Madeleine Nowak

Education

• Miami University, 2020, B.A. in Biology
• Miami University, 2020, B.A. in Creative Writing

Biography

Originally from the Chicago suburbs, I moved east to complete my undergraduate degrees at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, along with two minors in molecular biology and English literature. I’ve been interested in genetics and the forces which drive phenotypic variation since high school. At Miami, this interest narrowed in particular to epigenetics, and how regulation of our genetic sequences could help inform the ways doctors care for patients, or even be harnessed to develop new therapies for cancer or genetic disorders. In Dr. Koza’s lab, I’m continuing to follow through on this interest, which has now grown into a passion, through our with Mest, an imprinted gene, which is variably expressed in genetically identical mouse populations. Moreover, high Mest expression is predictive of a high susceptibility to dietary obesity. In this lab, we are working to determine the epigenetic source of variable expression, and how this knowledge can be used to help better care for obese patients, particularly those with type 2 diabetes or at high risk for heart disease. In addition to lab work, I also really enjoy teaching, and currently tutor students through UMaine Trio Student Services. Although defense and graduation are not quite in view for me, my long-term goal is to become a professor at a university, teaching molecular biology courses, and running a small genetics-focused lab.

Selected Publications