Congratulations to Sarem Hailemariam for being selected for the 2016 MilliporeSigma Fellowship in memory of Dr. Gerty Cori

Ms. Hailemariam received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She joined the Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis in 2012 as part of the Molecular Cell Biology program. Ms. Hailemariam has always had scientific interests in mechanisms employed by different organisms to maintain genome integrity. Prior to joining DBBS, Sarem worked on the mammalian DNA replication origin-licensing factor, Cdt1.

Ms. Hailemariam is currently working in the lab of Dr. Peter Burgers, Brennecke Professor of Biological Chemistry in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. Her project focuses on understanding how eukaryotes initiate cell cycle checkpoint in response to double-stranded DNA breaks. These types of DNA breaks are highly cytotoxic and can lead to genome instability and cell death if repaired improperly. Defective DSB repair is associated with developmental and immunological disorders as well as carcinogenesis. Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism, the goal of her thesis work is to understand how different proteins orchestrate the proper sensing and repair of double-stranded DNA breaks. Because repair mechanisms of double-strand breaks are conserved across species, findings from this study will give insight into how double-stranded breaks are repaired in higher eukaryotes.

She’ll continue to mentor young students to help cultivate and nourish their excitement about science. Sarem would love to incorporate science education into her career goals.