Moira McCormick earned her B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Johns Hopkins University in 2021. There, at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, she researched under Dr. Winnie Tang in the department of Environmental Health and Engineering, studying in-utero exposures to toxins and allergens and their effects on DNA methylation patterns. Throughout this project, she collaborated with University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Department of Environmental and Occupational Health to explore associations among exposure to arsenic, DNA methylation and skeletal muscle regeneration.

As a recipient of the NIH Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award, Ms. McCormick joined NIBIB’s Section on Mechanobiology in November, 2021. Her main project investigates the potential role of TRIOBP (TRIO and F-actin Binding Protein) and its isoforms in cancer progression and metastasis. She studies TRIOBP in pancreatic cancer and melanoma cell lines, testing the effects of its overexpression and inhibition. She is analyzing biochemical and biophysical properties of cells and their cytoskeleton using superresolution confocal microscopy, droplet digital PCR, western blot, atomic force microscopy, and more.