Yuriana Garcia

University of Washington, Class of 2014
Intended Biomedical Engineering Major

Yuriana Garcia is a 2010 graduate of Royal High School in Royal City, WA. While in high school she was very active in Soccer, Tennis and Track and Field. She was a member of her school's SACNAS Chapter and National Honor Society while also finding time to serve as a math tutor for GEAR Up and Century 21 Middle School.


Education, Honors, and Awards

  • GenOM ALVA Intern, Summer 2009 and 2010
  • 2010 graduate of Royal High School

Research Interests

During her ALVA 2009 internship, Yuriana worked with the Parviz Research Group in the Electrical Engineering Department. The goal of the project was to study techniques of analyzing and sequencing DNA molecules in the human genome using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM). The first step was to stretch the DNA molecules, which will cause them to align and be more conducive to electronic analysis. Second, they used two-dimensional tunneling junctions to model and experiment with electron tunneling through molecules. Once this was complete, they used the STM to analyze stretched DNA molecules on conductive substrates. The purpose of this experiment was to better understand how all the complex components of the human genome work with one another, which will lead to great advancements in genetic mapping.  

Yuriana returned as an ALVA intern for the Summer of 2010 and studied in the Department of Microbiology and Chemical Engineering's Lidstrom Lab. The focus of her project was to examine the role of MtdA in the metabolism of methanol. Methanol (MeOH) can be metabolized by Methylobacterium extorquens AMI. Two enzymes, MtdA and MtdB, are both involved in this metabolism. Not much is known about the role of MtdA in vivo, though assumptions have been made based on the role of MtdB in this process. Therefore, the goal of the project was to further understand what role MtdA plays in the H4MPT pathway.

Research Projects

  • The Role of MtdA: A Key Enzyme in Methanol Metabolism

  • DNA Analysis Using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM)

Contact Our Organization

Lisa Peterson, Director
346 Loew Hall
phone: (206)685-2593
lisapete@u.washington.edu

Allison Kang, Assistant Director
344 Loew Hall
phone: (206)221-3056
allikang@u.washington.edu

Elena Hernandez, ALVA Coordinator
301 Loew Hall
phone: (206)221-4614
elenah2@u.washington.edu

Cheryl Allendoerfer, Research Scientist
301 Loew Hall
phone: (206)543-3306
callendo@u.washington.edu


USPS mail:
UW GenOM Project, College of Engineering
PO Box 352180
Seattle, WA 98195-2180

To donate to the UW GenOM Project, click here.