Charity Nofziger
Class of 2002
Major: Biology
Currently: Ph.D. candidate, Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis

"After graduating from TSU, I received my master’s degree in biology from Indiana University Purdue University of Indianapolis (IUPUI). I then joined the research laboratory of Dr. Bonnie Blazer-Yost in the same institution. Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate in the same laboratory. The overall scope of our research encompasses kidney physiology with focus on the molecular mechanisms responsible for hormone-induced regulation of ion transport in the terminal portions of the nephron. This research has direct implications on the relationship between high blood pressure and Type-II Diabetes Mellitus. Our laboratory has collaborated intimately with colleagues on the academic and industrial level, including such institutions as the Indiana University School of Medicine, Eli Lilly & Co., and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. Our collaborations also extend outside the United States.

Members of our laboratory consistently attend national and international congresses, focusing on current work being performed in our field of research. Since I have been a member of the Blazer-Yost Laboratory, I have attended four national (Washington D.C; San Diego, CA; Dayton, OH; Cincinnati, OH) and two international congresses (Copenhagen, Denmark and Cantanzaro, Italy). I have presented posters describing my research interests at each meeting, and recently, I gave my first oral presentation. I am planning on attending an international congress being held in Salzburg, Austria in the fall of 2007.

Another graduate student and I had a unique opportunity in the summer of 2005, in which we studied abroad for approximately three months. Specifically, we worked at the University of Magna Graecia in Cantanzaro, Italy and the Physiology Institute in Tubingen, Germany.

I have also taken part in numerous research studies that have been published in various peer-reviewed scientific journals including the European Journal of Physiology and General Comparative Endocrinology.

I play an active role in student life here at the IUPUI campus. I represented the Biology Dept. in the School of Science Graduate Student Council for one year and am presently acting as the president for the same organization."