Thompson lab members surprised their fellow member on Zoom to celebrate her major milestone

Janneke Doedee, a graduate student in the Thompson Lab, passed her Qualifying Exam on 6/15.  Dr. Thompson requested to meet her after the QE to “discuss her result” while he also invited all the lab members to this Zoom.  During their meeting, Janneke was surprised to see not only Dr. Thompson but other members of the Thompson lab to celebrate a major milestone together in her education.  

The title of Janneke’s proposal was “"Investigating the Activation Mechanism of SARM1 in Axon Degeneration."  The overall goal of her proposal is to understand how SARM1 is regulated, both inter- and intra-molecularly. To achieve this goal, she will evaluate how known SARM1 interacting proteins affect SARM1 function.  She will also identify new interacting proteins and determine the effects of these proteins on SARM1 activity. Furthermore, she will solve the structure of TIR-1, the C. elegans ortholog of SARM1, and determine its kinetic and catalytic mechanism. These studies will ultimately yield a better understanding of SARM1 biology and its role in neurodegenerative diseases. 

Congratulations, Janneke!
 

For more about the Thompson lab, please visit www.umassmed.edu/thompson