UW–Madison undergraduate students play an important role in research happening all over campus. Biochemistry majors jump into projects across a wide range of fields related to their major, and the mix of their research experiences, classes, and extracurriculars sets them up for a diverse range of career paths.
In this series, some of these students share how their interests have taken shape, how working in labs has changed the way they see research, what they’ve learned from classes outside their major, and how they’ve found community along the way.
Elliott Weix is a junior from Madison, Wisconsin majoring in math and biochemistry. His conducts research in the Coyle Lab.
Did you come to UW–Madison knowing you wanted to major in biochemistry?
Yes. I grew up in a science-oriented household. I was pretty sure I wanted to do something related to science. But I didn’t properly appreciate biology until I started working in the Coyle Lab. They taught me to look at biology as both a builder and an observer.
Tell us about your research.
The Coyle Lab builds living systems that can help us better understand how cells work. The project that I work on involves two proteins from E. coli and other bacteria that help the cells divide. [These proteins] create a concentration gradient that the cell can detect. We study how to use these proteins to program how molecules move in cells.
What classes outside of your major have you especially enjoyed?
The exciting thing for me has been taking different classes across the sciences and starting to see how the pieces fit together. I took an interesting chemistry class that was physics-based. I understand now why people get excited about biophysics — you can connect physical and biological scales to make an explanation.
Where have you found community at UW–Madison?
I spent my first year here in the dorms. On my floor, we were close-knit. We would all eat dinner at the dining halls together and made it a big family style thing. We even all went camping together over the summer. I also spend a lot of time with the graduate students in my lab, because I’m in the lab so much.
What do you hope to do after you graduate?
After dipping my toes into research in high school and as an undergrad, I’d like to maybe make a career out of it. I would like to be able to ask my own questions and then have that responsibility to figure out the answers with a team of people. So, I’m planning to apply to graduate school.
Undergraduates majoring in biochemistry can email communications@biochem.wisc.edu to participate in the Undergrad Profile series.