Colleen J Mulvihill

Microbiology

University of Texas at Austin

I’m a microbiology PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin working on the development of new screening tools for human proteins in yeast. Expression of these proteins in yeast is an inexpensive and high-throughput way to potentially find new drugs that act on these proteins. Ultimately, my dream is to use biotechnology to combat health and environmental injustices.

brightly colored green, red, blue, and yellow dots against a black background

Photo by Jason Weingardt on Unsplash  

A fluorescent sensor signals when yeast cells are getting stressed

Yeast cells can produce large amounts of proteins for industrial and therapeutic use, but they sometimes get overworked

Colleen J Mulvihill
leaves, burrs, and nuts from the american chestnut tree laid on a table

 Timothy Van Vliet on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Genetic engineering can save the American chestnut tree from a deadly fungus

If the USDA approves it, this would be the first use of genetic modification for conservation purposes

Colleen J Mulvihill

 Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash 

"Inactive" ingredients in drugs could have toxic side effects

These compounds increase shelf life, but their safety hasn't been systematically tested

Colleen J Mulvihill