Lawrence Kent Wood
My name is Kent Wood, and I am a fourth year student at Duke University. I am a not so recent graduate of the University of Georgia where I received my BS degree in genetics. While an undergraduate at UGA, I did research in the lab of Dr. Mary Bedell. There, I helped characterize mice with various mutations in the gene encoding mast cell growth factor, the ligand for the Kit receptor tyrosine kinase. Upon graduation, I continued to work for some time in the same lab before moving to Colorado. There, my interest became focused on research involving the development of a counterculture based around the accumulation of crystallized water on steeply inclined surfaces. From Colorado, I moved to Northwestern University in Chicago where I took a position as a research technician in the lab of Dr. Peter Kopp. In this position, I was responsible for sequence analysis of a large cohort of men in order to identify possible genetic markers for susceptibility to prostate cancer.
With my diverse interests I was drawn to the UPGG program at Duke. The true strength of this program is that it allows the flexibility to work in any of a number of labs across a large spectrum of disciplines that have in common a focus on genetic research. During my first year here, I found a great home in the lab of Dr. Dennis Thiele. One of the main areas of research in our lab is unraveling the dynamic nature of metal homeostasis in eukaryotic cells. My project involves determining how the Cu, Zn Superoxide Dismutase protein, an enzyme involved in protection against oxidative stress, affects the regulation of the copper-responsive transcription factor Mac1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This research is extremely exciting for me because mutations of the SOD1 gene have been shown to cause ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), however extensive research has failed to yield any firm conclusions about how mutations in this enzyme lead to disease.
I am delighted with my decision to join the UPGG program here at Duke University, and I am even happier that I have found a wonderful lab where I can pursue a graduate degree. I am also happy to be back in the Southeast where the weather is warm and the people are friendly.
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