Assistant Professor of Biology Ana Estevez has only been
at St. Lawrence for a year but she’s having a big impact. The
National Science Foundation awarded her a competitive Research
Starter Grant, she’s collecting thank you notes from students
who’ve loved her classes, and she’s hosted a Latin Dance
Party.
Estevez’s area of research is in neuroscience,
specifically how nerve cells generate calcium signals to communicate,
using a tiny nematode (a roundworm) called C. elegans. “Studying
transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels in a simple organism
has the potential to greatly expand our understanding of the physiology
of these channels and may provide novel insights into the function
of TRP channels in mammals.” She recently published a book
chapter review on calcium signaling in C. elegans. Her work brought
her a Research Starter Grant from the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Estevez’s time at St. Lawrence has been made special by
her students. “I have received thank you cards and
notes, sometimes thanking me for helping them in ways I did not even
know I was. These are always touching,” she says. She
recalls especially the upper level course ‘Cellular and Molecular
Basis of Learning and Memory’. She liked the small size of
the class and found the students very receptive. “Initially,
it was quite difficult for students. However, by the end of the semester,
students became quite adept at handling the advanced material. It
was very rewarding for me to see them make that progress throughout
the semester,” she says.
When she is not teaching or conducting experiments, Dr.
Estevez likes to work out, play tennis, go for hikes, and listen
to music and dance. At the end of last semester, Dr. Estevez,
a first-generation American from Dominican Republic born and raised
in Brooklyn, NY, organized a Latin Dance Night in Canton. “It
was basically a big dance party at my house that my friends and
I really enjoyed,” she says.
Dr. Estevez completed her undergraduate level studies from SUNY Binghamton
and then received her Ph.D. degree in physiology from Wayne State University.
She did her post-doctorate fellowship at Vanderbilt University, where
she worked as a research assistant professor till she joined SLU in
2005.
