Ashley Arthur, a 5th year graduate student at the University of Minnesota, has been selected as the recipient of PurSolutions’ 2019 Reagent Scholarship. As a lab member in Dr. Titus’ lab, Ashley has been allowed to pursue her passion and curiosity of molecular motors and the cytoskeleton. Ashley states that Dr. Titus and the University of Minnesota put a strong emphasis on training and a highly collaborative environment.
Ashley’s thesis is on filopodia initiation and characterizing the motor properties that govern this process. As the recipient of PurSolutions’ 2019 Reagent Scholarship, Ashley will receive 20 mg of Ultra-Pure Actin. Ashley states that this scholarship will help her efficiently finish her project and submit for publication, writing “Purified actin is an essential reagent…[but the purification process] is both time consuming and technically challenging.” Through Ashley’s research, training in Dr. Titus’ lab, and collaborative experiences at the University of Minnesota, she hopes to become an independent researcher and scientist. By supplying premium quality cytoskeletal proteins as hassle-free reagents, PurSolutions aims to help scientists like Ashley achieve their research and career goals.