People
Lab Manager
Jessica Keeran
Apart from taking care of all major aspects of organizing the lab, Jessica runs a project that aims at elucidating the mechanisms of fluconazole resistance in C. neoformans.
Graduate Students
Stephani Martinez-Barrera
Stephani's project aims at elucidating the role of septins in stress response in Cryptococcus neoformans.
Hannah Akahoho
Hannah's project aims at defining the mechanism through which Cdc42 contributes to high temperature stress response.
Tejas Patel
Tejas investigates the role of septins in high temperature response and the functions of the eisosome complex in C. neoformans.
Gnanambika (Ambika) Sindhe
Ambika investigates the mechanisms of resistance to azole drugs in C. neoformans
Undergraduate Students
Justyn Stevens
Peyton Fisher
Disha Qanungo
Former Lab Members
Graduate students
Dr. Rodney Colon-Reyes
Rodney studied mysteries of cell cycle regulation in C. neoformans. Rodney also helped us a lot to manage/run the lab. He is currently a Postdoctoral Associate in the laboratory of Dr. Amariliz Rivera-Medina, Center for Immunity and Inflammation at Rutgers University
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Dr. Piotr Stempinski
Piotrek investigated mechanisms of high temperature response in C. neoformans. He is currently a Postdoctoral Associate in the laboratory of Arturo Casadevall, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Johns Hopkins University
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Dr. Sophie Altamirano
Sophie studied how fluconazole treatment leads to an increased ploidy in Cryptococcus. and the role of anillin in cytokinesis. Sophie completed her postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. Kirsten Nielsen, Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, and is currently a Technical Sales Specialist at Molecular Devices
Postdoctoral Associates
Dr. Congyue (Annie) Peng was studying mechanisms of fluconazole mediated oxidative stress and DNA damage in C. neoformans, the role of anillin in C. neoformans stress response and the mechanism through which a small GTPase Cdc42 contributes to high temperature response.
Visiting Scientists
Dr. Mariusz Dylag is a faculty member at the Institute of Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Wroclaw. He is studying human fungal pathogens. His projects in our lab aimed at investigating the unique morphological transition to Titan cells in C. neoformans and characterization of septin proteins in Malassezia species.
Dr. Yaliz Loperena is an Associate Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico-Recinto de Mayagüez. Her project in our lab was to investigate the interaction of C. neoformans Titan cells with immune cells.
Michelle Rock.
Michelle graduated from Clemson with MS and joined our lab as a Lab Manager
and Research Technician.
She did a fantastic job running the lab.
Undergraduate Students​
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Lindsey Burke - graduated in Spring 2023, after completing an honors thesis based on a project she has developed in our lab
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Emma Hatchell - graduated in Spring 2023, after completing an honors thesis based on a project she has developed in our lab, Emma started a Genetics and Genomics PhD program at Duke University.
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David KItch - graduated in Spring 2023, next David started an MS studies at Clemson
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Setareh Etesham - graduated in Spring 2022, after completing an honors thesis based on a project she has developed in our lab
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Benjamin Brandes - graduated in Spring 2022, after completing an honors thesis based on a project he has developed in our lab
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Isabel Lopez - Isabel was an REU student in Summer 2021
Niko Khulordava - completed research in our lab in Spring 2021
Mark Kouame - graduated in Spring 2021, after completing an honors thesis based on a project he has developed in our lab
Kathryn Counts - graduated in Spring 2020, after completing an honors thesis based on a project she has developed in our lab
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Meagan Prescott - graduated in Fall 2019, after completing an honors thesis based on a project she has developed in our lab.
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Namrata Paladugu - graduated in Spring 2019, after completing an honors thesis based on a project she has developed in our lab. Joined medical school afterwards
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Nadir Dbouk - Nadir completed his bachelor degree from Furman University. As a Furman student, Nadir collaborated with our lab and after graduation he was a Lab Assistant in our lab working on various projects. Nadir subsequently entered a PhD program at Vanderbilt
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Kasparas Zilinskas - completed research in our in Fall 2018
Mohit Gandhi - completed research in our lab and graduated in Spring 2018
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Ellen McCormack - completed research in our lab and graduated in Spring 2018
Elizabeth Huey - completed research in our and graduated in Spring 2018, and started medical school
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Jessica Zielinski - Jessica graduated in Fall 2017, after completing an honors thesis based on a project she has developed in our lab. Jessica joined MUSC for the MD/PhD program in Fall 2018
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Sophia Nance - completed research in our lab in Fall 2017
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Diana Fang - Diana graduated in 2017, after completing an honors thesis based on a project she has developed in our lab. Diana joined MUSC medical school in Fall 2018, and after completion started a residency at Johns Hopkins
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Ana Henriquez - Ana was an REU student visiting our lab in the Summer 2017
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Angelica Quinones - Angelica was an UTEP student visiting our lab in the Summer 2017
Charles Simmons - completed research in our lab and graduated from Clemson in Spring 2017. Subsequently Charles joined U Penn for the dental school program
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Alex Rubin - completed research in our lab in Spring 2017 - After graduating from Clemson, Alex started a PhD program at the University of Sydney
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Iqra Wani - completed research in our lab in Fall 2016
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Margi Patel - completed research in our lab in Spring 2016
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Deepti Athavale - completed research in our lab in Spring 2016 and graduated from Clemson in 2017
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Eric Zuberi - completed research in our lab in Spring 2016
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Hieu Helen Nguyen - completed research in our lab in Spring 2016
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Connie Dao - (Lab Assistant) Connie graduated from Clemson in 2014.
She did an amazing job helping organize and start things in the lab.
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James Wesley Hill - graduated from Clemson in Spring 2015
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Andrew Westberry - completed research in our lab in Spring 2015
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Heather Frohlig - completed research in our lab and graduated from Clemson in 2014
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Deepti Athavale - Undergraduate researcher. Deepti graduated in 2017
Charles Simmons - Undergraduate researcher. Charles graduated in 2017. Charles is currently attending dental program at the University of Pennsylvania.
Deepti Athavale - Undergraduate researcher. Deepti graduated in 2017
Eric Zuberi - Undergraduate researcher
Heather Frohlig - Undergraduate Researcher
Heather graduated from Clemson in 2014
Connie Dao - Lab Assistant
Connie graduated from Clemson in 2014. She did an amazing job helping organize and start things in the lab.
James Wesley Hill - Undergraduate Researcher
Wesley graduated from Clemson in Spring 2015
Andrew Westberry - Undergraduate Researcher
Andrew decided to change his research area and is now gaining experience in public health.