Dr. Kerry Strickland

Dr. Kerry Strickland joined Mercer University’s Chemistry Department in the fall of 2020. Before starting at Mercer, she completed a short research position with Dr. Nael McCarty (pediatrics) at Emory University studying cystic fibrosis. She defended her Ph.D. research from the Georgia Institute of Technology in December 2019, which focused on membrane protein purification and cryo-electron microscopy with Dr. Inga Schmidt-Krey (biological sciences) and membrane protein molecular dynamics simulations with Dr. J.C. Gumbart (physics). During her Ph.D. training, she completed the Tech-to-Teaching certificate program, which instructs on active learning teaching and the backward design strategy of courses in higher education. She had the opportunity to be instructor of record at the Georgia Institute of Technology for biochemistry courses, as well as the teaching assistant for general chemistry, biochemistry, and physical chemistry. She is a Georgia native and completed all of her education in Georgia.

Education

• Ph.D., Chemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology
• M.S., Chemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology
• B.S., Biology, University of North Georgia
• B.S., Physics, University of North Georgia

Specialty

Biochemistry/biophysics

Professional Interests

Transmembrane proteins are a division of proteins in the cell important for cellular communication, trafficking, stability, and more. Because these proteins span the lipid bilayer of cells, they exist in both hydrophobic and hydrophilic environments and, thus, are composed of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. To study these transmembrane proteins in an aqueous solution, traditionally, the hydrophobic region of these proteins were stabilized by non-biological detergents. New advancements in the generation of individually packaged lipid bilayers known as nanodiscs provide a means to study solubilized membrane proteins in their more natural environment. The particular class of transmembrane proteins I study is called ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC transporters). My research focuses on studying the function of archaeal ABC transporters in both detergent and lipid environment, like nanodiscs, and understanding the biochemical and biophysical characteristics of nanodiscs.

Other Interests

I am a complete nerd that loves to be outdoors and cook. This includes watching cartoons and anime to playing Dungeons and Dragons, PC games, and board games. I also enjoy various outdoor activities like rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, and camping. I love to cook and will attempt recipes from all over the world and for all kinds of diets. I have two “furbabies” — Dice (a white and black cat) and Parker (a black and white cat).

Recent Publications

• Strickland, K. M., Stock, G., Cui, G., Hwang, H., Infield, D. T., Schmidt-Krey, I., McCarty, N. A., and Gumbart, J. C. (2019) ATP-Dependent Signaling in Simulations of a Revised Model of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR). The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 123, 3177-3188
• Bandyopadhyay, D., Cyphersmith, A., Zapata, J. A., Kim, Y. J., and Payne, C. K. (2014) Lysosome transport as a function of lysosome diameter. PLoS One 9, e86847
• Dunlap, D., Yokoyama, R., Ling, H., Sun, H.-Y., McGill, K., Cugusi, S., and Lucchesi, J. C. (2012) Distinct contributions of MSL complex subunits to the transcriptional enhancement responsible for dosage compensation in Drosophila. Nucleic acids research 40, 11281-11291

Contact Dr. Kerry Strickland

(478) 301-2917
strickland_km@mercer.edu
Godsey Science Center 439