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Elizabeth Rose Lotsof

Elizabeth Rose Lotsof

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Education: 

B.A. Chemistry: Biochemistry Concentration, Cum Laude

Minors in Educational studies and Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis

From: Chicago, Illinois

Joined the David Lab: January 2017

Outside of lab: I enjoy kickboxing, skiing, music concerts, dancing and baking.

Research in David Lab:

The NEIL family of DNA glycosylases are critical enzymes to maintaining the integrity of the genome. They initiate the base excision repair (BER) pathway by cleaving the N-glycosidic bond between the oxidatively damaged base and the sugar. NEIL1 and NEIL3 have a unique ability to excise a wide variety of substrates and remove lesions from alternative DNA contexts. Because of these abilities, I am currently evaluating the ability of NEIL1 and NEIL3 to excise oxidative base damage from G-quadruplex structures. G-quadruplexes DNA structures that occur in sequences that contain three or four adjacent guanines, which can Hoogsteen hydrogen-bond together to from a G-quartet. These G-quartets will stack together with a central K+ or Na+ ion to stabilize the structure in a variety of conformations. What makes the G-quadruples so notable is their location in the promoter sequences of many oncogenes and BER glycosylases, NEIL1 and NEIL3, and they have been implicated in down- or up-regulating gene transcription. Additionally, due to their high G content, G-quadruplexes are prime spots for oxidative damage necessitating repair by the BER pathway. NEIL’s ability to cleave from such structures suggest a dynamic relationship between DNA repair and gene regulation.

Previous Research Experience:

I previously worked as a Research Coordinator for the NorthShore University Health System’s Division of Urogynecology, where I studied the factors that impact patient persistence with urological medication and the relationship between different Urogynecological surgeries and their post-operative results, in addition to managing ongoing clinical trials.  In addition to my research work, I am passionate about science communication and accessibility and helping those with rare genetic diseases. I hope to one day have a career with a biotechnology company focused on therapeutics for individuals with rare genetic diseases.

RSS Science Daily News

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    There's an intriguing exoplanet out there -- 400 light-years out there -- that is so tantalizing that astronomers have been studying it since its discovery in 2009. One orbit for WASP-18 b around its star that is slightly larger than our Sun takes just 23 hours. There is nothing like it in our Solar System. […]
  • Plants can distinguish when touch starts and stops, study suggests May 31, 2023
    Even without nerves, plants can sense when something touches them and when it lets go, a study has found. In a set of experiments, individual plant cells responded to the touch of a very fine glass rod by sending slow waves of calcium signals to other plant cells, and when that pressure was released, they sent […]
  • Saved from extinction, Southern California's Channel Island Foxes now face new threat to survival May 31, 2023
    Starting in the 1990s, Island Fox populations began to dwindle due to an outbreak of canine distemper and an increase in attacks by golden eagles. Some islands saw their population drop to as low as 15 individuals, but conservation efforts by the Federal government restored numbers by 2017. A new study reveals a worrying decrease […]
  • New catalyst lowers cost for producing environmentally sustainable hydrogen from water May 30, 2023
    A team has developed a new catalyst composed of elements abundant in the Earth. It could make possible the low-cost and energy-efficient production of hydrogen for use in transportation and industrial applications.

Contact:

Dr. Sheila S. David
ssdavid@ucdavis.edu
(530)-752-4280

Department of Chemistry
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616