Molecular motors facilitate many vital cellular processes. Deficiencies in certain types of motors have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases. These nano-machines are working in all of our cells, so it is important to understand how they operate. An important characteristic to quantify is the amount of force these motors are able to generate so they can haul various cargo to their destinations in the cell. I use optical trapping and real-time video tracking to study the forces produced by molecular motors in vivo.
Graduate Research Assistant
University of Texas (2007-present)
Teaching Assistant
University of Texas (2005-present)
Ohio Northern University (2002-2005)
NanoScholar Intern
Sematech/ATDF (2006)
Summer Research Assistant
Cornell University (2004)
University of Florida (2003)
The College of Wooster (2002)
BS – Physics – Ohio Northern University (2005)
PhD Qualifier – University of Texas at Austin (2008)
Harman, Leidel, and Lindner, Optimal Exit: Solar escape as a restricted three-body problem, Am. J. Phys. 71 (9), September 2003
V. Quetschke, J. Gleason, M. Rakhmanov, J. Lee, L. Zhang, K. Yoshiki Franzen, C. Leidel, G. Mueller, R. Amin, D. B. Tanner, and D. H. Reitze, “Adaptive control of laser modal properties,” Opt. Lett. 31, 217-219 (2006)
