Lee Mangiante
B.S., Biology
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC

Robert H. Wagner Scholar
in Molecular and Cellular Pathology
I’m New England born, but I spent my formative years in the small (but mighty) town of Aiken, SC.  I received my BS in Biology from the University of South Carolina at Columbia  in May 2004.  At USC, I did my honors thesis research in the Department of Pathology and Microbiology with Dr. Stephanie Muga, studying potential chemopreventive compounds for colorectal cancer.  I joined the UNC Pathology program in the fall of 2004, where I am now a member of Dr. Joan Taylor's lab.  My project focuses on vascular smooth muscle cell migration, a process important to normal development and vascular pathologies such as atherosclerosis.  Specifically, I am interested in the role played by focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a tyrosine kinase that serves important functions in cell adhesion and signal transduction.     

My other hats include: music lover; film buff; Yankee fan; Taylor-Mack lab lunch club member; world traveler; tea drinker; kickboxer/yogi; shopaholic; archer; bookworm; pianist/flautist; hiker; Red Sox loather; spaghetti sauce maker; mackerel snapper; Gamecock fan; cat feeder; and last but not least, defender of the designated hitter rule.  My favorite food is lobster.  My favorite place to eat blue cauliflower is the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, CA.      
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