As a graduate student in the MCB program, Katelyn studied in the lab of Dr. Scott Gerber. While in Scott's lab, Katelyn applied genetic engineering and discovery proteomics techniques to study the steady state interactome of HUWE1: an E3 ligase with a disputed role in tumorigenesis. In addition to her thesis work, Katelyn enjoyed collaborating with other researchers in the Dartmouth community. She remembers her time at Dartmouth fondly and is very grateful to have been a member of the MCB program.
Life after Dartmouth
After wrapping up her thesis work in spring of 2019, Katelyn joined the Chemical Biology and Proteomics department at AstraZeneca (AZ) where she supported several pre-clinical projects via providing insights into drug candidate selectivity and mechanism and by developing new proteomics capabilities to assist target vetting. Katelyn was primarily aligned to targeted protein degradation (TPD) efforts; TPD modalities harness the cell's native protein clearance machinery to destroy challenging targets, many of which were previously considered "undruggable" via conventional small molecule (occupancy-driven) pharmacology approaches.
In addition to her benchwork, Katelyn mentored a postdoc and post-baccalaureate students, served on the global graduate placement steering committee as well as the Discovery Biology Inclusion and Diversity committee. She was also very fortunate to have the opportunity to build her external scientific reputation through invited perspectives and regular speaking engagements.
In October 2021, Katelyn joined C4 Therapeutics – a clinical-stage bio-pharmaceutical company that is dedicated to developing TPD therapies in the oncology space - where she is applying her experience in degrader and target characterization to lead platform enhancement initiatives and run the Proteomics group. As of early 2023, Katelyn is also a Co-PI on a collaborative project with BTEC (Boston University's Bioengineering, Technology and Entrepreneurship Center), an inaugural member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion council, serves as the C4T biological safety officer and is looking forward to her second summer as a Project Onramp student mentor.
Outside of work, Katelyn can usually be found having fun outdoors with her family and friends. She also enjoys strategy games, photography, traveling and live music.
Contact Information:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelyn-cassidy-6785489/
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4487-0011