Profile: Figuring out how protein sequence determines its structure and function is a kind of missing link in biology, Elena says. The hope is to be able to look at the sequence and figure out structural information from it that would help us to better understand the function of that protein in the cell. Ultimately, this knowledge could lead to the development of more effective pharmaceuticals, designed in a more rational way.

Elena adds that small structural changes resulting from a mutation in the protein sequence are responsible for many diseases, from Alzheimers to cystic fibrosis. Elena will study protein structure prediction at Stanford in the fall of 2007, after completing a year at Cambridge University in England.

Elena plans to make a research career in academia. Her previous research experience includes investigating the role of a novel fruit fly gene in modulating the relationship between nutrition and aging, analyzing yeast genetic regulatory networks, and constructing a computational model of a human histamine receptor. Elena, who was born in Russia, is a former rhythmic gymnast and once competed in the Junior Olympics.

Elena received her high school degree from Mission San Jose High School, Fremont, Calif., in 2002. She holds a bachelor of science in both biology and mathematics from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., where she graduated in 2006. In addition to her Hertz Fellowship, Elena was awarded the Winston Churchill Foundation Scholarship. Shes also a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, and was named a Goldwater Scholar. A newlywed, her husband Daniel Koslover is studying biochemistry at Cambridge. Her father, Anatoly Fabrikant, is a physicist at KLA-Tencor, San Jose, Calif., and her mother, Galina Fabrikant, is a data analyst at Washington Mutual Bank. Elenas brother, Alex Fabrikant, also a previous Hertz Fellow, is finishing his graduate studies in computer science and the University of California, Berkeley.