Life in the lab: JoDi Osborn

JoDi Osborn

joDi Osborn, now working toward her Ph.D., began her undergraduate education as a non-traditional student at 24 and is now dedicated to cancer research. She investigates malignant melanoma in the lab of assistant professor of biology Susanna Greer.

As told to Jeremy Craig

I originally wanted to study forensics, and I have always been obsessed with true crime novels and solving crimes, but the more I got into biology, the more I became fascinated with the molecular level.

It's amazing, all of the things that are going on inside cells that people never think about. Even with everything we've learned about molecular biology, there's so much that we don't understand. I like solving problems, and that's what molecular biology is.

I just started a project, and it's going in a new direction for the lab. I'm looking at a protein called major histocompatibility complex [MHC] class 2, which is in every cell of the body except red blood cells, and plays a role in the immune system's response to flush out abnormalities. I'm investigating its expression in melanoma, or cancer cells. A recent study has shown that in different stages of melanoma, there are four stages where the MHC levels are different. I want to look at the genetic changes and the role of MHC in metastasis, or the spreading of cancer cells.

Someday, I want to teach at the university level and, hopefully, run my own lab. It's different than what I originally planned, but I've realized as I've gone through college that I love teaching. I love helping people to understand things.