Lauren Saunders Email & Phone Number

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Indianapolis, Indiana Area

I managed changes to existing products and provided technical expertise to operations.

Indianapolis, Indiana Area

I optimized Beckman Coulter's DNA and RNA extraction chemistry for various customer sample types and workflow preferences.

Peoria, Il

I worked with Tim Leathers to discover a specific Lactobacillus biofilm inhibitor.

Peoria, Il

I worked with Ron Hector to create industrial yeast strains that produce triacetic acid lactone, a polyketide precursor of industrial chemicals.

Normal, Il

I worked jointly in the labs of Craig Gatto and John Sedbrook on projects involving Na,K-ATPase kinetics, Listeria monocytogenes lipid composition, and Arabidopsis auxin signaling.

New Haven, Ct

I analyzed the transient kinetics of proteins in the laboratory of Enrique De La Cruz (Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry). I have analyzed the kinetic mechanism of autotaxin, a lysophospholipase D, with two different substrate systems and also characterized autotaxin inhibitors. I have further used kinetic analysis in characterizing a toxoplasma gondii profilin and a myosin V inhibitor. I used molecular biology, insect cell culture, and protein purification in these projects as well.

Volatile oviposition stimulants of Papilio polyxenes (Black swallowtail)Laboratory of Dr. Paul FeenyI designed a bioassay and compared the volatile preference of P. polyxenes to extracts of three different host plants and one non-host plant after exposure to one of the volatile profiles in the presence of contact oviposition stimulants. I also did partial purifications of the volatile extracts and examined them using gas chromotography.

Food Safety Laboratory - Dr. Kathryn BoorSupervised by Dr. Ruth ZadoksI used selective plating techniques and PCR to look for the presence of Streptococcus uberis in milk, environmental, and fecal samples from organic dairy farms.

Life in Extreme Environments Competitive REU ProgramUniversity of the Free State, South AfricaI collected deep subsurface pressurized water samples and tested them for the presence of bacteria and bacterial functional genes.

Effects of Round-up on Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) and forest floor community structure. Competitive REU program through NSFI measured changes in plant density and diversity in experimental and control plots, and used statistical analyses to compare them. Co-author on paper (Torrey Botanical Society 134:155-165)

Ph.D., Molecular Biophysics And Biochemistry

Activities and Societies: Yale Tango Club

B.A., Biology And Chemistry

Activities and Societies: Cornell Polo Club, Risley Residential CollegeMagna cum laude in Chemistry Magna cum laude in Biology (ecology).