Richmond Boateng
Richmond Boateng is a first-year Biochemistry PhD student who earned a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology from Ghana. Amidst the recent Covid-19 pandemic, he defined his research interest in designing structure-based vaccines and therapeutics for the elimination of both emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. This Fall, he rotated in the King lab where his research sought to stabilize an essential membrane-bound protein that aids Plasmodium falciparum merozoites in their initial attachment, invasion of, and egress from host RBCs. During winter quarter, he is rotating in the DiMaio lab where he will be extending part of the RoseTTaFold2 architecture for in-silico prediction of other biomolecules and their energies. Richmond envisions that PhD training at UW will equip him with expertise in computational and structural biology and professional development skills, as well, serve as a pivotal degree to b ecoming a principal investigator in an academic and research institute.
The Curci Foundation has supported basic research in the life sciences for more than a decade. The Curci Scholars program was established in 2021 to provide full scholarships and living expenses for the first two years of Ph.D. programs for six students at each of three universities: the University of California Berkeley, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Washington. In 2022, the program was expanded to three additional universities: the University of California San Francisco, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the University of Utah.
