Scott Kerr-Research Technician

Scott KerrIn the near future I plan to work in the field of synthetic biology.  The focus of synthetic biology is to engineer biological parts and systems for useful purposes. Nature has come up with many tools to solve problems, all we need to do is reorganize them in a logical manner.  My goal is to identify and understand what those tools are, put them together in a creative and well-designed manner and then engineer the system to be efficient.

I am a graduate of the University of Washington (UW) with a degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.  While at UW I worked in Celeste Berg's lab in the Department of Genome Science. In the Berg lab I worked with Drosophila melanogaster and designed a GAL4 driver for the lab.  This GAL4 diver has been used to express UAS constructs in the follicle cells of a developing oocyte when the vitellin membrane is formed.

I started in the Malik lab in the summer of 2007 as I was finishing my degree at UW.  In the lab, my work focuses on three main projects.  The first is centromere drive and speciation, I am investigating centromere evolution in closely related species.  My second focus is on working to identify genes that are expressed during development and interact with heterochromatin.  The third project I work on is constructing a random peptide library which will then be used to investigate host-pathogen interactions that the lab is intereseted in.  In addition to my current research, I am also working on my applications to graduate programs.

Scott & KimOutside of work, much of my time is spent with my girlfriend Kim and our cat Charlotte. I am an avid reader; in addition to books of all subjects, I subscribe to many science and economics blogs.  In my free time I enjoy salsa dancing with Kim, brewing beer with my brother Brent and occasionally drinking scotch on the rocks.  Lately, I have been teaching myself how to play golf and I am learning how to invest, I am an active member in two investment clubs. I have also been known to take part in epic games of Risk.

 

 

 

 


Scott Kerr


Last updated: 11/18/2008
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