IPiB Thesis Defense May 11, 2023: Nina Jocic Bonde

Nina Bonde, an IPiB graduate student, will be defending her Ph.D. research on May 11.

Bonde’s research, which has been published in Nucleic Acids Research, focuses on the roles and interactions of proteins involved in DNA repair processes. She is a member of both the Keck Lab in the Department of Biomolecular Chemistry and the Cox Lab in the Department of Biochemistry.

Bonde’s work has helped to illuminate nuances of the interactions between RecG – a DNA repair protein whose exact role has been difficult to define – and single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) in repairing gaps in DNA sequences. Her research bridges areas of expertise of her two advisors.

“Professors Jim Keck and Mike Cox have been collaborating for more than 20 years,” says Bonde, “so being co-advised has gone very smoothly. As a joint student, I was able to learn techniques from both labs and my research integrated specialties from both labs.”

Just as important has been the varied bodies of knowledge that Bonde found among her fellow graduate students. “I’ve gotten so much mentorship and guidance from older students,” says Bonde, who says she benefitted from peer feedback received through IPiB’s practice preliminary exams, organized by the Graduate Leadership and Development Committee (GLDC). “It’s just such a close community.”

Bonde served on the Graduate Leadership and Development Committee as both IPiB Retreat Chair and Student Invited Speaker Chair. Bonde was also a trainee in the Biotechnology Training Program (BTP).

After she graduates, Bonde will be putting her skills and training to work at Promega, where she’ll join the engineering team in Promega’s advanced technologies research and development group.

To learn more about Bonde’s research, attend her Ph.D. defense on Thursday, May 11 at 11:00 a.m. CT in Room 1211 of the DeLuca Biochemical Sciences Building.

Learn more about this event.