Kristen M. Ramsey, Ph.D.
Principle Investigator
Assistant Professor, Structural Biology, Biochemistry & Biophysics (SB3)
Email: kristen.ramsey@uconn.edu
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL
Fun Fact: I have driven across the country twice!
As an undergraduate at Florida State University, Dr. Ramsey was first introduced to the world of protein biochemistry, and immediately fell in love. After graduating from FSU with a B.S. in Biochemistry, Dr. Ramsey attended the University of California, San Diego where she performed her doctoral research in the lab of Dr. Elizabeth Komives, studying the role of protein structure and dynamics in the regulation of NFκB signaling. Upon receiving her Ph.D. in Chemistry from UCSD, Dr. Ramsey’s interest in further understanding how fundamental biophysical mechanisms of protein-protein interactions effect functional changes in cells led her to pursue postdoctoral training in Dr. Doug Barrick’s lab at Johns Hopkins University. As an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in the Barrick Lab, Dr. Ramsey focused on utilizing thermodynamic characterization of Notch transcriptional activation complex formation as a way to understand paralog-specific Notch signaling. In her postdoctoral work, Dr. Ramsey was able to integrate rigorous molecular biophysical approaches with a cell-based functional assay. The synergy achieved by this combination provided a quantitative framework for understanding paralog-specific Notch signaling and became the inspiration for the general approach utilized by the Ramsey Lab to define biochemical and biophysical mechanisms of protein-ligand interactions as the basis to understanding the fundamental biology of pathogen-sensing and signaling by the RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs).
Graduate Students
Alexa Andrzejewski
Ph.D. Student
Hometown: Northford, CT
Alma Mater: UMass Amherst
Fun Fact: I have a senior kitty named Ralph whose best friend is a stuffed moose.
Ian McNamee
Ph.D. Student
Hometown: Cheshire, CT
Alma Mater: Northeastern University
Fun Fact: I have an avocado plant that I grew from a seed, still kicking after three years and two moves.
Undergraduate Students
Glenn Adams
Major: Structural Biology and Biophysics and Chemistry
Hometown: Newtown, CT
Fun Fact: I have a collection of periodic table elements.
Lucy Bedell
Major: Molecular and Cell Biology
Hometown: Sleepy Hollow, NY
Fun Fact: My initials are LAB.
Mascots and Moral Support
Carbon
Major: Vocal Performance and Physical Education
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Fun Fact: I love to play fetch. Crinkly ball is life.
