Name/Title: Clifford Gee, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Creighton University
Hometown: San Jose, California
Year you joined the INBRE program: 2023
Research focus? Chemical biology/biochemistry/microbiology
Goal of your research? To broaden the understanding of bacterial peptide-transporter proteins while training undergraduate students to be interdisciplinary researchers equipped with a wide range of chemical biology techniques.
Your research will make a difference because? Antibiotic resistance is a tremendous issue that needs to be addressed. Research in the Gee lab will play a small but important part in exploring new protein targets to better understand how they work and how they might be exploited for therapeutic purposes.
Why is it important to mentor undergraduate students? I wouldn't be where I am without the mentorship I received from my undergraduate teachers and mentors. College is formative time that can set the trajectory of a student's future. I count it a great privilege to be able to mentor students to set them up for future success as best as possible.
Three things people may not know about you.
- I minored in music as an undergraduate student and play multiple instruments.
- I prefer cold winters in the Midwest over non-existent seasons in California.
- I have run two Ragnar Relays.