Cailtyn Pyne CV
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Cailtyn Pyne CV

Caitlyn Pyne
------------ • ------------ • 122 Andrew Avenue, East Meadow, NY 11554

Education

State University of New York at New Paltz
Bachelor of Arts, Department of Psychology: Expected spring 2020 summa cum laude
Concentration: Psychobiology
Minor: Mathematics
Minor: Biology
G.P.A: 3.83

Research Experience

Research Assistant | State University of New York at New Paltz
August 2019 – December 2019
Investigated the function of Paramecium caudatum genes shown to be highly upregulated upon infection by Holospora
Following primer design on geneious software, we successfully cloned 15 genes suspected to be involved in infection resistance through insertion into the T7 feeding promoter vector L4440 for RNAi feeding
Capstone Research | State University of New York at New Paltz
Spring 2020
We are in the process of knocking down the cloned genes, by enabling the transformed E.coli cells to produce double stranded RNA, causing a degradation of homologous RNA in P. Caudatum
Knocking down these genes and observing the response by P. Caudatum following infection by Holospora will allow us to determine their function

Research Intern | Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York
June 2019 – August 2019
Part of the U.S Department Of Energy’s Summer Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program
As apart of the ongoing Quantitative Plant Science Initiative at Brookhaven National Lab we successfully expressed, purified, and characterized a putative Heme and/or FMN binding protein from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
The codon optimized synthetic gene of HFBP from C. reinhardtii was cloned into pET11e vector and heterologous expression in E. coli cells were screened in both IPTG and auto induction methods
As a result of persistent expression, and histidine tag purification we were able to successfully confirm the identity of the protein through SDS page and purified it to homogeneity
We found that this protein associates as a tetramer in solution as evidenced from size-exclusion chromatography
The initial crystallization experiments, which act as a bottleneck for the structure determination process, failed to yield any crystals
Through use of homology modelling in conjunction with docking procedure, we identified the FMN binding sites
Mastered protein production and characterization methodologies including growing cell cultures, the purification of membrane proteins, size exclusion chromatography, and protein crystallization




Work Experience

Assistant Manager - Subway Restaurant, New Paltz, New York January 2018-Current
Acquired leadership skills including conflict resolution, anticipation and prevention of problems, and communication
Responsible for training new hires
Introduced a familiarity with a team oriented environment
Managed computer systems

Computer Proctor– SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, New York September 2016-January 2018
Learned procedures for installing and applying software
Printer and computer inspection and maintenance
Troubleshoot software issues

Hurd’s Family Farm, Modena, New York March 2016- January 2017
Organizational role
Inventory management
Prioritization of tasks

Intern, Long Island Veterinary Acupuncture, Wantagh, New York September 2015- April 2016
Learned procedures related to animal handling and safety
Shadowed activities of a veterinary acupuncturist
Active work on excel with receptionist duties

Swimming Instructor, East Meadow, New York May 2014- January 2016
Promotion of safety procedures and training programs
Interact and teach individuals of diverse age groups, people management
Modification of teaching technique in order to account for individual differences
Learned to be attentive of multiple stimuli in order to ensure safety
Learned to handle unexpected events


Course Work


Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Calculus 1-3
Introduction to Proofs
Physiological Psychology
Cognitive processes

Genetic’s
Evolutionary Biology
Chemistry
Probability and Statistics
Ordinary Differential Equations
Animal Physiology
Horticultural Botany

Accomplishments

SUNY New Paltz Presidential Scholarship (2016-present)
Math Placement Level 6
Foreign Language Placement Level 3 (Spanish)
SUNY New Paltz Dean’s List (Fall & Spring semesters 2016-present)
Certified Microsoft Office Word Specialist (2014)
SUNY New Paltz Student of Excellence award 2020
Latin honors award 2020


Computer Skills


SPSS
Geneious
Minitab
MODELLER

Microsoft Office Suite
Adobe Photoshop

Lab Skills


Primer design
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Size exclusion chromatography
Crystallization
Restriction digestion
Ligation
DNA transformation
Protein purification
DNA & protein gel electrophoresis
Mathematical induction
Homology modelling
Heterologous expression
Autoclave operation
Gene Knockdown
Infection
qPCR


Research Interests


Cognitive Neuroscience
Clinical Psychology
Computational Neuroscience
Data analysis

Psychopharmacology
Protein biology
Genetics

Personal Interests



Writing
Reading poetry
Hiking
Swimming
Running
Astronomy
Chess
Horror novels/movies