Allen Zhu

Graduate Student

2014 - Current

Research Technician B

2013 - 2014

My project’s long-term goal is to develop a novel method of investigating how diseases are related to abnormalities in the composition of microbial species present in the mammalian gut through a genetic-engineering approach. The strategy will be to design synthetic microbes that are adept at establishing their presence in the mammalian gut and using them as carriers to deliver foreign genes that will impact the composition of endogenous gut-microbes.

Research Intern

2012 - 2013

I was a member of the Gene Modification Group and I worked on numerous projects centered on targeted gene modification using Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) with the objective of developing novel means to cure Sickle-Cell Disease and other genetically transmitted ailments.

Research Apprentice

2010 - 2011

I worked on an honors research project that sought to gain a better understanding of the interaction between two proteins of a DNA repair checkpoint, the 9-1-1 (Rad9-Rad1-Hus1) checkpoint-clamp and the N-terminal domain of the TopBP1 (Topoisomerase-II Binding Protein 1) mediator protein, by characterizing the structure of a complex between the two proteins using an electron microscope. The primary objective was to acquire information needed for the creation of designer drugs that will increase the efficiency of the DNA repair pathway.

Research Apprentice

2010 - 2011

Undergraduate Research Assitant

2010 - 2010

http://MCB.Berkeley.Edu/Labs/Werblin/