Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology

Monique Brewster is interested in the science at the boundary of chemistry and biology. She completed a bachelor's degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in biology with a chemistry minor and went on to complete a PhD in Rachelle Gaudet's Lab in the Harvard University Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. In her research, Brewster studied two ion channels, TRPA1 and TRPV1, which play integral roles in peripheral neurons as sensors of noxious stimuli. Her work focused on using biochemistry and structural insights to gain a better understanding of how those channels are regulated by small molecules and other stimuli. In general, she enjoys considering biology on the molecular level, where proteins can be viewed as tiny machines following familiar principles of chemistry and physics to accomplish complicated tasks. She has taught introduction to molecular and cellular biology, an integrated introduction to chemistry and biology, and physical biochemistry, which dives deeper into biochemistry, thermodynamics, and (the beauty of) structural biology.

Dr. Federica Calabrese was born and raised in Italy, in a small costal city where she developed the interest and passion for environment and the natural cycles. She started her career studying biology and soon became interested in microbes and their interactions with the surrounding environment. After completing BS and MS in Sicily, she moved to Germany for her PhD where she investigated microbial populations' adaptation to ever-changing environmental conditions. She then moved to US as postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University to investigate biotic and abiotic microbial interactions and how these shape the ecosystems. Specifically, she is studying the physical and metabolic interactions of bacteria with minerals and their spatial distribution to identify specific patterns of microbial colonization and their potential role in biogeochemical cycles. Calabrese is now a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University. Her research is focused on microbes-rocks interactions and how these can help studying the biology of extreme environments and predicting the search for life in other planets.