Current Students
Sarah Pardi
PMB Graduate Student; 2018-current
Education: B.S. Biology, Loyola Marymount U. (2018)
Rotations: Bart Lab
Thesis: TBD
Anne Phillips
PMB Graduate Student (Bart Lab), NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Danforth Plant Science Fellow; 2014-current
Education: B.S. Biology, Georgia College & State U. (2014)
Rotations: Strader, Bart, Kunkel, & Olsen Labs
Thesis: Susceptibility and resistance interactions during cotton bacterial blight
Activities: GIrls STEAM Ahead - class leader; Committee for Scientific Training & Mentoring - co-chair; summer intern - New Leaf Symbiotics
Publications:
Phillips AZ, Wheeler T, Woodward J, Bart RS (2018) Pseudomonas syringae pathogen causes foliar disease of upland cotton in Texas. Plant Disease 102, 1171
Phillips AZ, Berry JC, Wilson MC, Vijayaraghavan A, Burke J, Bunn JI, Allen TW, Wheeler T, Bart RS (2017) Genomics-enabled analysis of the emergent disease cotton bacterial blight. PLoS Genet 13: e1007003
Samantha Powers
PMB Graduate Student (Strader & Jez Labs), Danforth Plant Science Fellow, NSF Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mention; 2014-current
Education: B.S. Biology, Webster U. (2014)
Rotations: Nusinow, Jez, & Strader Labs
Thesis: Investigating the Role of Protein Multimerization in Auxin Response Factor (ARF) Transcription Factor Activity
Actvities: Genome Engineering Internship - Monsanto
Publications:
Powers SK, Strader LC (2016) Up in the air: untethered factors of auxin response. F1000Res 3; 5
Michniewicz M, Powers SK, Strader LC (2014) IBA transport by PDR proteins. In Plant ABC Transporters (M. Geisler, Ed) pp 313-331, Springer Publishing, Switzerland
Yunci Qi
PMB Graduate Student (Blodgett Lab); 2014-current
Education: B.A. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Boston U. (2013)
Rotations: Zhang, Tang, & Blodgett Labs
Thesis: Regulation of Secondary Metabolic Pathways in Streptomyces
Publications:
Qi Y, Ding E, Blodgett JAV (2018) Native and engineered clifednamide biosynthesis in mulitple Streptomyces spp. ACS Synth Biol 16, 357-62
Qi Y, D'Alessandro JM, Blodgett JAV (2018) Draft genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. strain JV178, a producer of clifednamide-type polycyclic tetramate macrolactams. Genome Announc. 6, e01401-17
Sarah Rommelfanger
PMB Graduate Student (Umen Lab), NSF Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mention; 2015-current
Education: B.S. Biological Sciences, Missouri U. Science & Technology (2013)
Rotations: Pakrasi, Zhang, Tang, & Umen Labs
Thesis: Cyanobacterial Protein Secretion
Activities: WashU iGEM Team Graduate Advisor
Publications:
Xiao Y, Wang S, Rommelfanger S, Balassy A, Barba-Ostria C, Gu P, Galazka JM, Zhang F (2018) Developing a Cas9-based tool to engineer native plasmids in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Biotech Bioengr 115, 2305-14
Xiong W, Lee TC, Rommelfanger S, Gjersing E, Cano M, Maness PC, Ghirardi M, Yu J (2015) Phosphoketolase pathway contributes to carbon metabolism in cyanobacteria. Nature Plants 2, 15187
Angela Schlegel
PMB Graduate Student (Haswell Lab), Olin Women's Fellow, Danforth Plant Science Fellow, NSF Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mention; 2013-current
Education: B.S. Biochemistry, U. Arizona (2013)
Rotations: Jez, Pakrasi, & Haswell Labs
Thesis: Biosensor Development & Identification of New Mechanosensitive Channels in Plants
Activities: BioEntrepreneurship Core (BEC) IdeaBounce competition winner
Publications:
Bronnimann MP, Calton CM, Chiquette SF, Li S, Lu M, Chapman JA, Bratton KN, Schlegel AM, Campos SK (2016) Furin cleavage of L2 during papillomavirus infection: minimal dependence on cyclophilins. J Virol 90, 6224-34
Hamilton ES, Schlegel AM, Haswell ES (2015) United in diversity: mechanosensitive ion channels in plants. Annu Rev Plant Biol 66, 113-37
Calton CM, Schlegel AM, Chapman JA, Campos SK (2013) Human papillomavirus type 16 does not require cathepsin L or B for infection. J Gen Virol 94, 1865-9
Jennette Shoots
PMB Graduate Student (Haswell lab), NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Danforth Plant Science Fellow; 2016-current
Education: B.A. Molecular Biology, Kenyon College (2014)
Rotations: Haswell, Kunkel, & Pandey Labs
Thesis: TBD
Activities: Young Scientist Program (YSP)
Publications:
Maksaev G, Shoots J, Ohri S, Haswell ES (2018) Nonpolar residues in the presumptive pore-lining helix of mechanosensitive channel MSL10 influence channel behavior and confirm its non-conducting function. Plant Direct 2, e00059
Diani-Moore S, Shoots J, Singh R, Zuk JB, Rifkind AB (2017) NAD+ loss, a new player in AhR biology: prevention of thymus atrophy and hepatosteatosis by NAD+ repletion. Sci Rep 7, 2268
Shoots J, Fraccalvieri D, Franks DG, Denison MS, Hahn ME, Bonati L, Powell WH (2015) An aryl hydrocarbon receptor from the salamander Ambystoma mexicanum exhibits low sensitivity to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Environ Sci Technol 49, 6993-7001
