Coagulase is an enzyme that can be used to differentiate strands of Staphylococcus aureus (Staph) from other types of bacteria. Dominique Wozniak, a senior majoring in Biochemistry, worked to test a certain antibody’s ability to tag Staph’s coagulase enzyme. Dominique conducted her Undergraduate Research Fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Peter Panizzi in the Harrison School of Pharmacy.
“If the antibody (GMA 2105) is able to tag a strain of Staph’s coagulase, then only the coagulase will show up at the end of the experiment.” Dominique said, “Since the protein tagged (coagulase) is specific to Staph, this antibody could be beneficial in determining whether or not a patient has a Staph infection.”
Dominique worked this summer using western blotting to determine if her experimental antibody was able to tag coagulase in Staph without also tagging some other protein present in a non-Staph bacteria. She is in the process of gathering her material and results to have the procedure she used published.
“Performing undergraduate research helped me to have a better understanding of what I’m doing when going to classroom labs,” Dominique said. “Getting started early has many advantages because it allows you to find something you truly enjoy.”
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