Spectroscopy, Optics, Biophysics and Molecular Biology
Science Club Meeting, April 19, 2021
Organizing Information about the Coronavirus
With the onset of the pandemic, scientists everywhere began to do what they could to help with the battle. The development of either vaccines for prevention or drugs for treatment can be aided by knowledge of the molecular structures of the proteins coded for by the viral genes. The resulting flood of information was confused and, sometimes, contained mistakes. I am a member of a group who has taken on the task of organizing and correcting this information. We make our Coronavirus information available to both the public and scientists on our Github and web sites. One project I’ve worked on is the creation of design files, based on the best scientific data, to 3D print a model of the Coronavirus. You can check out our site at:insidecorona.net.
I grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and have always been interested in mathematics, science and the structure of molecules. I majored in Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then moved on to graduate school in the Chemistry Department at the University of Oregon. Back in Madison I started studying the method of using X-ray diffraction to study the structure of protein and nucleic acids and in Oregon I completed my PhD by developing new methods in this area and applying them to several protein molecules. I have spent most of my time working in that same lab developing more techniques and writing computer programs to implement them. While doing that I’ve worked on a wide variety of protein molecules. I have also worked in both the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and the Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University, but am currently “between opportunities.”
I grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and have always been interested in mathematics, science and the structure of molecules. I majored in Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then moved on to graduate school in the Chemistry Department at the University of Oregon. Back in Madison I started studying the method of using X-ray diffraction to study the structure of protein and nucleic acids and in Oregon I completed my PhD by developing new methods in this area and applying them to several protein molecules. I have spent most of my time working in that same lab developing more techniques and writing computer programs to implement them. While doing that I’ve worked on a wide variety of protein molecules. I have also worked in both the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and the Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University, but am currently “between opportunities.”