B.S., Biology, 2008, University of North Texas
Research: Human papillomaviruses are associated with 7% of cancers in women world-wide.  Following attachment to heparan sulfate moieties present in the extracellular matrix and on cell surface both viral capsid proteins undergo conformational changes that can be sensed with monoclonal antibodies.  My project involves defining these shifts in conformation at the molecular level, which will give a detailed understanding of the processes leading to interaction with the uptake receptor, infectious entry, and thus disease outbreak.