Generating, Analyzing, and Understanding Sensory and Sequencing Information

2016 GAUSSI Fellows

2016-2017, GAUSSI FELLOWS

Dylan Parker

dylanDylan Parker earned his B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Oregon in 2014 and began work as a graduate student in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at CSU in 2015. Working in the laboratory of Dr. Erin Nishimura, his research focuses on the developmental role of mRNA localization and dynamics in the C. elegans early embryo. He is currently using single-cell RNA sequencing as well as a variety of microscopy techniques to identify and perturb key mRNA developmental determinants to better understand the mechanisms of developmental regulation and cell-fate determination.

garethGareth Halladay

Gareth Halladay is a second year graduate student pursuing her Master’s degree in Computer Science as part of Dr. Ben-Hur’s research group. She has a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Colorado State University. Gareth plans to analyze and identify global patterns of alternative splicing over a large collection of RNA-seq data for Arabidopsis thaliana. She is passionate about teaching and taught an introductory computer science course at CSU this summer.

ianIan Mclean

Ian McLean is a first year MS student in the Biomedical Engineering Program at CSU. His research in the Tobet Lab focuses on utilizing microfluidic principles to create a more useful and physiologically accurate “tissue-on-a-chip” device. Prior to attending CSU, Ian earned a BS in Bioengineering from Washington State University, and then worked as an engineer for a Seattle-based flow cytometry manufacturing company.

jessica-warrenJessica Warren

Jessica Warren is a second year graduate student in the Department of Biology working in Dr. Dan Sloan’s lab. Her research focuses on the evolution of mitochondrial translational machinery by studying the cytonuclear response to transfer RNA (tRNA) gene loss. This work will provide unique insight into cellular mechanisms required for eukaryotic translation and involves the sequencing, assembly and comparison of multiple mitochondrial genomes, tRNA-seq libraries, and transcriptomes.

jasmineJasmine Nejad

Jasmine Nejad is a second-year PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering program at CSU. Her work is focused on software and microfluidics systems for a high-density microelectrode array for quantitative spatial mapping of electrochemical signals in live tissue. This type of sensor system could provide a platform for characterizing efficacy of chemotherapeutic for personalized medicine.

Reyes Murrieta

Reyes is starting his third year as a graduate student to obtain his PhD in Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology working under Dr. Greg Ebel. His research uses computation biology and experimental virology to study how different ecological and environmental conditions can impact Flavivirus population diversity. Through GAUSSI Reyes is looking forward to advancing his skill set as a computational biologist and establish new interdisciplinary collaborations for future projects.

 

s-stiversonShannon Stiverson

Shannon Stiverson is a second year PhD student in the mathematics department at CSU.  Her work focuses on the application of manifold learning techniques to biological data sets.  She is currently exploring techniques for early diagnosis of influenza A based on changes in host genetic expression.

Shea Moore-Farrell

shea-moore-farrell-headshotShea Moore-Farrell is a second year graduate student pursuing his PhD through the Cell and Molecular Biology program at CSU. His research is focused on developing a computational model of photosynthesis and carbon metabolism in the food and energy crop Sorghum bicolor. Such a model can be used to predict bottlenecks in the flow of carbon to desired chemical products in silico, identify candidate genes to be further studied in vivo, and act as a guide for future metabolic engineering efforts.