Biological Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
In addition to the five canonical nucleoside bases (adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine, and uracil), more than 100 modified bases have been discovered from all domains of life. These are produced by enzymatic modification of the canonical bases, and can be found throughout tRNA, helping establish its unique secondary structure. Identification of modified bases unique to human pathogens could lead to the development of novel biomarkers of infection. In addition, modification of the wobble base in the anticodon loop can enhance the affinity of a charged tRNA for its cognate mRNA, thereby increasing translational efficiency and biasing the production of proteins enriched for a given codon. Characterizing such systems in human pathogens could reveal novel therapeutic targets.
2010-present Nationally Registered EMT-Basic
2009-present Massachusetts Certified EMT-Basic
2010 MIT Teaching Assistant for Analysis of Biological Networks
2006-2007 UM Teaching Assistant Organic Chemistry I & II
2006 UM Teaching Assistant for General Chemistry Laboratory
2006 MIT ABS REU Summer Internship
2009-2012 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2008-2009 Eni-MIT Energy Fellowship
2007 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
2007 Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
2006 Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
2004-2008 National Merit Scholar
2003 Eagle Scout

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Brandon S Russell and T. Keith Hollis
Brandon S. Russell, C. Eric Elmquist, Laura J. Trudel, and Peter C. Dedon