Hello! My name is Sarah Finkelstein and I am a senior Neuroscience major at Wellesley College. I joined the Tetel lab in the spring semester of my first year and have continued to work in the lab since then. Even before coming to college, I knew that I was interested in research. Coming to Wellesley, I was excited by the many opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in meaningful scientific research. Working in this lab has given me a chance to realize my passion for discovering scientific knowledge.

Previously, I have worked with Rebecca (Yogha) Muwanse '12  to study the effects of estradiol on the expression of progestin receptors in the female rat sciatic nerve.

Since the summer of 2013, I have been working with Kalpana Acharya. We currently are investigating the differential expression of steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) and SRC-2 with two PR isoforms, full length PR-B and N-terminally truncated PR-A. For our study, we will be using knock-out mice that express either PR-A or PR-B. These knock-out mice are critical tools for studying PR function because antibodies cannot distinguish PR-A from PR-B at the cellular level.  The work from this project will be part of my senior thesis.

The years that I have spent in the Tetel lab has cemented my passion for scientific research. After Wellesley I plan to pursue a career in science.