Elena Arroyo
earroyo@uw.edu
Education
University of Washington (UW) Fall 2019-Present
Ph.D. Student; Biological Physics, Structure, and Design (BPSD)
Department of Medicinal Chemistry
San Diego State University (SDSU) Fall 2013-Spring 2018
Bachelor of Science; Physics
Awards & Fellowships
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP) 2018-Present
Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholarship 2017-2018
Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training Scholar (SMART) 2017
NIH Maximizing Access to Research Careers Scholar (MARC) 2016-2018
NSF University of Texas Rio Grande Valley REU scholar 2016
Skolil Fund-Physics Scholarship 2015
SDSU Keck Scholar 2014
Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Program Scholarship 2014
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Scholar 2013-2018
Publication
Maguire, L., Reskin, S., Wall, K., Arroyo, E., Whitten, S., Erbse, A., and Hough, L.E.
Aggregation of FG nucleoporin peptide under crowded conditions. PLOS ONE. 2020. Under
review.
Research Experience
Research Assistant April 2020-Present
Department of Medicinal Chemistry
University of Washington
Investigate the role of small molecules play in modulating phase separation of tau and its
fragments. I am using fluorescence microscopy to study how small molecules modulate tau
Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS) in vitro. I am also developing a simple protein model
system with tunable parameters to computationally study the binding mechanisms of small
molecules in tau to drive LLPS.
Supervisor (Supv): Abhinav Nath, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Spring 2020
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
University of Washington
Aimed to answer how kinetochore mutations rescue yeast from humanization of their histones.
Isolated a mutation in the kinetochore and used biophysical tools to study the effects of the
mutation on the kinetochore microtubule interface.
Supv: Charles Asbury, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Fall 2019
Department of Bioengineering
University of Washington
Targeted enrichment of genes towards targeted single-cell transcriptomics. I aimed to amplify
target genes in a way that simulates SPLIT-seq workflow.
Supv: Georg Seelig, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Summer 2018
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
University of Washington
I worked on optimizing target gene cell expression, learned cell culture techniques, and mentored
undergraduate students.
Supv: Sharona Gordon, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Spring 2015-Spring 2018
Department of Physics
San Diego State University
In the Baljon laboratory I am working on understanding why the mucus environment helps
bacteriophages (viruses of bacteria) attack bacteria and fight disease. I am writing code in
Fortran to analyze the output of the LAMMPS code to answer the address the question of the
motion of phages within the mucus structure. I have also created models visualizing this
movement and structure using programs (VMD) for the modeling of polymer movement.
Supv: Arlette Baljon, Ph.D.
Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training summer scholar Summer 2017
BioFrontiers Institute
University of Colorado, Boulder
As a Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training (SMART) scholar, I investigated the
difference in protein aggregations in different crowders using x-ray scattering. The crowders
investigated promote different rates of aggregation. We are exploring the subsequent formation
of aggregate structures in PEG and PVP.
Supv: Loren Hough, Ph.D.
UTRGV REU fellow Summer 2016
Department of Physics
University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley
I created a unique metasurface unit for black phosphorous that would enable us to introduce
directional coupling with light. The project was performed using numerical full-wave
simulations of Maxwell’s curl equations in a three-dimensional grid base on the Finite-
Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method.
Supv: Myoung-Hwan Kim, Ph.D.
Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant Fall 2020
Basic Techniques in Biochemistry (BioC426)
University of Washington
Created lectures to explain topics on molecular cloning, DNA sequencing, and PCR. Since this
class was online, I utilized pictures and videos to reinforce the students understanding of the
laboratory techniques used.
Supv: Liangcai Gu, Ph.D.
Presentations
Arroyo, E., Gustilo-Rios, M., Strum, R., Luque, A., Anderson, M., and Baljon, A.R.
Subdiffusive Motion of Phages Through Mucus. American Physical Society March meeting
(APS). Los Angeles, CA. 2018. Poster.
Arroyo, E., Gustilo-Rios, M., Strum, R., Luque, A., Anderson, M., and Baljon, A.R.
Subdiffusive Motion of Phages Through Mucus. SDSU Student Research Symposium. San
Diego, CA. 2018. Poster.
Arroyo, E., Maguire, L., Reskin, S., and Hough, L.E. Nuclear Pore Complex Protein
Aggregation Under Crowded Conditions. Annual Biomedical Research Conference for
Minority Students (ABRCMS). Phoenix, AZ. 2017. Poster.
Arroyo, E., Maguire, L., Reskin, S., and Hough, L.E. Nuclear Pore Complex Protein
Aggregation Under Crowded Conditions. Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS).
Hartford, CT. 2017. Oral.
Arroyo, E., Wilson, M., Dickey, S., Barr, J., Nulton, J., Felts, B., Salamon, P., Rohwer, F., and
Baljon, A.R. Movement of Bacteriophages through Mucus. SoCal TheoChem 2.0 Symposium.
Irvine, CA. 2017. Poster.
Arroyo, E., and Baljon, A.R. Mucus Model. SDSU Student Research Symposium. San Diego,
CA. 2017. Oral.
Arroyo, E., and Myoung-Hwan, K. Plasmon Resonance in Black Phosphorus. Society for
Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Long Beach, CA.
2016. Poster.
Arroyo, E., Salamon, P., Nulton, J., Felts, B., Barr, J., Rohwer, F., and Baljon, A.R. Hunting
Strategy of Phages That Infect Bacteria. Biophysics Society Annual Meeting (BPS). Los
Angeles, CA. 2016. Poster.
Community Outreach
Treasurer May 2017-May 2018
Vice President May 2016-May 2017
College of Sciences Student Council (CSSC) representative May 2015-May 2016
SDSU Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native American in Science (SACNAS)
Managed club membership dues, monetary resources, and organized fundraisers. Helped in
organizing and running meetings. Acted as a liaison between the club and its members to the
CSSC and other clubs on the council.
Professional Societies
Biophysical Society (BPS)
American Physical Society (APS)
Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
