Becky Smock

Hi! I'm Becky, and I joined UPGG during my second year here at Duke. I came from the Cell and Molecular Biology Program in 2007 and am now affiliated with both programs. I am originally from Richmond, Virginia, and received my undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina!!! Despite coming to Duke for graduate school, I am a die-hard Tar Heel fan and enjoy watching the Tar Heels win against the Blue Devils. While at UNC, I was a member of the Varsity Swimming and Diving Team, and was a team captain my junior and senior years.

For my thesis work, I joined the lab of Bruce Sullenger in the Department of Surgical Sciences. I work on gene therapy, specifically looking at the possibility of using ribozymes and spliceosome mediated trans-splicing technology to correct RNA splicing mistakes. UPGG is a great program, giving you flexibility in the classes you take, lots of exposure to professors and other graduate students, and, since it is student run, ample opportunity to get involved.

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