Congratulations to Drake Jensen for being selected for the 2017 Elson Fellowship in honor of Dr. Elliot Elson

Mr. Drake Jensen received his B.A. in Chemistry and B.S. in Biology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2013. During this time, he began pursuing research in equilibrium and kinetic studies of Calmodulin target recognition. After graduation he continued research in the same lab and completed a M.S. in Chemistry in 2015. He joined the Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University the same year as part of the Computational & Molecular Biophysics program.

Mr. Jensen is pursuing his thesis work under the mentorship Dr. Eric Galburt in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. Here, he evaluates mycobacterial transcription initiation mechanisms using ensemble and single-molecule biophysical methods. His work is focused on two essential mycobacterial RNA Polymerase- and DNA-binding transcription factor proteins termed CarD and RbpA. Specifically, he addresses how each factor is implicated in mycobacterial stress responses and possible links to antibiotic efficacy currently used to treat tuberculosis. Following graduation, Drake plans to pursue post-doctoral positions with an interest of understanding mechanisms of molecular pathogenesis through a biophysical lens.