|
|
- Name: Melissa Sue Hillwig
- Currently, I am in my 5th year in the Ph.D. program; planning to
graduate Spring 2009.
- Hometown: St. Marys, Pennsylvania
- Undergrad: Penn State Erie - The Behrend College B.S. in Biology
- Extracurricular Activities: I enjoy spending time with friends and
going out to eat at the many local ethnic restaurants around town. I
enjoy going to Des Moines for the day to locate those specialty stores
selling items I can't find in Ames. I enjoy reading books by James
Patterson in one of the local cafes, making jewelry, and other craft
hobbies.
- I came to Iowa State University because I was very impressed with
their dedication to graduate students. The professors I interviewed
with during my campus visit made a great impression on me. They
really cared about why I wanted to come here and what my future goals
were during my interview. I felt the amount of passion that they had
for their projects and I wanted to be part of that. I am really happy
with my choice. I feel that ISU has a lot to offer to graduate
students. Each lab has a unique approach to answer BIG scientific
questions. This makes for a great resource when I encounter a
question or problem during my research and I need another opinion or
someone to bounce ideas off of.
- My research project involves studying a family of enzymes called
RNases. They are the most despised proteins by those working on
nucleic acid research... and I get to work with them! I have been
studying the function and regulation of RNS1 in Arabidopsis. Recently
I have also started exploring the function of RNases in other
organisms.
- My long term goal is to teach at a smaller school, where the focus is
on teaching. After I graduate from ISU I would like to obtain a
postdoctoral position at another university where I can develop my own
research project to take with me when I find a faculty position at a 4
year college where they emphasize undergraduate research.
