce a new therapeutic modality for the targeted degradation of otherwise stable intracellular proteins that have evaded drugging by conventional methods.