Kathryn Gunn receives the 2020 Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence (PARE) from UNC Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. Each year, the UNC Postdoctoral Scholars Awards for Research Excellence are given in recognition of the research promise demonstrated by individual postdoctoral scholars. The awards are open to postdoctoral scholars in all disciplines and are designed to assist postdoctoral scholars in their continued professional development by supporting the recipients in conference travel, purchasing books, lab materials, or engaging in other scholarly activities that directly enhance the individual’s professional growth. Each recipient receives a monetary award of a $1000 along with a plaque.
Gunn is a postdoctoral researcher in Saskia Neher’s lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the UNC School of Medicine. Earning her PhD in biological sciences at Northwestern University, she used single-molecule techniques to better understand proteins that untangle twisted DNA. Her current research is aimed at uncovering mechanistic and structural information on lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme which removes fat from the blood, and its inhibitors. Dr. Gunn is funded by an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellowship and plans to continue using biochemistry and biophysics to understand proteins crucial for metabolism.
Kathryn Gunn and the other awardees will give a brief presentation at the ceremony. The 2020 PARE Awards ceremony will be held virtually on October 20, 2020 3-4:30pm. Register for the 2020 PARE Awards ceremony event.