My name is Ines Studer and I am a senior at the University of Arizona majoring in Pharmaceutical Sciences and minoring in Biochemistry. I am currently working as a research assistant in Dr. Xinxin Ding’s laboratory. During my time here, I have been fortunate to receive excellent mentorship and complete my honors thesis. The project that I have spent much of my time working on is titled “The Characterization of naphthalene (NA)-DNA adducts in wild-type mice and firefighters.” NA is an environmental contaminant present in mothballs, car exhaust, and most relevant to this project, fire smoke. Our aim has been…

Karen Greene, the Pima County Public Library’s “Librarian on the Move” talks to us about the Book Bike program of the Pima County Public Library. The fleet of three bikes roam the city filled with free books and reading glasses to share with the community. Learn more about the Book Bike and find out where the Book Bike will be next.

Hello! My name is Olivia Bertuca and I am a senior at the University of Arizona majoring in biochemistry. I am currently in Dr. Judith Brown’s laboratory in the Department of Plant Sciences studying RNA interference and gene knockdown in the potato psyllid. The potato psyllid is a pest that transmits the pathogen ‘Candidatus’ Liberibacter solanacearum to tomatoes, potatoes and other crops. This pathogen causes incurable and devastating disease in crops that causes massive yield loss. Currently, synthetic pesticides are being used to control the spread, which are costly and unsafe for the surrounding environment, so biopesticides utilizing RNA interference…

In this episode of Nonprofit Spotlight, Stephanie talks with Larry Starks, President of the Tucson Juneteenth Festival.  The National Freedom Holiday is celebrated on Wednesday, June 19th. The Tucson Juneteenth Festival will take place on Saturday, June 15th. Check out events happening in the community on the KXCI events page and tucsonjune19.org.

Read Between the Bars is a completely volunteer-run organization that sends free books to people incarcerated in Arizona’s state and federal prisons.

Hello! My name is Violet Rowland, I am a graduating Senior majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and minoring in Biochemistry. In my lab, we study a process called segmentation. Think of yourself and how you have a backbone made of many repeating vertebrae- these are each segments (repeating subunits in the body plan)! During development we need to make these segments, which is called segmentation. We are trying to understand how this process evolved since you and me (and all vertebrates) are segmented but so are other animals like worms and insects. I study segmentation in the fruit fly…

A few weeks ago I chatted with David Contreras who is a Fugista and a bike club leader. We chatted about his introduction to bikes and his love for sharing the knowledge he has with our next generation of riders. The interview was really rich, and I always had the intention of sharing the second half of it with you all. Not long after we recorded that interview, David was hit and run over by a vehicle while biking home from work. His bike was totaled, his helmet saved his life, and his recovery has been ongoing. He’s been very…

This week’s episode of The Nonprofit Spotlight shines on Sierra Rhodes, HOME Fellow and Staff Attorney at Step Up to Justice (SU2J). Step Up to Justice Pro Bono Law Center advances civil justice for low-income individuals and families in Pima County, Arizona. The organization works to lift people out of poverty by providing community education and emergency civil legal assistance; leveraging innovation, partnerships, advocacy, and volunteer services. SU2J is a full-service civil legal education and assistance center, created to close the justice gap for low-income residents of Pima County who need but cannot afford an attorney. They serve clients with…

Hi, my name is Sophia Marcinowski! I’m currently a senior majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and I’m in my first year of the Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP) at the University of Arizona. The research I’ve been a part of for the last two years relates to figuring out how the cell naturally degrades toxic protein build-up in patients with the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We’re interested in learning more about this process because this could lead to finding therapeutic targets to treat ALS, of which there are currently none. In my free time, I love to draw and…