Collin Coon

Collin graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Honors Biology and minors in Mathematical Biology and Japanese in May 2021. His undergraduate research focused on methane leak tracking in the lab of Joe von Fischer. Following his graduation, he worked for a year at the United State Air Force Academy’s Biology Department, where he served as a mentor to their iGEM team and conducted research on PFAS contaminates. In July 2022, he moved to Bloomington, Indiana to work as a lab manager in the lab of Kenneth Nephew. In the Nephew lab he studied ovarian cancer stem cells and the functional role of ZNFX1 in ovarian cancer tumorigenesis. Out of lab Collin enjoys cooking, getting outdoors for hiking or sports, and playing board games, Magic the Gathering, and D&D.

My research interests are primarily in cancer stem cells and tumor recurrence but I am excited to learn about all things cancer biology.

Cell culture, flow cytometry, mouse models, western blotting

Second Place in Basic Science and Translational/Clinical Research by Research Technician and Research Associate, IU Cancer Research Day, Indianapolis, IN, May 2024

First Place in Graduate Student Poster, RMBASM, Laramie, WY, April 2022

Coon, C., Stojanovic, L., Rajendran, S., Abbotts, R., Farid, E., Tripathi, K., Liu, S., Wan, J., Hostetter, G., Topper, M., Winterhoff, B., Baylin S., Rassool, F., Nephew, K. ZNFX1 (NFX1- Type Zinc Finger-Containing Protein) is a Novel Tumor Suppressor in Ovarian Cancer. Poster presented at the Indiana University Cancer Research Day, Indianapolis, IN, USA, May 2, 2024.

Stojanovic, L., Abbotts, R., Tripathi, K., Coon, C., Marker, R., Guarnieri, J., Wallace, D., Liu, S., Wan, J., Topper, M., Nephew, K., Baylin S. ZNFX1 is a Master Regulator for Epigenetic Reprograming of Mitochondrial Inflammasome Signaling and Pathogen Mimicry in Cancer Cells. Poster presented at the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Ovarian Cancer, Boston, MA, USA, Oct 5-7, 2023.

McHugh, E., Coon, C. Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances alter fungal morphologies in Penicillium sp. and Fusarium sp. Poster presented at the Rocky Mountain Branch ASM (RMBASM) Spring Meeting, Laramie, WY, USA, April 30, 2022.

Stojanovic, L., Abbotts, R., Tripathi, K., Coon, C., Marker, R., Guarnieri, J., Wallace, D., Liu, S., Wan, J., Topper, M., Nephew, K., Baylin S. (2023) ZNFX1 is a Master Regulator for Epigenetic Reprograming of Mitochondrial Inflammasome Signaling and Pathogen Mimicry in Cancer Cells [Submitted for Publication]

Harris, J., Coon, C., Doherty, M., McHugh, E., Warner, M., Walters, C., Orahood, O., Loesch, A., Hatfield, D., Sitko, J., Almand, E., Steel, J. (Nov 2022). Engineering and Characterization of Dehalogenase Enzymes from Delftia Acidovorans in Bioremediation of Perfluorinated Compounds. Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology, 7(2), doi:10.1016/j.synbio.2022.02.005.

Rykhus, R., Shepard, Z., Young, A., Frisby, H., Calder, K., Coon, C., … Brown, M. (2017). Facilitating a More Efficient Commercial Review Process for Pediatric Drugs and Biologics. Diseases, 6(1), 2., doi: 10.3390/diseases6010002