Travel Award Recipients
Emily Archer Slone
Emily Archer Slone is a doctoral candidate in microbiology. Her current research focuses
on over-reactions of the immune system. The goal of her research is to understand
the molecular mechanisms and cellular responses contributing to the excessive immune
response following periods of oxygen deprivation. She is currently investigating the
role of an enzyme that regulates cell membrane lipids and, when activated, causes
lipid changes in the membrane beginning a cascade that activates the immune system
and results in inflammation and damage. These studies may provide a new therapeutic
target.
She completed undergraduate coursework at the University of Minnesota, Morris and received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Kansas State University. Emily is also completing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at Kansas State University.
Emily plans to use the Sarachek Scientific Travel Award to attend the Society for Leukocyte Biology’s annual meeting focusing on innate immunity. There she will have the opportunity to learn from and network with leading scientists in her field.
Alina De La Mota-Peynado
Alina De La Mota-Peynado is a doctoral candidate in biology working in the laboratory
of Dr. Jeroen Roelofs. Her current research objective is determining how proteasomes
are assembled and the roles “helper” proteins play in this process. Altering assembly
can alter proteasome activity which can lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer’s and cancers such as Multiple Myeloma. Identifying new drugs that affect
proteasome assembly may enable new treatments for these serious diseases.
Alina received a bachelor’s degree in industrial microbiology and a master’s degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico. She is a National Science Foundation Graduate STEM Fellow in K-12 Education.
She plans to use the travel award to attend conferences relevant to her research, which will allow her to network with leading scientists and showcase her work as she applies for postdoctoral positions.