Smith N, Guttieri M, Souza E, Shoots J, Sorrells M, Sneller C (2011) Identification and validation of QTL for grain quality traits in a cross of soft wheat cultivars Pioneer Brand 25R26 and Foster. Crop Sci 51, 1424-36
Maria Sorkin
PMB Graduate Student (Nusinow Lab), NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Catharine M. Lieneman Botany Scholarship, ASPB Conviron Scholar; 2016-current
Education: B.A. Biology, Kenyon College (2016)
Rotations: Baxter, Haswell, & Nusinow Labs
Thesis: TBD
Activities: Young Scientist Program (YSP) - Lead, Genetics & Genomics Teaching Team
Erica Thomas
PMB Graduate Student (Zaher Lab), Monsanto Graduate Fellow, NSF Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mention; 2014-current
Education: B.S. Molecular Genetics, Ohio State U. (2014)
Rotations: Carrington, Levin, & Zaher Labs
Thesis: Investigating the Impact of RNA Modifications and Damage on Translation
Activities: Biotechnology and Life Science Advising Group (BALSA) - President; PMB Steering Committee Student Representative
Publications:
Thomas EN*, Keedy HE*, Zaher HS (2018) Decoding on the ribosome depends on the structure of the mRNA phosphodiester backbone. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115, E6731-40 (*equal contribution)
Simms CL, Thomas EN, Zaher HS (2017) Ribosome-based quality control of mRNA and nascent peptides. Wiley Interdiscip Rev RNA 8, e1366
McCue AD, Panda K, Nuthikattu S, Choudury SG, Thomas EN, Slotkin RK (2015) ARGONAUTE 6 bridges transposable element mRNA-derived siRNAs to the establishment of DNA methylation. EMBO J 34, 20-35
Nuthikattu S, McCue AD, Panda K, Fultz D, DeFraia C, Thomas EN, Slotkin RK (2013).The initiation of epigenetic silencing of active transposable elements is triggered by RDR6 and 21-22 nucleotide small interfering RNAs. Plant Physiol 162, 116-31
Patricia Walker
PMB Graduate Student (Pakrasi Lab); 2016-current
Education: B.S. Plant Biology, Southern Illinois U. - Carbondale (2016)
Rotations: Strader, Nusinow, & Pakrasi Labs
Thesis: Factors underlying high light tolerance in cyanobacteria
Activities: Young Scientist Program (YSP); PMB Steering Committee Student Representative; PMB Lunch Organizer
Edward Wilkinson
PMB Graduate Student; 2018-current
Education: B.S. Botany & Economics, U. Wisconsin - Madison (2018)
Rotations: Topp lab
Thesis: TBD
Benjamin Wolf
PMB Graduate Student (Blankenship Lab), Danforth Plant Science Fellow, 2014-current
Education: B.S. Plant Biology, Michigan State U. (2014)
Rotations: Blankenship, Moon, & Kranz Labs
Thesis: Life in the Shadows - Understanding How Specialized Oxygenic Phototrophs Use Far-Red Light
Activities: BioEntrepreneurship Core (BEC) Secretary and Co-President
Publications:
Wolf BM, Niedzwiedzki DM, Magdaong NCM, Roth R, Goodenough U, Blankenship RE (2017) Characterization of a newly isolated freshwater Eustigmatophyte alga capable of utilizing far-red light as its sole light source. Photosynth Res 135, 177-89
Liu H, Lu Y, Wolf B, Saer R, King JD, Blankenship RE (2017) Photoactivation and relaxation studies on the cyanobacterial orange carotenoid protein in the presence of copper ion. Phytosynth Res 135, 143-7
Majumder EL, Wolf BM, Liu H, Berg RH, Timlin JA, Chen M, Blankenship RE (2017) Subcellular pigment distribution is altered under far-red light acclimation in cyanobacteria that contrain chlorophyll f. Photosynth Res 134, 183-92
Liewei Yan
PMB Graduate Student (Zaher Lab); 2014-current
Education: B.S. Soil Sciences, Beijing Forestry U. (2009); B.S. Crop Sciences, Michigan State U. (2009); M.S. Plant Pathology, Michigan State U. (2011)
Rotations: Dixit, Nusinow, & Zaher Labs
Thesis: The Role of Ribosome-Based Quality Control Process in Coping with Chemically Damaged mRNA
Publications:
Hays SG, Yan LL, Silver PA, Ducat DA (2017) Synthetic photosynthetic consortia define interactions leading to robustness and photoproduction. J Biol Engr 11, 4
Simms CL, Yan LL, Zaher HS (2017) Ribosome collision is critical for quality control during no-go decay. Mol Cell 68, 361-73
Dennis Zhu
PMB Graduate Student (Stallings Lab); 2016-current
Education: B.S. Biochemistry, U. Missouri-Columbia (2016)
Rotations: Brutnell, Strader, Levin, Stallings, & Goldberg Labs
Thesis: TBD
Activities: Promoting Science Policy, Education, and Research (ProSPER) President; 2018 American Institute for Biological Sciences Congressional Visits Day
Publications:
Prusa J, Zhu DX, Stallings CL (2018) The stringent response and Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogensis. Pathog Dis 76, fty054
Haynsen MS, Vatanparast M, Mahadwar G, Zhu D, Moger-Reischer RZ, Doyle JJ, Crandall KA, Egan AH (2018) De novo transcriptome assembly of Pueraria montana var. lobata and Neustanthus phaseoloides for the development of eSSR and SNP markers: narrowing the US origin(s) of the invasive kudzu. BMC Genomics 19, 439