Sannie Olson, a fifth year biochemistry Ph.D. candidate, was awarded a Brown Graduate Fellowship of $10,000 for 2017-18. Sannie’s research in Professor Shogren-Knaak’s lab involves the SAGA family of nuclear complexes and how they are regulated in the process of nucleosome acetylation. With the work Sannie has accomplished, she could graduate this spring. However, the Brown award will help provide support for her to work towards finishing a developing story on how various SAGA subunits contribute to its regulation, and it is expected these results will be published several months into her fellowship.

Sannie has had a major impact on BBMB as a popular TA for a core undergraduate and graduate student biophysics lab course, BBMB 461L/561L. In addition, Sannie was one of two graduate students who took the lead in establishing the BBMB Graduate Learning Communities (GLC). GLC focuses on the professional and career development of graduate students in BBMB. Her leadership was recognized in 2015 with the receipt of the Iowa State University Graduate and Professional Student Senate Leadership Award.

The Brown Graduate Fellowship is awarded by the Office of the Vice President for Research to graduate students to strategically advance ISU research in the areas of study that are governed by the Valentine Hammes Family and Leopold Hammes Brown Family Trust. The areas of study include science, agriculture, and space science.