Hi everyone, my name is Viktoria Kirschnerova and I am a current junior studying Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, and Psychology. I’ve been passionate about research since the first time I looked through a microscope in my high school biology class. I decided to make my passion true here at UofA by joining Dr. Sally Dickinson’s lab. We study prevention of skin cancer (specifically, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma). We are interested in how inflammation affects the progression of cancer, and whether pharmacologically inhibiting certain receptors decreases this inflammation after UV exposure, and helps protect high risk groups (such as people with chronically UV-damaged skin) from progressing to malignant skin cancers. When not in the lab, I like to investigate the effects of the sun more personally, by hiking the mountains and parks of Tucson, swimming, or catching up with my ever-growing bookshelf. You might also find me connecting with my Czechoslovakian heritage by speaking weird tongues and hilariously mispronouncing words like mandatory (man-DA-tory)
