I am a fourth year PhD candidate at SUNY Upstate in the Mollapour lab who loves translational, preclinical science that is both fascinating and can make a difference in patient’s lives. Broadly, I utilize a variety of biochemical and cellular techniques to study how normal cells become cancerous and apply this knowledge for the development of targeted chemotherapies. Additionally, I’m passionate about scientific communication and outreach. The projects I currently work on span the fields of molecular chaperones, cancer, rare disease, and drug discovery. You can read my full list of publications here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/jennifer.heritz.1/bibliography/public/Having delivered multiple presentations at basic science seminars, medical grand rounds, and both broadly and narrowly focused scientific conferences, I firmly believe that telling a "story" with data will allow anyone to understand your science. I have extensive experience in tailoring scientific content to make impactful presentations that resonate with diverse audiences including basic science researchers (inside and outside of primary field of research), graduate students, clinicians, and medical residents. These skills have further been honed by over 6 years of experience as a tutor, effectively adjusting teaching approach according to academic subject, student education level, and setting. My leadership and teamwork skills throughout my academic training have further been strengthened through over 5 years of experience holding leadership positions of multiple national organization chapters, university clubs, and athletics. I enjoy being involved on campus and in my community, and find this work I do outside of the lab incredibly rewarding. This includes scientific outreach volunteering and organizing events such as seminar series and symposiums that promote diversity in STEM. Outside of science, you’ll find me playing volleyball both for fun with lab mates and semi-professionally through the Volleyball League of America.Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or reach out by email (jenniferheritz@gmail.com)!