Dr. Rosemary Plagens earned her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Florida Tech, where she used the model organism C. elegans to characterize the effects of chronic temperature stress on reproduction across molecular, cellular, and organismal levels. This research sparked a deep interest in connecting genomic phenomena to physiological outcomes across species, with a special appreciation for how these mechanisms become disrupted during times of stress (environmental or disease). This led Rosemary to a postdoctoral fellowship in the Cancer Epigenetics Training Program at UNC Chapel Hill through the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Here, she combined genomic, proteomic, and biochemical techniques to delineate a comprehensive network of binding partners for a critical pioneer factor in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer cells.
Originally from Richardson, TX, Rosemary earned her B.S. in Biology from Furman University in Greenville, SC and later worked as a Research Assistant at UTSW Medical Center in Dallas, TX for several years prior to graduate school. Her diverse training experiences have led to her new position as a Sr. Biocurator in the Biocuration and Coordination Core (BCC) as part of UNC’s affiliation with the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen). She is excited to move her laboratory bench skills to the desktop to aid in the ClinGen efforts of gene-disease relationship curations for improved clinical diagnoses and treatments.
Outside of work, Rosemary enjoys baking, knitting/crocheting, hiking, and spending time with her husband (an Army veteran) and their 5 rescued feline “children”.
