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I recently graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA from UK, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chem- istry with a minor in English and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. I graduated with Honors in Chemistry, Biology, and Honors. I am a National Merit Scholar and a Beckman Scholar.
I plan to attend medical school at the University of Cincinnati. However, I am deferring my admission for a year to teach at a mission high school in rural Jamaica. I will also be volunteering in the local medical clinic and working on a novel. After medical school, I am interested in pursuing a career in pediatric oncology and becoming more involved as a medical volunteer both nationally and internationally. At any level of medicine, I think it is important to have a foundation in the basic sciences, and I feel very confident that I will carry the foundation my research at UK has established throughout my career and, hopefully, have an opportunity to pursue clinical research.
My research with Dr. Allan Butterfield in the UK Chemistry Department examines oxidative stress in Alzheimer's disease and explores the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in this mentally debilitating disease that plagues the aging population. As more research is conducted as to how Alzheimer's disease occurs, more research can explore treatment and prevention options.
I enjoy traveling, hiking, reading, writing, and theater, among other things. I am very good at having more to do than I can possibly accomplish each day, and I am always finding new interests and hobbies.
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While at UK, I participated in the Journal Project with the Honors Program and also studied for a semester in England. I played club volleyball for several years, multiple intramural sports, and wrote for the Kentucky Kernel . I also volunteered at the UK Children's Hospital and for Jarrett's Joy Cart. Throughout my four years, I was very involved with the Catholic Newman Center, acting as a student leader, retreat coordinator, and trip coordinator for such things as spring break service trips and World Youth Day. I taught religious education and was also active on the Newman Foundation Board.
I look forward to my life beyond UK, but I know I will always have a home here, because UK has helped me to grow so much as a person and to realize some of my ambitions.
Mentor:
Dr. D. Allan Butterfield,
Professor,
Department of Chemistry
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the major dementing disorder of the elderly. Through NIH-funded research, our laboratory has proposed a model of neurodegeneration in AD brains stemming from the oxidative stress associated with a peptide (ABeta) that accumulates in the brains of AD patients. As an undergraduate, Robin has contributed to this effort by studying oxidative modifications of histones, those proteins that bind to DNA in the nucleus, caused by the lipid peroxidation product, HNE (itself formed from the action of ABeta). Robin has also investigated oxidative stress in brains from rodents with a mutation that models AD. This research presents a multitude of future research opportunities to gain insight into the molecular basis, treatment, and/or modulation of this devastating dementing disorder. |
