Brittany Salazar

I attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN, graduating in 2016 with a BA in Biology and minor in German. I then worked for two years at Mayo Clinic in a lab studying neuroblastoma using a zebrafish model.

At UM I have been extensively involved in advocating for graduate students, serving terms as treasurer and president of the Biomedical Graduate Student Government and as secretary for the Rackham Student Government. I am currently a GEO Steward. I have also participated in science education and outreach through SEEK and MI DNA Day.

In addition to all that, I like to do triathlons, knit, boulder, go on brewery tours, float down the Huron river (weather permitting) and hang out with my cats, Luna and Jules.

My thesis research is focused on how cells overcome obstacles to build a proper mitotic spindle. Specifically, I am investigating how a non-motor microtubule associated protein, PRC1, assists the comparatively less mechanically robust mitotic kinesin Kif15 in building and maintaining a bipolar spindle in the absence of the primary mitotic kinesin, Eg5. A more complete understanding of the plasticity of mitotic spindle assembly can inform the development of less neurotoxic chemotherapies.

Biochemistry, single molecule assays, immunofluorescence microscopy, live cell imaging, western blot, spinning disk confocal microscopy, mammalian and insect cell culture.

Nominee, OGPS Graduate Student Excellence in Service Award, 2023

Nominee, Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, 2023

Awardee, Rackham Conference Travel Grant 2022

Winner, Best Trainee Talk, 9th Annual Doctoral Program in Cancer Biology Retreat 2022

Nominee, OGPS Graduate Student Excellence in Service Award, 2022

Nominee, OGPS Excellence in Service award 2021

Salazar, B.M., Ohi, R. "Microtubule bundling by Protein Regulator of Cytokinesis 1 promotes Kinesin-12 driven mitotic spindle assembly in the absence of Kinesin-5". Oral presentation at Mitotic Spindle: From living and synthetic systems to theory. April 18th, 2023, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Salazar B.M., Ohi R. (2022). "Protein Regulator of Cytokinesis 1 assists Kinesin-12 in a Kinesin-5 independent pathway of mitotic spindle assembly." Mol. Biol. Cell 28, page #951 (Abstract #739.) Poster presentation at Cell Bio: ASCB/EMBO meeting. December 6th, 2022, Washington, DC

Salazar, B.M., Ohi, R. "Breaking the Spindle: Understanding Mitotic Spindle Assembly to Improve Chemotherapy". Oral presentation at the 9th Annual Doctoral Program in Cancer Biology Retreat. September 14th, 2022, Ann Arbor, MI.

Salazar, B.M., Ohi, R. “Protein Regulator of Cytokinesis 1 assists Kinesin-12 in building a bipolar mitotic spindle in the absence of Kinesin-5.” Oral presentation at the Cell & Developmental Biology Department Retreat. September 17th, 2022, Maumee Bay, OH

Salazar, B.M., Ohi, R. “Protein Regulator of Cytokinesis 1 assists Kinesin-12 in an alternate pathway of mitotic spindle assembly in Kinesin-5 inhibitor resistant cells”. Poster presentation at the Cytoskeletal Motors Gordon Research Conference. July 11th, 2022, Mount Snow, VT.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/brittany.salazar.1/bibliography/public/