Presenting Author
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Christopher D. Radka is a Honduran-American biochemist and protein crystallographer. Raised in Central Florida, Dr. Radka learned the importance of education and community engagement through serving in his family’s nonprofit, the HopeNow Foundation. During his undergraduate education at the University of Central Florida, he realized his passion for science, which grew during his doctoral training in microbiology and structural biology under the co-mentorship of Drs. Stephen Aller and Lawrence DeLucas at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Radka received a predoctoral UAB Equity and Diversity Enhancement Program Fellowship and participated in a NASA project examining microgravity’s influence on protein crystal growth. He also worked with the UAB Center for Community Outreach Development to galvanize interest in science among local intercity students. Dr. Radka is currently a postdoctoral fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. While training in lipid biochemistry, studying anti-inflammatory lipids that enable bacteria to thrive in a host, he is also a founding member and co-chair of the St. Jude Black Employees and Allies Resource Group. Dr. Radka lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with his wife, two children, and two rescue dogs. Upon completing postdoctoral training, he plans to become an independent investigator and will continue promoting diversity and inclusion in science, education, and career advancement.