Cell Signalling & Trafficking Structures

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITIONS:
• Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• Eugenne McDermott Scholar in Biomedical Research

EDUCATION:
1988 Bryn Mawr College, AB Chemistry and Biology
1994 Harvard University, PhD Biophysics

FELLOWSHIPS:
1996-2001 Rockefeller University, Postdoctoral Associate
1994-1996 University of Toronto/Mount Sinai Hospital, Postdoctoral Fellow

HONORS AND AWARDS:
• 2001 Eugene McDermott Scholar in Biomedical Research, UT Southwestern Endowed Scholar Award
• 1996 Life Sciences Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rockefeller University
• 1994 Human Frontiers in Science Program Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Toronto/Mount Sinai Hospital
• 1990 Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard-Danforth Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
The Chook laboratory aims to understand mechanisms of nucleocytoplasmic transport by Karyopherin-betas (Kap-betas), classify nuclear traffic, and discover how Kap-betas organize and regulate cellular functions. They seek to discover these roles of Kap-betas through a combination of structural, biochemical, biophysical, bioinformatics and cell biological investigations focused on Kap-beta-substrate interactions.