Jack Stearns - Undergraduate Researcher

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I am an undergradute in the Honors College majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology. I joined the Beilstein Lab in the Spring of 2018 after learning about the position through my Intro to Biology class. So far, I have been working with my graduate mentor Kelly Dew-Budd on the RNA-dependent DNA Methylation (RdDM) project. We are disrupting the RdDM pathway in three different species by knocking out NRPE1 and RDR2. Hopefully, this will give us insight into the effects of genome size and mating type on RdDM gene regulation. I love learning about life on the molecular level and I’m glad I got the opportunity to work in a “hands on” cell biology lab.

​Outside of the lab I enjoy reading and playing video games with friends. I’m also a huge fan of TV shows like Game of Thrones, Black Mirror, and Sherlock.