Dr. Danielle L. Schmitt (she/her) earned her BS in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Ball State University in 2012, where she performed undergraduate research with Dr. Bruce Storhoff supported by the Lewis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation program. An Ohio native, she also performed undergraduate research at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in Dayton, Ohio. She earned her doctorate in Biochemistry at University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2017 with Dr. Songon An, where she focused on understanding the signaling pathways involved in the organization of multienzyme complexes for metabolism. Her graduate work was supported by the NIH/NIGMS Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Grant. In 2018, Dr. Schmitt undertook her postdoctoral training with Dr. Jin Zhang in the Department of Pharmacology at University of California San Diego, where she used genetically encoded biosensors to uncover mechanisms for compartmentalized AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity. Her postdoctoral work was funded through the NIH/NCI Biochemistry of Growth Regulation and Oncogenesis Cancer Training Grant, University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, and NIH/NIGMS San Diego Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA). In 2022, Dr Schmitt joined the faculty at UCLA as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Dr. Schmitt is a member of the Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Molecular Biology Institute. Dr Schmitt is committed to evidence-based, effective, and culturally-conscious mentoring, and has received training and continues to be trained in best mentoring practices from the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research.

Outside of the lab, Dr. Schmitt works to advocate for women and historically excluded groups in science, enjoys trying out new walking trails, spending time with her cats, and visiting new-to-her coffee shops around Los Angeles.

You can contact Dr. Schmitt via email at dlschmitt@chem.ucla.edu.