Socrates Fellows Who We Are 2010-2011 Sarah Burnett
Although a native to San Diego, Sarah attended Boston University in Massachusetts for her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Concurrent with her schoolwork in college and then post-graduation, Sarah worked in a research laboratory at Harvard Medical School. Ultimately, Sarah missed San Diego and moved back to be a manager in the lab of Suresh Subramani at UCSD.
Now Sarah is a first year Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Subramani studying organelle homeostasis. Specifically, Sarah is using the yeast Pichia pastoris to further elucidate mechanisms of selective autophagy of peroxisomes, or pexophagy. Identifying molecular toggles between peroxisome biogenesis and degradation, and where these protein switches fit into cellular pathways is Sarah’s research focus.
Sarah’s own pursuit of science education began in a San Diego high school classroom. Sarah hopes to engage high school students much like her high school biology teacher did for her, as well as better her communication skills inside and outside of the classroom while a Socrates fellow and beyond. Since Sarah herself had a tumultuous adolescence and has a non-traditional learning style, she hopes to identify with students of all types; share her enthusiasm for science, and inspire more young people towards a career in the sciences.
