Graduate School alumnaVanja Krneta-Stankic’s research on kidney development was published inCell Reportsand featured on the cover of the July issue. In this Q&A with the Graduate School, Stankic discusses her first-author paper and how studying at the school helped her achieve this publishing accomplishment.

Can you explain your research featured inCell Reports?

“细胞如何重塑其粘附是上皮组织生物学中的核心问题之一。细胞使用细胞表面蛋白（例如E-钙粘蛋白）彼此粘附。在本文中，我们检查了肾脏发育过程中细胞细胞粘附的过程。肾脏由一个称为肾单位的上皮小管网络组成，它们的形态对于肾功能至关重要。我们表明，一种称为DAAM1的蛋白质调节E-钙粘蛋白的定位和肾细胞的粘附，随后调节肾单位形状。这些发现为研究上皮细胞和肾脏发育的粘附提供了一个新的框架。”

What does it mean to you to have this work published in such a high-impact journal?

“As with many projects, there were a lot of ups and downs along the way. For example, we utilized various experimental techniques in novel contexts, so experimental procedures had to be optimized. This process was labor-intensive and frustrating at times. However, it was very gratifying once experiments started to work and entirely worth it in the end. I am excited to see the work published and share it with the greater scientific community. It is also a testament to overcoming the challenges we faced along the way.

“我要感谢我的论文顾问Rachel Miller博士使这个项目成为可能。我非常感谢她的支持和指导。此外，我要感谢Miller和McCrea Lab成员的支持。我也非常感谢我所有的咨询委员会成员对该项目的宝贵反馈和评论。最终，非常感谢我们在这个项目上的所有合作者。”

您在研究生院的培训如何帮助这项成就？

”’让我interact with so many amazing and supportive scientists that were instrumental in pushing this project forward. Besides, it presented scholarship opportunities that helped with the funding of this project. Thank you, GSBS!”

Krneta-Stankic graduated in the fall of 2020 with a PhD in Genes and Development. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of GSBS faculty Jichao Chen, PhD. Her advisor was Rachel Miller, PhD.