Western Washington University

Christina Mong recognized as Outstanding Graduate of Biology and Maya Matsumoto as co-recipient of 2021 Biology Undergraduate Research Award

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Congratulations to two 2021 Lee Lab graduates, Christina Mong and Maya Matsumoto, who were recognized this Spring for their achievements during their undergraduate years at Western! Both graduates, along with several other members of the Lee Lab, contributed to the recent Lee Lab publication.

Outstanding Graduate of Biology, Christina, majored in Cellular and Molecular Biology. Outside of her time in the Lee Lab, where she conducted many experiments and presented research at a molecular biology conference, she was involved in various diversity efforts for the Biology Department and College of Science and Engineering. Christina represented the department as a Biology Ambassador with the Natasha Hessami Student Ambassador Program for two years. In this role, her leadership was evident as she acted as a liason between students and faculty and advocated for equity and diversity in biology and STEM.

Maya received the 2021 Biology Undergraduate Research Award for her work in the Lee Lab during the past year. She was recognized for her work and leadership as part of several projects with the lab and contributions to the lab’s science outreach. This included her presentation at the 2020 SACNAS conference on molecular visuals and science communication, and future presentation at the 2021 SACNAS conference on her work to improve a code used by the Lee Lab for quantifying extrusion bodies during image analysis.

Congrats to 2021 graduates!

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Graduates Christina Mong, Erin Tessier, and Maya Matsumoto (left to right)

Congratulations to Erin Tessier, Christina Mong, and Maya Matsumoto for graduating this year! Through a full year of virtual learning, these three students all completed a BS in Cellular and Molecular Biology, with Maya also completing minors in German and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).

Erin will be taking a gap year and looking for work in biotech or research before pursuing graduate school. Christina is currently studying to become a Dental Assistant in the future. Maya is selling science stickers and art on her Etsy @MWMLetters (check out her Instagram, too) and will be transitioning to Robin Kodner’s lab at Western to perform research with the Living Snow Project next year.

And to all Lee Lab members who have graduated previously, we congratulate you as well, especially those who finished their time with the lab at the beginning of the pandemic last year! Thank you to all students for the incredible work you do!

Lee Lab Paper Published

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The Lee Lab manuscript titled “Disruption of a ∼23-24 nucleotide small RNA pathway elevates DNA damage responses in Tetrahymena thermophila” was published online in Molecular Biology of the Cell this May. This is the first manuscript published by the Lee Lab, on which many current and former lab members assisted, and we hope that there will be many more to come! The manuscript covers our investigations into the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway that produces ~23-24 nucleotide small (s)RNAs in the ciliated eukaryote Tetrahymena thermophila. Specifically, we investigated phenotypic and gene expression impacts on cells when genes involved in the RNAi pathway are disrupted. Read our paper for more information!

Spark Science mRNA Vaccines podcast with guest Suzanne Lee

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In April 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Suzanne appeared as a guest on the WWU-associated podcast Spark Science for an episode on the mRNA vaccines being used to combat COVID-19. Suzanne spoke with host Regina Barber DeGraaff, a fellow WWU professor in Physics and Astronomy, about the differences between each vaccine, why they need to be kept at ultracold temperatures, and how the mRNA that comprises them works.

Listen to the mRNA Vaccines episode HERE.