Catherine Stuart: The Plant Cell First Author

Catherine Stuart, co-first author of “RNA degradome analysis reveals DNE1 endoribonuclease is required for the turnover of diverse mRNA substrates in Arabidopsis”

Current Position:

Research Assistant at the University of Texas Health Science Center (full-time) and Baylor College of Medicine (part-time), Houston, TX

Education:

B.S. in Biology and Genetics (Texas A&M University); M.S. in Biological Sciences (University of Delaware)

Non-scientific Interests:

reading, traveling, going to the movies, doing yoga, spending quality time with my husband and cats

Brief bio:

I joined the Green lab at the University of Delaware in 2019 after completing my B.S. in Biology and Genetics at Texas A&M University. I have always had a passion for understanding basic biological processes, so I was excited to study post-transcriptional mechanisms of gene regulation in a well-established model organism. In the Green lab, I investigated the roles of cytosolic endoribonucleases in Arabidopsis, eventually narrowing my focus to DNE1 due to its evolutionary conservation and homology to metazoan MARF1. Even though I was only a graduate student for a short amount of time, I gained many valuable skills and formed relationships that will last a lifetime. After defending my Master’s thesis in 2021, I joined the van Hoof lab at the University of Texas Health Science Center. In the van Hoof lab, I use the power of yeast genetics to study mechanisms of RNA decay in S. cerevisiae. In 2022, I started a second job in the Arey lab at Baylor College of Medicine, where we study regulators of learning and memory in C. elegans. I am grateful for the experiences and mentors that have helped get me to where I am today. I am also grateful to work for two amazing institutions that support my development as a scientist. I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I do know that my love of learning will always guide me down the right path.