Christina Barnes Cooley '05

Current projects

I am an NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Jeffery Kelly using chemical and molecular biology approaches to develop new therapeutic approaches to treat protein misfolding disorders. I am looking specifically for molecules that can activate a pathway involved in endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis that can reduce the secretion of aggregation-prone proteins into the serum to treat systemic amyloid disease.

Undergraduate Research

I worked during my senior year with Dr. Goodwin on a synthetic organic chemistry project of marine natural products. We traveled to my first national scientific meeting (American Chemical Society meeting in 2005) to present the results.

How Hendrix prepared me for success

 I got my first research experiences while at Hendrix and it helped to solidify that I wanted a career in scientific research. My work at Hendrix also helped me get into graduate school and started me on a pathway to career success!

Future plans

I can’t wait to apply for professor positions this year. I will hopefully be my own version of Dr. Goodwin, inspiring and mentoring the next generation of future scientists!

My advice

Start doing research in science as early as you can. The exact subject matter that you are studying is less important as getting a feel for how research in the real world is conducted. These experiences are invaluable in helping you decide your eventual career goals and are rewarding and fun!