Rosalind E. Franklin Science Achievement Graduate Scholarship in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Holly Kleinschmidt, a graduate student in the Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology (BMMB) Ph.D. program, studies the elements that impact pioneer transcription factor binding in mammalian cell lines in Dr. Lu Bai’s lab. She has published two co-authored papers in scientific journals about the origin of life, which she studied as an undergraduate. Kleinschmidt currently serves as the President of the BMMB Graduate Student Association and on the executive board of Penn State’s Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) chapter. She was recently designated as a trainee on the NIH-funded Eukaryotic Gene Regulation Training Grant. Kleinschmidt is passionate about scientific outreach and hopes to help make science more accessible to the general public. She earned bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and environmental science at Saint Louis University.