Graduate Students

B

Bellomio, Philip

Interests: Incorporation of oxidized methionine within the nascent polypeptide during protein translation

C

Cammarota, Christian

Interests: Biological physics and the role of mechanics in tissue development and cell processes

Casler, Karli

Interests: TBD

Castano, Maria Isabel

Interests: Behavioral ecology and speciation of Neotropical birds

Cefaloni, Eric

Interests: Epigenetic mechanisms driving breast cancer and epithelial to mesenchymal transition

Chen, Minhao

Interests: TBD

Cutting, Joseph

Interests: TBD

D

Dao, Thao Kim

Interests: The roles of retinoic acid in shell and embryonic development in the mollusc Ilyanassa

Deng, Chenghong

Interests: The role of tRNA modification in neuron development

De Silva, Manikkuwadura

Interests: TBD

Driscoll, Rose

she/her/hers

Interests: Evolutionary genetics of phenotypic plasticity in aphids

E

Edvalson, Logan

Interests: TBD

G

Gigas, Jonathan

Interests: Biochemistry and function of human Sirtuin-6 in cancer and aging

Gona, Ram

Interests: TBD

Gregory, Lauren

Interests: Investigation of the proximate basis of the aphid wing polyphenism

Gu, Ningyang

Interests: Using microinjection, FISH, and single-particle tracking to understand the intranuclear movement of plasmids

H

Hamazaki, Sakura

Interests: Investigating the role of calcium mishandling in Myotonic Dystrophy Type I ( DM1) myopathy

He, Luying (Louise)

Interests: 3D printing engineered living material for bioplastics that can biodegrade in the ocean

Hillpot, Eric

Interests: TBD

Hu, Gang

Interests: Improving RNA structure stability predictions by creating a software model that uses updated nearest neighbor parameters for more accurate estimations of melting temperatures and interacting strand concentrations

Hua, Shan

Interests: Investigating the role of H2A.Z and ANP32E on regulating gene expression

I

Irvin, Joseph

Interests: The role of mitophagy on caspase 3 contingent tau pathology in neurons

J

Jain, Anushka

Interests: TBD

K

Kim, Sei Joong

Interests: TBD

Kovelakuntla, Vamsi

he/him/his

Interests: Bacterially-mediated fabrication of artificial nacre

L

Lee, Minseon

Interests: The role of SIRT6 in rejuvenating the epigenome and maintaining heterochromatin stability in aged cells

Leigh, Jennifer

  • Master's Student

Interests: The potential role of mitochondrial dysfunction in Tubular Aggregate Myopathy

Leo, Cailyn

Interests: Determining the spatial and temporal effects of TRMT1 on neurodevelopment of mice

Liang, Yuan

Interests: TBD

Lindley, Sean

Interests: RNA trans-splicing in cells

Lindsay, Matthew

Interests: Evolutionary Genetics of Gene Drives and Repetitive DNA in Drosophila melanogaster

Liu, Xiaomi

Interests: Wing plasticity in aphids, with a focus on a computational approach

Longan, Emery

Interests: Genetic constraints on adaptation and their role in the evolution of domestication associated traits in the Saccharomyces yeasts

M

Macoretta, Nicholas

Interests: TBD

Marti, Emiliano

Interests: Evolutionary history and molecular mechanisms of meiotic drive (sensu lato). Consequences of intragenomic conflicts in genome evolution and the origin of the species

Meadow, Michael

he/him/his

Interests: Cross-species proteomics to study aging!

Moeller, Eric

  • First Year PhD Student

Interests: TBD

Morandini, Francesco

Interests: TBD

N

Neville, Kathryn

Interests: Directed cell division and polarity maintenance in epithelial tissues

P

Park, Jaeyoung (Jay)

Interests: Developmental roles of retinoic acid signaling in Tritia

Phromsiri, Pakinee

Interests: Mechanisms and consequences of histone buffering in the early Drosophila embryo

R

Rechsteiner, Cheyenne

Interests: TBD

Reger, Noah

Interests: TBD

Romero, Faye

Interests: Genetic architecture of inbreeding in the Florida Scrub-Jay. Population dynamics/fluctuating selection in the American red squirrel

S

Saleh Ziabari, Omid

Interests: The parallel evolution of wings in aphids

Shipley, Alicia

Interests: The mechanism of H2Av exchange between lipid droplets in Drosophila embryogenesis and its temporal regulation at the midblastula transition

Sidor, Lynn

Interests: Using synthetic biology to engineer bacteria to be able to polymerize a layer of polysilicate surrounding themselves, allowing for the creation of bacterial microlenses

Summers, Jeremy

Interests: The demographic and genetic effects of habitat fragmentation and degradation on the Florida Scrub-Jay

T

Tahir, Imran

Interests: Studying endothelial barrier dysfunction in the context of acute lung injury

Tan, Ruiyue

Interests: snRNA modification and its role in the pre-mRNA splicing

Tolibzoda, Fara

Interests: Investigation of biochemical contributors of health in long-living animals and their role in aging associated neurodegeneration

W

Walker, Tyler

Interests: The protection of DNA in response to stress in bacteria

Walunjkar, Nilima

Interests: Causes and consequences of thermal divergence in Saccharomyces species

White, Roger

Interests: The role fatty acid trafficking and usage during Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis

Wnuk, Hayley

Interests: The influence of emotional well-being on Alzheimer's Disease progression

Y

Yang, Sifan

Interests: Role of SUMOylation and NEDDylation in aging and proteostasis

Z

Zacher, Maxwell

Interests: Genetic mechanisms underlying longevity and cancer resistance in the bowhead whale

Zhang, Jiarui

Interests: Molecular mechanism of juvenile-to-adult maturation in the C. elegans nervous system

Zhang, Kejia

Interests: Molecular functions of tRNA methyltransferase in neuronal development

Zhang, Rui

Interests: Pseudouridylation of snRNA and the mechanism of pre-mRNA splicing

Zhang, Zhihui

Interests: Anti-aging and anti-cancer effects of high molecular weight hyaluronic acid

Zhu, Mingyi

Interests: RNA secondary structure prediction