Michael Fedkenheuer, Ph.D., has trained as a research scientist for the past 15 years. His career started with an undergraduate research fellowship in 2008 at James Madison University. Dr. Fedkenheuer worked with the dengue virus envelope protein to study its effects on inflammation in cartilage. Following this, he earned his master's in biochemistry and his doctoral degree in plant pathology at Virginia Tech. Dr. Fedkenheuer published several papers during this time and won awards for his protein structure and flavin biochemistry work. While studying plant pathology, he worked with a team to map resistance genes and breed them into commercial lines. 
 
After obtaining his Ph.D., Dr. Fedkenheuer completed an IRTA traineeship at the NIH/NIAMS in the Lymphocyte Nuclear Biology Group. Using cutting-edge techniques, he studied the role of genome architecture in the DNA repair process. This high-impact work has taken many years and led to the discovery of the mechanism by which loop extrusion impacts classical end joining. Through his research, he gained knowledge and experience and developed valuable, highly engineered cell lines, forming a platform for future studies into DNA damage and genome architecture.