Past Research Experiences

My research experiences come from an eclectic array of subjects. The first lab I worked in was a computational chemistry lab during my sophomore year of high school at the University of North Texas (UNT) under the direction of Dr. Angela Wilson. It was here that I helped to establish the theoretical existence of two novel noble gas compounds, FKrSiF3 and FKrGeF3.

Upon leaving UNT to attend the University of Texas at Austin for my bachelor's degree, I simultaneously joined the bioinformatics lab of Dr. Edward Marcotte and the psychology lab of Dr. Angela Griffin. In Dr. Marcotte's lab I worked to increase the versatility of the high throughput human cell chip to work with the analysis of microRNAs (miRs) while in Dr. Griffin's lab, I studied how beauty perception biases people's opinions of others.

After graduating and marticulating at the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW), I participated in molecular cardiology research under the direction of Dr. Joseph Hill. My task was to analyze the role miRs played in cardiac hypertrophy.

Current Areas of Interest/Research

I am interested in continuing to research the physiologic roles of miRs along with their biogenesis and mechanisms of action. My hopes are that expounding upon these topics will help to guide miRs towards therapeutic uses or better understanding of the pathogenesis of certain diseases that may allow for more efficacious treatments.

Current Professional Trajectory

I am currently working towards entering the MD/PhD program here at UTSW, but should that not work out, I still desire to pursue some career as a physician-scientist which involves significant exposure to basic science research. At this point, I am quite determined to go into internal medicine and possibly pursue a cardiology fellowship.

"Personal Words of Wisdom"

I think it is better to choose a lab that has mentors dedicated to teaching you the basics of research and experimental technique rather than one that simply promises you a publication. Regardless of what lab you choose, it is up to you to be proactive in your research by reading articles, asking questions, and thinking critically. This will help you get the most out of your lab experience.

Meetings and Abstracts

American Chemical Society Meeting-in-Miniature 2004: "Krypton-silicon and Krypton-germanium chemistry: The existence of FKrGeF3 and FKrSiF3?" (Presentation)

American Chemical Society Southwestern Regional Meeting 2004: "Heavy Group 14 Bonding to Krypton: A Theoretical Study of the Existence of FKrSiF3 and FKrGeF3" (Poster)

Publications

1. S. Yockel, A. Garg, and A. K. Wilson, "The Existence of FKrCF3, FKrSiF3, and FKrGeF3: A Theoretical Study", Chemical Physics Letters, 411, 91 (2005).

2. G. T. Hart, A. Zhao, A. Garg, S. Bolusani, and E. Marcotte. "Human cell chips: adapting DNA microarray spotting technology to cell-based imaging assays." PLoS One, accepted (2009).