Kaeli Welsh featured scholar in Carolina Grad Student F1rsts

  I applied for graduate school unsure of what field I wanted to join. I was drawn to the diverse research possibilities provided by the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program, where I could freely explore different fields. I was immediately interested in joining the pharmacology department. UNC Pharmacology has an excellent research reputation and focuses on developing students as researchers and science communicators. The department has a strong sense of community and listens closely to the needs of its graduate students.

My thesis work will focus on two massive, essential protein complexes that stall cell division until chromosomes are properly aligned, ensuring the correct number of chromosomes are present in each daughter cell. Disruptions in this system can cause grave genomic defects and have been implicated in a variety of cancers. My research will describe the dynamics, kinetics, and disassembly mechanisms of these complexes on a time-resolved, single-molecule level.