Laura Purkey
Laura is a second-year graduate student in the M.S. program. In the spring of 2020, she graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Communication Studies from California University of Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Laura is a lifelong 412 lover at heart, but hopes to travel and live many places during her life. One of her favorite things about living in D.C., though, is being close to her older sister (and best pal) Hannah!
She was drawn to the research in the DeCicco lab as she finds cancer biology enthrallingly challenging. Specifically intrigued by the Tpl2 gene and the complexity of the MAPK pathway, Laura decided to primarily focus research on the SCC project. In addition to the projects, Dr. DeCicco’s positivity and authenticity, and the close-knit community within lab were welcoming. Eventually, Laura plans to earn a PhD (hopefully in genetics) and become a professor. She contributes to chaos by using pipette tips randomly.
Laura has always been a true music enthusiast. She has a (halfway decent) vinyl collection and crafts playlists constantly. Laura is also an avid runner, painter, advocate of flare jeans, and champion for well-articulated thoughts.
Always sentimental, Laura often uses quotes and lyrics. When it comes to her attitude about lab, she quotes Pittsburgh native Mr. Rogers: “It’s good to be curious about many things.”
Maria Ochiai
Maria is a second-year graduate student in the M.S. program at AU. After graduation with a degree in Biology and a minor in music, Maria decided to continue her education at American University.
Maria will attend medical school after completion of her Masters degree.
Maria’s hometown is Conroe, Texas and on visits home she enjoys homecooked meals by her mom and of course, Whataburger.
Currently, Maria leads one of the multiple myeloma projects, studying the effect of BMI on drug resistance.
Maria offers two sentiments of what she’s learned by working on the MM project: how to work effectively with a team, and that obesity is a serious challenge facing the U.S. population.
Maria has four younger siblings and is often helping and chatting with them. You can always count on her to incorporate childhood nostalgia/imagery in her explanations of lab techniques. Maria loves musicals and can often be found singing jingles and random songs in lab, sometimes repetitively (to everyone’s joy).
She enjoys nature and reading. A true minimalist, Maria is adamant about sustainability and reducing waste and is known to dig through trash cans to make sure no one discarded plastic waste inappropriately.
