Harrison Undergraduate Research Award

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with Specialization in Biochemistry 
Professor Lukas Tamm

Biography

“The Role of Plasma Membrane Order in Insulin Vesicle Exocytosis”

Insulin is a hormone that helps the body regulate glucose levels. When there is high glucose in the blood, beta cells in the pancreas release insulin via a process known as exocytosis. Biological cells are separated from their environment by a membrane that consists of lipids and proteins. Growing evidence shows that lipids in the membrane intimately participate in the molecular machinery that drives and controls exocytosis. In my research, I address the contribution of the balance between lipids with saturated and unsaturated fatty acyl chains to exocytosis of insulin by beta cells. Our data indicates that regulated exocytosis depends on a balance between membrane fusion promoting unsaturated fatty acyl chains and membrane fusion inhibiting saturated fatty acyl chains. I am now further exploring the molecular origins for the lipid influence in insulin exocytosis in Dr. Lukas Tamm’s lab in the UVA Molecular Physiology & Biophysics Department, with mentorship within the lab from Dr. Volker Kiessling.

I am pursuing my B.Sc. in biochemistry at UVA (class of 2021). After completing my bachelor’s, I hope to go onto graduate school for a PhD. My ultimate goal is to become a professor and scientist in academia, studying membrane biology in the lab. I hope to advance our understanding of diseases related to membrane biology.