Growing up in a small town outside of Cleveland, Ohio, Logan Rice found his interest in biology after learning about non-coding regions in the genome. This newfound interest would eventually lead to him developing a goal to research cancer, setting him on his current path.
To further his goal, he pursued his bachelor’s degree in genetics at Ohio Wesleyan University, where his interest in molecular biology increased with each semester. During his time at Ohio Wesleyan, Rice participated in the summer science research program where he studied the early development of uncharacterized nematodes under Danielle Hamill, PhD. He received the opportunity to present a poster at Ohio Wesleyan’s summer science research symposium, an experience that pushed him to explore more areas of research.
After graduating in May of 2020, Rice began working at the Cleveland Clinic in the pathology and laboratory medicine institute, where he processed patient samples to assist with the pandemic response in his area. He then transferred to the lab of Jae Jung, PhD, in the Lerner Research Institute as a research technician. During his time in Dr. Jung’s lab, he worked under Youn Jung Choi, PhD, studying mast cell expressed protein 1 (MCEMP1), a protein that is highly upregulated in many inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma, COPD and COVID-19. Working on this project reaffirmed Rice’s motivation for seeking a graduate education, leading him to the St. Jude Graduate School, where he hopes to study different cancer immunotherapies.
Hometown: Painesville, Ohio
Publications
Choi, Y.J., Yoo, JS., Jung, K. et al. Lung-specific MCEMP1 functions as an adaptor for KIT to promote SCF-mediated mast cell proliferation. Nat Commun 14, 2045 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37873-3