2008 Awardees

Joshua Robert Cook

BA-Biology Major with Chemistry Minor

Selected Honors and Awards:

Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, Phi Beta Kappa, University of Pennsylvania Dean's Endowed Research Award, Robert C. Byrd Scholarship, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Summer Clinical Internship Program participant, University of Pennsylvania Trustee Scholarship 

Research:

Joshua's work is on the control of a pancreas gene, PANDER, which is responsive to glucose. Most of his work is an experimental analysis of the PANDER promoter and of the role of three transcription factors which he demonstrated to bind to and activate the promoter. He used predictive programs to find the putative transcription factor binding sites in the promoter as a way of narrowing down the upstream regulatory factors involved. Joshua's research project was done independently in Bryan Wolf's lab.

• Yang J, Wong RK, Park M, Wu J, Cook JR, York DA, Deng S, Markmann J, Naji A, Wolf BA, and Gao Z (2006) Leucine Regulation of Glucokinase and ATP Synthase Sensitizes Glucose-Induced Insulin Secretion in Pancreatic-β-Cells. Diabetes 55(1): 193-201.


• Brant R. Burkhardt, Joshua R. Cook, Robert A. Young, Bryan A. Wolf (2008) PDX-1 interaction and regulation of the Pancreatic Derived Factor (PANDER, FAM3B) promoter, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Gene Regulatory Mechanisms 1779(10): 645-651.

Future Plans:

As a winner of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Joshua will pursue an MPhil in Clinical Biochemistry as a member of Clare College at the University of Cambridge. Upon his return to the United States, he will enter the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD) at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons.

Steven Hershman

BA Biochemistry, submatriculated in the MS in Chemistry & MS in Engineering programs

Selected Honors and Awards:

Dean's Scholar, Biochemistry Department Helix Prize, Biochemistry Department Chair's Award, Diana Vagelos Science Challenge Award, Phi Beta Kappa

Research:

Steven is first author on a 2008 sequence analysis paper from the group of Brad Johnson, School of Medicine, from work he did as a sophomore. He was the computational component for another paper where he is second author in 2007 for Dr. Doris Wagner of SAS Biology.

• Hershman SG. Chen Q. Lee JY. Kozak ML. Yue P. Wang LS. Johnson FB. 2008. Genomic distribution and functional analyses of potential G-quadruplex-forming sequences in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 36(1):144-56, 2008


• Bezhani S. Winter C. Hershman S. Wagner JD. Kennedy JF. Kwon CS. Pfluger J. Su Y. Wagner D. 2007. Unique, shared, and redundant roles for the Arabidopsis SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling ATPases BRAHMA and SPLAYED. Plant Cell. 19(2):403-16.

Future Plans:

Steven was accepted by all the graduate schools to which he applied. He will enroll in the Harvard University Systems Biology PhD program in Fall 2008.