Biotechnology and German major Dechow hopes to build a career around two majors.

Shelby Dechow, a biotechnology and German major, attributes much of her academic success to getting involved. In her case, she was involved in band, where she got to meet a group of diverse students from all areas of the University. That close core group of friends helped her not only develop a social life, but helped her stay on track academically, too.

And Shelby has proven herself in the academic realm. Her Fund for Undergraduate Scholarly Experience (FUSE) research was presented at the 2016 Student Research and Creativity Fair. Her advisor for the project was Dr. Jill Blankenship of the Biology Department and was titled, “Septin modifying proteins in Candida albicans.”

Candida is a fungus that occurs naturally on the body. In most cases people don’t even know it’s there, but in some cases it can cause annoying yeast infections. However, for those with compromised immune systems, Candida can cause opportunistic infections that can be dire and even lead to death. Understanding the proteins in Candida helps researchers like Shelby understand the how certain proteins affect the infection process.

Staying on academic track allowed Shelby to double major as well. Since she studied German in high school and even had two study abroad experiences while there, the German major made sense. At UNO, she’s also had the opportunity to go to Braunschweig, Germany, for an additional study abroad experience.

Perhaps, Shelby muses, her German fluency may help her find a research position at a German pharmaceutical firm someday, after, of course, a stop at the Michigan State University, where she’s received a fellowship to pursue a PhD.