I would like to thank Dr. Malcolm Campbell for his guidance and assistance both in and out of the lab. His patience and understanding has helped me pull through some of the toughest times in my four years in Davidson. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Dr. John Williamson, my co-mentor, for all his encouragement and support. My thanks also goes to Dr. Karen Bernd and Dr. David Wessner for their invaluable advice and to the rest of the Davidson College biology department faculty for their support. I would also like to thank Dr. Virginia Armbrust and her lab group for isolating pmh1 so that I had a project to work on and to Allison Coble and Lindsey Cohen for working on different portions of the project. As for my lab cronies, Kristin Russo, Dan Cooke and Lowell Rayburn,  thanks for being around to share the joys and pains of research. To all my friends in Davidson College, thanks for making my senior year a memorable year. Last but definitely not least, I would like to thank my family for their support and love they have shown to me by allowing me to pursue my dream.