Pronouns: she/her/hers
Jacqui Drak has been a faculty member at Bellevue College since 2007. She is also the Chair of the Molecular Biosciences program, having been involved in its creation since the very beginning. Jacqui grew up in Montevideo, Uruguay, a country with beautiful beaches, great guitar players, and the best steaks. She came to the USA with her husband to study science. They moved way too many times until they settled down in beautiful Seattle. They have now three daughters who are simply amazing! Jacqui got her PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from Yale University and then was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. She has done research on many different topics, from the structure of the capsid of the SV40 virus and the properties of bent DNA to the mechanism of action of a drug used in chemotherapy. She is passionate about teaching and helping her students understand and love science. At Bellevue College she teaches chemistry, biochemistry and part of the MBS capstone. She is very interested in how our brains can deteriorate as we age and hopes that one of her students will help figure out this very difficult problem. If you stop by her office, she will inevitably offer you a cup of coffee or a cup of tea. Jacqui has never been bored and never has any free time because she has a very long list of things that she likes doing, such as hanging out with her family and her friends, reading, playing music, baking and traveling.
