Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Ph.D., Cornell University
B.S., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Professor Walstrom teaches biochemistry and molecular biology courses, laboratories, and tutorials. Her interdisciplinary research group studies RNA helicases and gene regulation in the model organism C. elegans, a small nematode. Students in her laboratory utilize techniques such as PCR, RT-PCR, microscopy, cloning, protein purification, and enzyme assays. In 2006, Dr. Walstrom and two other Natural Sciences professors received a grant to
further their research into animal and plant development and gene expression.
Through the grant, New College became one of only a small number of
undergraduate institutions to have a real-time PCR instrument to measure DNA and
RNA levels in tissue samples taken from organisms.
Recent Courses
General Chemistry Lab
Biochemistry II: Metabolism & Advanced Topics
Selected Publications
Bondi, S. K., Medlin, S. E., &Walstrom, K. M. (2002). Kinetic
characterization of Malate Dehydrogenase from C-elegans. Abstracts of
Papers of the American Chemical Society, 223, U212 348 Part 1.
Dayton,
T. L., Walstrom, K. M., & Johal, M. S. (2005). Using
polyelectrolyte films to study M15 and Alpha-protein interactions.
Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society, 229, U708. 381
Part 1.
Walstrom, K. M., Bauer, C., & Schmidt, D. (2005).
Transcription regulation of endogenous genes by C-elegans RNA Helicase
A. Developmental Biology, 283(2), 646-646.
Walstrom, K. M.,
Schmidt, D., Bean, C. J., & Kelly, W. G. (2005 May). RNA Helicase A
is important for germ line transcriptional control, proliferation, and
Meiosis in C. Elegans. Mechanisms of Development, 122(5), 707-720.