Sara Powell

I started my graduate career in the Fall of 2007 at Duke after receiving my B.S. at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before starting graduate school I worked with Dr. William Walden at UIC and Dr. Deborah Lang at the University of Chicago. Through those research experiences I became fascinated with genetics.

I entered through the Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) program and have joined UPGG to obtain my Ph.D. I had a choice between training programs and I choose UPGG. The UPGG curriculum, I feel, will prepare me to have a successful career in genetics and genomics. I have begun my thesis work, in the MacAlpine lab, researching the role of the preRC in cohesin loading onto chromatin.

Most importantly, graduate school at Duke has not completely taken over my life. I have curbed my globetrotting to attend graduate school, however, I still live a happy well-balanced life here at Duke. As for the surrounding area, Duke is in a great location. When not in lab there are plenty of day or weekend trips to the mountains or the ocean that can clear one’s mind. There are also distractions closer to Durham from hiking to a Bulls baseball game.

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