Pharmacology Graduate Student Association (PhGSA)
2018 Student Leaders
Immediate Past President – Stephanie Moore
President – Nicole Perry
VP of Executive Affairs – Eric Figueroa
Co-VPs of Community Affairs – Kayla Shumate and Brittany Spitznagel
Co-VPs of Academics – Nicole Fisher and James Maksymetz
VP of Finances – Breanne Gibson
VP of Communications – Rachel Fischer
First Year Student Representatives – Joe Balsamo, Jordan Brown, and Sheryl Vermudez
GSC Rep (VP of Exec. Affairs) – Eric Figueroa
PhGSA President
Nicole Perry
Graduate Student, V. Gurevich and Iverson laboratories
BS and BA, Wittenburg University (2014)
Nicki is under the co-mentorship of Dr. Gurevich and Dr. Iverson, whose labs she officially joined in April 2015. Her chosen thesis research, which is to elucidate the interaction of arrestin-3 with the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), is based on evidence from both labs and current publications in the field. As a member of two labs, Nicki is presented with the unique opportunity to approach her scientific questions from two angles: biochemical assays, which allow her to conduct studies of arrestin function, and macromolecular X-ray crystallography, which she uses to determine different arrestin complex structures. This arrangement enables her to develop novel functional experiments with the help of solved crystal structures, a process that usually requires extensive collaboration. It also exposes her to a wide variety of experimental techniques, which range from basic molecular and cell biology to advanced instrumental study.
Lab Websites:
(Gurevich) https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/gurevich-lab/
(Iverson) https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/iverson-lab/