Graduate Students
Pooja Kr
Ph.D. Candidate, Biological Sciences
M.S. in Biotechnology, 2018
Project: Understanding the role of innate immunity in tumorigenesis in Drosophila
Ashley Waring
Ph.D. Candidate, Biological Sciences
M.S. in Biotechnology, 2018
Project: Investigating the evolutionary genomics between parasitoid wasp venom and Drosophila melanogaster
Nick Bretz
Ph.D. Student, Biological Sciences
Project: Transport and packaging of parasitoid venom proteins
Josh Hill
Ph.D. Student, Biological Sciences
M.S. in Biotechnology, 2019
Project: Investigating parasitoid venom proteins that regulate hemocyte cell biology
Brooke Allen
Ph.D. Student, Biological Sciences
Co-advised with Dr. Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer
Project: Evolution of stress response mechanisms in Drosophila melanogaster
Elise N. Le
M.S. Student, Biotechnology
Project: Understanding the innate immune response to the amyloid beta protein in Drosophila
Dakota Fuss
M.S. Student, Biological Sciences
Shianne Johnson
M.S. Student, Biotechnology
Graduate Student Alumni
Chris Lark
M.S. in Biotechnology, 2021
Thesis: Characterizing the transport of parasitoid wasp Ganaspis hookeri venom SERCA into host Drosophila hemocytes
Eva Gunawan
Aleksandra Majewski
M.S. in Biomathematics, 2020
Co-advised with Dr. Alysia Vrailas-Mortimer
Thesis: Quantitative proteomics and protein-protein interaction mapping
​Undergraduate Researchers
Jesu Obeng
Project: Self-tolerance receptors
Mayra Hernandez
Project: Parasitoid genomics
Completed Honors Theses
Emma Hartness
Molecular and Cellular Biology & Spanish, 2020
Thesis: Investigating the role of Amyloid-Beta in the conserved innate immune response using the Drosophila melanogaster-parasitoid wasp encapsulation model
Amanda Klingler
Biological Sciences, 2020
Thesis: Evidence for genotype by environment interactions influencing developmental trajectory and memory in Drosophila
Bryce Whitehead
Statistics, Department of Mathematics, 2020
Thesis: Investigating the innate immunity of Drosophila melanogaster following parasitoid and bacterial infections
Jade Surface
Molecular and Cellular Biology, 2019
Thesis: Immune cell pharmacology in Drosophila melanogaster
Victoria DeMichel
Molecular and Cellular Biology, 2018
Thesis: The Integrin receptor mediates immune recognition to prevent autoimmunity
Mary Fischer
Molecular and Cellular Biology, 2018
Thesis: Developing an in vitro assay for analyzing Jak-Stat pathway activity in Drosophila
Lab Alumni
2021
- Rachel Frakes
- Lindsay Holic
- Katie Hutchinson
- Jon Lee
2020
- Benjamin Fischer
- Emma Hartness
- Keiona Johnson
- Amanda Klingler
- Benjamin Lowis
- Ewurabena Okai
- Phuoc An Vo
- Bryce Whitehead
2019
- Basheer Becerra
- Jessica Burkhart
- Keith Byars
- Xavier Hernandez
- Maddie Kuczynski
- Kristin Link
- Summer Rice
- Brandon Rogers
- Jade Surface
- Holli Winter
2018
- Tiger Allison
- Senam Ameyibor
- Victoria DeMichel
- Mary Fischer
- Michael Muneses
- Nick Santiago
- Brooklynne Thielen
- Doug Trandel
- Kaitie Wildman
2017
- Alec Sikarin
- Jordann Trainor
- Danny Vetter
2016
- Morgan McCall
- Taylor McGee
- Beth Oates
- Joel Wheeler
