~~Virlana Shchuka, class of 2009, is currently pursuing her Ph.D. degree in the Cell and Systems Biology Department at the University of Toronto. She is investigating how DNA folding patterns drive stem cell identity in a research-based thesis project in the Mitchell Lab. Virlana previously completed an Honours B.Sc. at the University of Toronto, happily dividing her time between studies in cell biology and English literature. She was also employed as an instructor for Toronto Life Sciences, a company that prepares first- and second-year university students for their examinations. During her seminars, she taught students by personifying subcellular structures and molecules, thereby bringing "the beautiful, playful world of the cell to life" for them. To date, Virlana has submitted a review of chromatin looping dynamics in cell fate specification for publication, and has published brief critical papers on two Jane Austen novels, with one paper winning second prize in the annual Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) essay contest. Upon the completion of her Ph.D. degree, Virlana hopes to obtain a post-doctoral position in an interdisciplinary course of study that will allow her to combine her scientific and literary interests. She very much credits her love of and commitment toward her work to her Hawthorn School education, and especially her love of cells and molecules to Ms. Christiansen's eleventh grade biology class.
