News item posted on 2014-10-02

Kate Mittendorf wins Karpay Award

Congratulations to Kate Mittendorf for being named the 2015 recipient of The Anne Karpay Award in Structural Biology. "I am honored and humbled to have been selected as the recipient of the Karpay Award," Kate said.

Kate joined the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in 2010 after receiving her BA in Biochemistry from DePauw University. Since joining the Sanders lab and Department of Biochemistry in 2011, her research has focused on human membrane proteins related to disease, primarily peripheral myelin 22, which plays a role in heritable neuropathies. She has collaborated extensively with the Mel Ohi lab by utilizing electron microscopy to study this integral membrane protein. She has also performed research in the development of novel bicelles, a membrane mimetic, for improved studies of membrane proteins by solution NMR.

Kate's pursuits outside the lab include painting, drawing, various outdoor activities and rock climbing.

The Karpay Award was established in 2010 to honor the memory of Dr. Anne Karpay who died after a four-year battle with breast cancer. It recognizes one senior graduate student who is a well-rounded colleague and scientist, who is collaborative and collegial and who has performed exceptional research in the field of structural biology. Karpay exemplified each characteristic and demonstrated a passion for science, for friendship and for life.

"It is very special to be included among the past Karpay Award recipients and to be selected for an award in honor of Anne, who left such an enduring legacy," said Kate. "I hold them all in very high regard."

The Karpay Award is funded entirely by donations to an endowment managed through the Development Office of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Make donations to the fund through the Giving to Vanderbilt website. Contact Karen D. Davis in the CSB for more information or assistance in making a donation.

Author: Karen D. Davis