Jackie Swanik, Ph.D.

Jackie Swanik, Ph.D.

swanikjt@email.unc.edu

Education

  • Ph.D. Cell Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Mentors

  • Frank Conlon, Ph.D.

Biography

Hi Ya'll! I grew up in Roxboro, NC and graduated summa cum laude from Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC. From there I joined the lab of Dr. Michael White at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in Dallas, TX. There I studied the role of scaffolding protein in the regulation of the RAS/RAF signal transduction cascade. I found that the scaffolding proteins, suppressor of RAS 8 (Sur-8) and Kinase Suppressor of Ras (KSR) confer specificity to the pathway in that Sur-8 contributes to EGF induced RAS/RAF pathway activation while KSR is required for LPA induced RAS/RAF pathway activation.

I joined the SPIRE program in Feb. '06 directly after I defended my PhD. Now as a member of the SPIRE program, my research has continued in the lab of Dr. Frank Conlon where I am studying the contribution of the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2 to heart development using Xenopus laevis as a model system. With great excitement, I am looking forward to teaching at our partner institution, North Carolina Central University.

Courses

  • Spring 2008
    • Developmental Biology: North Carolina Central University
  • Fall 2008
    • Biotechniques (team-taught): North Carolina Central University
    • Molecular Mechanism of Human Disease: North Carolina Central University

Publications

  • YG Langdon, SC Goetz, AE Berg, JT Swanik, and FL Conlon. (2007) SHP-2 is Required for the Maintenance of Cardiac Progenitors.  Development: 134: 4119-4130.