Faculty

Faculty in the BioGAP program span research in the life sciences and are skilled in mentoring young scientists.

Anna La Torre Vila

Anna La Torre Vila

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy -- School of Medicine
Anna LaTorre seeks to decipher the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie neuronal progenitor competence and differentiation using a combination of retina cell lines, transgenic mouse models and biochemical approaches. Current projects include examining the role of microRNAs in the dynamic regulation of progenitor competence during retinal histogenesis, mechanisms of cone photoreceptor fate determination, and early eye field formation in development.
Kassi Ori-McKenney

Kassandra Ori-McKenney

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • College of Biological Sciences
Kassie Ori-McKenney seeks to understand the pathways and proteins that regulate microtubule cytoskeletal dynamics and microtubule-based transport during neuronal development and maintenance. Researchers in her lab use a variety of in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo techniques to  delve into the complex processes that depend on microtubules.
Siobhan Brady

Siobhan Brady

  • Professor
  • HHMI Faculty Scholar
  • Department of Plant Biology
  • College of Biological Sciences
How do cells within plant roots respond to the multitude of stresses they face in the world?  From cell type molecular signatures to networks – Siobhan Brady tries to understand and harness these adaptive responses to help tackle current and future environmental challenges. Research in the Brady lab focuses on understanding how a network of transcriptional interactions regulates tissue development and function. Projects in the lab range from characterizing xylem and cortex cell development  in response to the environment in Arabidopsis thaliana, Sorghum bicolor, Solanum lycopersicum and the drought-adapted Solanum pennelii to determining regulatory networks underlying various components of central and specialized metabolism.
Wil Joiner

Wilsaan Joiner

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior
  • College of Biological Sciences
  • Department of Neurology
  • School of Medicine
Wil Joiner studies how people use different sources of information to aid behavior, ranging from visual perception to movement planning and updating. Specifically, he studies in how external and internally-generated sensory information is integrated in healthy individuals, in comparison to certain disease and impaired populations (e.g., Schizophrenia and upper extremity amputees). Achieving this understanding may lead to better methods for diagnosing and treating impairments of the nervous system.
Crystal Rogers

Crystal Rogers

  • Assistant Professor
  • Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology
  • School of Veterinary Medicine
Crystal Rogers examines how genetic and environmental changes affect early developmental processes in vertebrate embryos. Specifically, her lab studies embryos from two research organisms, chickens and amphibians, to identify the factors that are necessary and sufficient to drive the formation and differentiation of neural crest cells. Rogers and her students seek to understand the normal mechanisms that control the development of these cells and also to understand how environmental exposures can negatively affect development causing disorders such as cleft palate, peripheral nerve defects, albinism, and others.
Julie Bossuyt

Julie Bossuyt

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Pharmacology
  • School of Medicine
Julie Bossuyt studies the molecular mechanisms that drive activation and function of the related kinases, protein kinase D and calmodulin dependent protein kinase in healthy and failing hearts. Her lab focuses on understanding the local regulatory mechanisms that control the myriad cellular outcomes for these multifunctional kinases. Tools in the lab include cutting-edge high resolution fluorescence imaging techniques (such as FRET, TIRF, FRAP and confocal) and novel biosensors to obtain unique insight into the spatiotemporal dynamics of signaling in cardiac cells.
Dan Starr

Daniel Starr

  • Professor
  • Allen Distinguished Investigator
  • Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • College of Biological Sciences
Daniel Starr and his lab study processes involved in the positioning of nuclei and other organelles to specific locations within a cell. They use the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism, with genetic, biochemical, cellular, and molecular approaches to study this basic problem in cell biology and human disease.
Mitch Singer

Mitch Singer

  • Professor
  • Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
  • College of Biological Sciences
Mitch Singer focuses on understanding how Myxococcus xanthus senses nutrient limitation and how this event initiates the developmental program. We have previously proposed a model whereby M. xanthus cells use their protein synthetic capacity to measure their nutritional status.  A signaling molecule known to couple amino acid availability with a variety of cellular processes in E. coli acts as a second messenger in this process by activating a variety of starvation responses.
David Segal

David Segal

  • Professor
  • Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
  • School of Medicine
David Segal studies the genetics and epigenetics of neurological disorders and cancer. A guiding principle for the lab has been to study how nature does what it does, then attempt to use that knowledge to make useful tools to improve public health, either through increased knowledge or therapeutic intervention. Specific research foci in the Segal Lab revolve around engineering zinc finger, Transcription Activator-like Effectors, and CRISPR/Cas nucleases and transcription factors.
Benjamin Montpetit

Benjamin Montpetit

  • Professor
  • Department of Viticulture and Enology
  • College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
Benjamin Montpetit studies nuclear RNA export with the goal of describing how components of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) direct and regulate mRNA and viral RNA transport at a cellular, molecular and atomic level. Ultimately, this will allow us to better understand the interplay between nuclear RNA export, gene expression, and human biology.
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