Auburn Ramsey earned her bachelor's degree in biotechnology in 2021 followed by her master’s in biology in 2023 from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Her academic journey fostered a strong interest in cancer biology starting when she joined Dr. Guolei Zhou’s laboratory as an undergraduate in 2018, which led to her research experience, publications, and the completion of her master’s degree. Ramsey’s research focused on understanding how the cell signaling system controls key cellular functions in cancer progression, specifically cell matrix adhesion, migration, and proliferation. Her work centered around the actin-regulating protein CAP1 (Cyclase-Associated Protein 1) and culminated in a first-author publication.
While Ramsey has a strong interest in research, her experience as a graduate teaching assistant ignited a passion for teaching as well. She is now pursuing a PhD with the aim of leading a laboratory as a research professor, conducting impactful research in the fight against cancer and mentoring the next generation of scientists. During the Biomedical Sciences PhD Program, she hopes to continue her research in molecular oncology and broaden her knowledge in cell biology and beyond, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the pathways leading to the development of cancer treatments.
Hometown: Georgetown, AR
Publications:
Ramsey A, Akana L, Miyajima E, Douglas S, Gray J, Rowland A, Sharma KD, Xu J, Xie JY, Zhou GL. (2023). CAP1 (cyclase-associated protein 1) mediates the cyclic AMP signals that activate Rap1 in stimulating matrix adhesion of colon cancer cells. Cellular signalling 104, 110589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cellsig.2023.110589
Zhang H, Ramsey A, Xiao Y, Karki U, Xie JY, Xu J, Kelly T, Ono S, Zhou GL. (2020). Dynamic Phosphorylation and Dephosphorylation of Cyclase-Associated Protein 1 by Antagonistic Signaling through Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 and cAMP Are Critical for the Protein Functions in Actin Filament Disassembly and Cell Adhesion. Molecular and cellular biology 40(4), e00282-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/MCB.00282-19