Alexandra Reece

*Student participation supported by DMR Award #1950557

Alexandra Reece is a Biochemistry major from Georgia Southern University. She is also currently serving in the US Army, where she is a combat medic, and which has inspired her love of chemistry and medicine. At school, she is also the founder and Vice President of her Student Veterans of America chapter, a TA in the Chemistry Department, and a member of the Honors Student Organization. In her free time, Alex is an avid reader, and enjoys running, kayaking, and weightlifting.

This summer, Alex will be working with Dr. David Jacobson, performing the first AFM-based unfolding measurement of a beta-barrel membrane protein using high-time-resolution techniques. In particular, they will use molecular biology and biochemistry to express and purify a bacterial outer membrane protein sample, reconstitute the protein into a surface-supported lipid bilayer, use surface chemistry so that a chemical bond can be formed between the protein and the AFM cantilever, and then use the AFM to exert force on the protein.

Publications and Presentations

Poster presented at the 10th Annual Summer Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium, July 28th, 2023 at the Watt Innovation Center Atrium.