Lexy Cockrell, Ph.D.

Professional Background

I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Volunteering in the lab of Ted White, Ph.D., during my freshman and sophomore years at UMKC gave me my first introduction to the field of research. In addition to learning laboratory basics, I had the opportunity to join a research project focused on characterizing gain-of-function mutations that lead to drug resistance in Candida albicans. After a year a half in the White lab, I pursued my interest in genetics by joining the lab of Scott Hawley, Ph.D. at the Stowers Institute. For two years in the Hawley Lab I worked as an undergraduate researcher and Summer Scholar on a variety of projects focused on understanding female Drosophila melanogaster meiosis. My senior honors thesis, titled Miss Independent: Parthenogenesis in Drosophila mercatorum, focused on identifying the heritable traits that allow for asexual reproduction in this Drosophila species. I spent a year after graduation as a laboratory technician in the Hawley lab before joining the KUMC MD/PhD program in June 2016.

I am completing my PhD work in Jennifer Gerton's lab at the Stowers Institute. The Gerton Lab studies the effects of genome instability in a variety of model organisms. My project utilizes fission yeast to study the regulation of nucleolar and ribosomal DNA organization. I am interested in understanding the cellular physiology of human diseases where ribosome production is altered, including several developmental disorders and cancer. The KUMC MD/PhD program has supported me at every step of this journey and I'm very honored to be part of such a fantastic group. Please feel free to contact me with questions.

Thesis: The Identification of fundamental regulators of rDNA in fission yeast

Mentor:  Jennifer Gerton, Ph.D., Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Department.

I am currently in my clinical rotations for M3.