Jordan Yelinek '02 started doing genetics research in Professor Rosemary Ford's lab.
Cell Biologist Unravels Golgi Apparatus
Six years ago, Jordan Yelinek '02 was splicing and cloning rhododendron DNA in Professor Rosemary Ford's genetics lab. Today, he is finishing up his doctoral dissertation in cell biology at Yale University and considering career options ranging from post-doctoral research to biomedical business consulting to national science policymaking.
His doctoral research seeks to better understand the Golgi apparatus, the cell structure within the cytoplasm responsible for intracelluar transport. Specifically, his thesis examines the biogenesis of the Golgi apparatus in Trypanosoma brucei by serial thin section 3D reconstruction of electron micrographs. In other words, he says, he has pictures that give scientists a much better idea of what the Golgi looks like and what it does, particularly how it duplicates.
"A cell operates just like the military," Jordan explains. "The general never goes to war. He sends a private with a message, the engineers translate that message and build a tank, which is sent over to supply, where they shine the gun, load the ammo, and send it off to, in this case, Iraq. A cell works the same way—the DNA never leaves the nucleus. It sends messenger RNA to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where they translate the message, make a protein, and send it to the Golgi, who then does any last minute modifications, before sending it off to its final destination. In this way, the Golgi is much like FedEx."
There are several implications of this study, including cancer treatment. "We know that cancer is a result of malfunctioning cell growth," Jordan says. "If we can understand how cells grow maybe we can identify a specific target for cellular repair."
Jordan credits his undergraduate experience for preparing him for Yale's doctoral program. "At WC, I had a number of classes with just five or six students, so when we wanted to delve more deeply into subject matter, we could. At the same time, because of the school's writing component, I got real feedback about my writing. More important was my social growth. I got to know my professors as real people, as mentors and role models, and developed lifelong friendships with them. That sense of community is one of the greatest aspects of the Washington College experience."