Gethein Andrew, M.S., MRSB
Mentor: Dr. Ed Grabczyk, Ph.D.
Graduate Assistant
Department of Genetics Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
New Orleans, LA 70112
Email: gandr2@lsuhsc.edu
BIO: Gethein G.M. Andrew is in her final year of graduate school at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans under the instruction of Dr. Ed Grabczyk, Ph.D. She received a Bachelor’s Degree with a Major in Microbiology and a minor in Ceramic Studio Art from East Tennessee State University where her research on bacterial-fungal interactions went on to place 1st in her regional research forum. Ms. Andrew has also gained a Master’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences from Quillen College of Medicine where her thesis work was focused on GABAergic pathology in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex of the human brain. This project sparked her interest in neurological diseases that cause neurodegeneration. To further narrow her field of interest, Ms. Andrew is currently studying DNA repeat expansion disorders that cause progressive neural and neuromuscular decline.
RES: Gethein G.M. Andrew works on a DNA repeat expansion disorder called Friedreich Ataxia that is classically seen in the Acadian population. Her role in uncovering the mysteries of the disease lies in the DNA Mismatch Repair system. She focuses on isoform 2 of the MLH3 protein. Her laboratory has shown that splice-switching the MLH3 mRNA transcript into the non-dominant isoform causes disease progression to halt.