Hi! My name is Hande Piristine and I'm a senior from Istanbul, Turkey. I became a neuroscience major and joined the Tetel lab in the fall of 2011. Since then, I have worked with Jen Wan and Colleen Isabelle on the interaction of progestin receptor subtypes with steroid receptor coactivators 1 and 2. I use a protein-protein pulldown assay and western blotting, and hope to look at regional differences in these interactions this year. 

I also had the opportunity to explore my interest in bioengineering at Olin in the lab of Dr. Alisha Sarang-Sieminski in the summer of 2012. We utilized a novel synthetic hydrogel system to look at the effects of biophysical cues on the vascular network formation by endothelial cells. The findings of this research can be found here.

The year after graduating from Wellesley, I worked as a Lab Technician in Sharon Gobes Lab at Wellesley College.

After Wellesley, I'm planning on pursuing a graduate degree and I am looking forward to many more years of research.