5 minutes with the NCDIR’s Milana Stein
Hey Milana, tell us a bit about your path and what you do at the Rout Lab.
I received my bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences with a concentration in Organismal Biology from Fordham University. Currently I am a research assistant at the Rout Lab in the Rockefeller University.
What are some of your research interests?
My research interests include studying the altered nuclear-mitochondrial communication pathways in cancer, particularly how mutations of the nuclear pore complex can contribute to the severity of the disease. Additionally, I am investigating the control of gene expression through the regulation of export of mRNA transcripts out of the nucleus in Trypanosoma brucei. The ultimate goal of this project would be to study the composition, structure and function of the nuclear pore complex to understand how it evolved in various eukaryotic lineages, and to determine shared and divergent features.
What brought you to the Rout Lab at Rockefeller University?
Working at the revered Rockefeller University under the supervision of Dr. Samson Obado and Dr. Yael Udi has allowed me to broaden my molecular biology knowledge and research skillset. Thus far, I’ve had the privilege of learning a vast amount of techniques, including: antibody purification, affinity capture of protein complexes, and fractionation of human cancer cell lines. The collaborative environment helps to facilitate orthogonal approaches to solving complex biological problems.