Team:Vanderbilt/Team
Our Members
Cassie Woolley is a Sophomore majoring in Chemical Engineering, having recently transferred to the University of Kentucky. As a member of the cell competition subproject, Cassie was responsible for assembly and cloning of constructs to determine the effects of gene optimization on evolutionary stability.
Chloe is a Junior majoring in Chemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology. She works with Dr. David Cliffel on nanoparticle chemistry. Chloe worked on LC-MS experiments for oxidized DNA samples.
Jeff Zhao is a Senior majoring in Molecular & Cellular Biology and Neuroscience. He assisted with general lab work for the team.
Jarrod Shilts is a Senior majoring Molecular & Cellular Biology and Neuroscience, with minors in Scientific Computing and chemistry. He works with Dr. Kendal Broadie, using genetic engineering approaches to study synaptic development in Drosophila. As the leader of the team, Jarrod worked on qPCR, immunoblotting, LC-MS, cell-competition assays, and wrote the software.
Ophir Ospovat is a Senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, and Molecular & Cellular Biology. He works with Dr. Susan Wente, investigating the effects of the Ran gradient on mitochondria in the context of Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. Ophir conducted general lab work for the team.
Sikandar Raza is a Junior majoring in Chemistry and Neuroscience. He works with Dr. Wenbiao Chen, making fluorescence measurements of modified insulin receptors to quantify insulin expression in Danio rerio. Sikandar worked on qPCR experiments for irradiated DNA samples.
Stephen Lee is a Senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering, with minors in Biological Sciences and Chemistry. He works with Dr. Katherine Friedman, using CRISPR/Cas9 to evaluate the roles of telomere-associated proteins in double-strand break repair in yeast. Stephen worked on LC-MS experiments and cell competition in yeast.
