Gisele Andree (she/her/hers) is a 1st year chemical biology graduate student and a member of the CADI board. She grew up in Hampden, MA and came to MIT in 2019 after receiving her bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst. Gisele’s research in Professor Cathy Drennan’s group focuses on studying the structures of different ribonucleotide reductase enzymes with the goal of understanding the molecular basis for substrate and inhibitor binding, allosteric regulation, and radical generation/radical transfer.
We sat down with Gisele over Zoom this week and asked her a few questions about her choice to come to MIT, her favorite parts of Cambridge, and what being part of CADI means to her.
Why did you want to get a graduate degree?
I want to always be learning and discovering new things. But more specifically, I want to push our current knowledge of proteins forwards, even just a little bit. Also, a PhD opens a lot of doors career-wise.
Why did you choose structural biology? Why the Drennan lab in particular?
I fell in love with structural biology during an undergraduate summer program in the Drennan lab. I was always interested in proteins, but what is cooler than actually being able to discover their structures and see how it directly effects the protein’s function and chemistry? Structural biology can be pretty interdisciplinary (involving many different biochemical, biophysical, and computational techniques), and you can learn a lot of different things by studying protein structure.
The Drennan lab is full of supportive, accepting, and wonderful individuals who I love to work with. Cathy cultivates a great lab environment and she also deeply cares about education and diversity initiatives as well as the science, which were extra things that I knew I wanted to also focus on in my PhD.
Why did you decide to come to MIT?
I really loved the MIT environment, the city, and especially the people. The students here do great science, but they’re passionate about so many other things, too. Everyone’s kinda a nerd (like me), so it feels very welcoming.
What’s on your MIT bucket list? What’s your favorite item you’ve checked off so far?
My bucket list is essentially to take advantage of all the MIT student ID discounts. I love going to all of the free and discounted museums, especially the New England Aquarium (tickets are 60% off for students!). I’m looking forward to visiting the Isabella Stuart Gardener museum in the summer when the gardens are in bloom and trying out more of the cool breweries in the area.
What’s been your biggest challenge since coming to MIT?
The biggest challenge has been imposter syndrome and worrying that I’m not qualified to be here. I’m the first person in my family to go to grad school or do anything in STEM. But ChemREFs had an imposter syndrome-focused discussion in the fall that was really nice. It’s helpful to have a group discussion about it and know everyone in the room feels the same way.
What part of the chemistry department are you most proud of?
The student groups here are very passionate, and the students are really involved with making changes and trying to improve the character of the department, which is really nice.
Why did you join CADI?
I wanted to join because it’s important to me to increase all kinds of diversity in science and chemistry. Everyone who comes here should feel like they belong here and can do good work here. A lot of people helped me on the way to college and graduate school, and CADI helps me pay all of that help forward. Everyone should feel like they can get a PhD and be a successful scientist if they want to.
What are you doing to stay sane in quarantine?
I’ve been doing online yoga videos and playing a lot of video games (I just started the Witcher 3, which I would definitely recommend so far). I’ve also had time to get more creative in the kitchen, which has been fun.
How are you keeping in touch with family and friends? The Drennan lab zooms together every day for a coffee break (I look forward to 3pm every day!). Zoom has been nice because you can actually see people (MIT gave us all free accounts for the quarantine). Also, my lab has an Animal Crossing group chat, since a lot of people have been playing the new game, and it’s been really fun to play with others.
Have questions/want more CADI?
Please email the CADI board with any questions!