The Art of Discovery

"I was struck by his enthusiasm for research and inspired by [Rod MacKinnon's] success," Vanessa recalls. "He convinced me that as a graduate student at Rockefeller, I could contribute to the process."

Vanessa has published her research in Nature and other prominent journals. She has received both the Harold Weintraub Graduate Student Award and the David Rockefeller Graduate Fellowship. To no one's surprise, she was offered a postdoctoral position at Columbia University before her June graduation date from Rockefeller.

Vanessa experienced the excitement of discovery as a member of Rod MacKinnon's team when it unveiled the first picture of a voltage-dependent potassium ion channel. These channels underlie the generation of electrical impulses in the nervous system, responsible for thought, sensation and motion.

The crystal structure of a potassium channel, KvAP (left) is viewed from the intracellular side of the membrane.