Jessica Derham

Ph.D. Candidate (Department of Biochemistry)

BS (Eastern Illinois University, 2018)
MS (Eastern Illinois University, 2020)

Jessica completed her B.S. and M.S. in Biological Sciences and at Eastern Illinois University.

Current Research

Jessica’s research in the Kalsotra lab focuses on understanding the role of the RNA binding protein ESRP2 during the injury, regeneration, and recovery stages of acute liver injury.

Outside the lab

Outside of the lab, Jessica enjoys spending time with her friends and cats (Nova and Calcifer). She also enjoys playing video games, watching true crime documentaries, and playing table top board games.

Awards and Fellowships

  • Danica Dabich Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2024-2025
  • Robert and Kathryn Augustine Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award, Eastern Illinois University, 2021

Publication

  • Derham J.M., Kalsotra A. (2023) The discovery, function, and regulation of epithelial splicing regulatory proteins (ESRP) 1 and 2. Biochem Soc Trans. 28;51(3):1097-1109. doi: 10.1042/BST20221124