Contact Information
Summary
Jacqueline Saulnier graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 2024 with a major in biochemistry and molecular biology. In her sophomore year, she began accumulating research experience by joining Dr. Tamara Davis' lab, which studies mechanisms of genomic imprinting. There, Jacqueline used basic molecular techniques to test the hypothesis that higher frequencies of asymmetric methylation observed at secondary differentially methylated regions are due to enrichment for oxidized cytosines. The findings she accumulated in the lab culminated in her senior thesis.
Additionally, Jacqueline was a 2023 summer scholar under Dr. Yuanyuan Zhang at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. She explored the potential for spheroid cultures of urine-derived stem cells from patients with diabetic nephropathy to reflect disease biomarkers. The experience opened her to the previously unfamiliar fields of stem cell research, nephrology, and various techniques, from cell culture to histology.
Jacqueline aims to become a physician-scientist studying the molecular mechanisms of environmental impacts on health, particularly those related to climate change, in ways that influence policy.
Research Statement
The Colbert lab investigates the etiology and pathogenesis of a group of musculoskeletal diseases termed spondyloarthritides (SpAs), focusing on their juvenile forms. While it is known that most people impacted by certain types of SpA are HLA-B27 positive, what exactly makes this major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I allele pathogenic remains a mystery. Jacqueline's research will focus on making advancements on this question.
Building on previous findings, Jacqueline investigates the connections between HLA-B27 and various cellular processes. Specifically, it has been established that (1) HLA-B27, due to its tendency to misfold, can trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and activate the unfolded protein response; (2) HLA-B27 positivity is linked to increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS); and (3) the loss of ERAP1 enhances the folding of HLA-B27. Jacqueline aims to explore how ERAP1 influences ROS levels in HLA-B27-positive cells. Ultimately, the goal is to extend this understanding from impacts on ROS to effects on cellular metabolism, T cell profiles, and their functions.
Education
Bryn Mawr College
B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2020-2024)
Experience
Undergraduate Researcher
Bryn Mawr College (2022-2024)
Summer Scholar
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Summer (2023)
Summer Science Researcher
Bryn Mawr College Summer (2022)