Hannah Frye

A 2016 genome wide association study in human heroin users found that single nucleotide polymorphisms in the gene encoding for an AMPA receptor auxiliary protein, cornichon homolog-3 (CNIH3), correlates with a protective effect against opioid dependence after drug use. My thesis aims to elucidate the biochemical, synaptic, and behavioral effects of CNIH3 in the hippocampus and the role it may play in drug-associated memory and learning.

Prior to my enrollment at WashU, I completed my B.S. in Chemistry with a Biological Sciences minor at Missouri University of Science & Technology in 2015. As an undergraduate I studied the effects of genetic manipulations on muscarinic receptor signaling pathways in the lab of Dr. Robert Aronstam and coordinated public outreach initiatives for the university’s iGEM synthetic biology design team.

Outside of the lab, I am passionate for promoting scientific research and advocacy in the community. I am an active participant in the WashU graduate group Promoting Science Policy, Education, and Research (ProSPER), a graduate aid for WashU’s Science on Tap community seminar program, and a volunteer biology tutor for the Boy’s Hope Girl’s Hope home in St. Louis.