Carsten Knusten

Class of 2020

Education: BS in Biology at UM-Duluth; MS in Biological Sciences at Cal Poly

 

Biography

Stem cells show great promise as a research tool across many fields. Carsten is intrigued by the seemingly endless possibilities of stem cells utility. In particular, he is interested in using stem cells to improve toxicological testing, and early-stage drug screening. He is most interested in learning and developing techniques to create more representative in vitro assays using stem cells. He wants to innovate within the fields of pharmacology and toxicology to create tissues in a dish that are able to more accurately represent the human body. There is an ever-growing demand, in high-throughput screening, for higher fidelity cells. Following completion of the program, he intends to pursue a PhD, but would be open to a delay if there was a good fit for a research position in industry.

Carsten completed his internship at Rubedo Life Sciences under Alex Laslavic and Dr. Marco Quarta. Rubedo seeks to develop a new generation of drug therapeutics to rejuvenate the body by safely targeting the cells that drive aging and disease. These novel therapeutics aim to improve the quality of the human aging process and extend health-span. A growing body of evidence shows the critical role of senescent cells in driving aging and age-related diseases, with clearance of senescent cells restoring
tissue function. Carsten’s internship at Rubedo involved using molecular biology and bioinformatics tools to find new biomarkers and therapeutic targets of senescent cells.