Katie completed her Bachelor's degree in chemistry with minors in biochemistry and sustainability studies at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. There, she was involved in undergraduate research in Prof. Christy Haynes' lab as part of the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology. Katie then moved to Illinois to attend graduate school at Northwestern University, where she completed her PhD in chemistry under the guidance of Prof. Chad Mirkin. Her thesis research investigated the assembly of nanoparticles into colloidal crystals using DNA ligands, with a focus on programming new multicomponent crystal architectures and characterizing their structure with electron microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering. After defending her thesis, Katie moved down the road to the University of Chicago, where she hopes to build on her experience using biopolymers in assembly by learning from the Rowan and Gardel labs' expertise in polymer chemistry and actin cytoskeleton materials.
Programming the structure and mechanical properties of actin networks using synthetic polymer crosslinkers and investigating the structure and formation of biomolecular condensates comprised of actin and actin-binding proteins.
Co-advisor: Prof. Margaret Gardel
Start date: 1/16/24