Sam Brown's lab studies the multi-scale dynamics of infectious disease. Their goal is to improve the treatment and control of infectious diseases through a multi-scale understanding of microbial interactions. Their approach is highly interdisciplinary, combining theory and experiment, evolution, ecology and molecular microbiology in order to understand and control the multi-scale dynamics of bacteria pathogens.

Sarah Roney is a Ph.D. candidate in the Ocean Science and Engineering program in the School of Biological Sciences. She studies the chemical communication pathways of marine organisms. Her current project is to investigate reducing the predation of oysters in engineered “living shoreline” systems where they are being established to mitigate waterway erosion due to maritime activities, such as those near the port of Savannah, Georgia.

Sarah makes outreach a priority in her work by developing strong connections with researchers and institutions outside of her program, by incorporating “citizen science” approaches to her research, by mentoring younger students, as well as by engaging with media about her work.

Sarah earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Georgia Southern University, where she graduated, Summa Cum Laude.

Advisor: Marc Weissburg

Joe Lachance is an Assistant Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Georgia Institute of Technology and a member of the Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute.

Lachance received his Ph.D. in Genetics from Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. He conducted his postdoctoral studies as a NIH Kirschstein postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

Lachance's research is in the areas of human evolutionary genomics, population genetics, and health disparities. His lab integrates large genome-scale datasets with evolutionary theory and computer simulations. They have found evidence of ancient introgression in Africa, inferred that the leading edge of the out-of-Africa migration involved an excess of males, discovered that genetic risks of cancer have decreased over evolutionary time, and identified novel targets of positive selection.

Saumya Jain is an Assistant Professor in the School of Biological Sciences. He received a B.Tech and an M.Tech in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona. He conducted postdoctoral work at the University of California, Los Angeles as a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow in the lab of Dr. Larry Zipursky. His research focuses on the regulation of gene expression in developing nervous systems across space and time.

Animal brains consist of a vast number of neurons (~100 billion in humans, ~100 million in mice), and thousands of neuron-types. These neurons generated at different times and locations in the developing brain come together in precise ways to form specific connections (~100 trillion connections in the human brain). Even subtle defects in wiring are associated with conditions such as autism, schizophrenia and epilepsy. How does biology ensure the assembly of such a complex structure? A key piece of this puzzle is ensuring that the right set of genes are expressed at the right time and in the right place. The Jain lab is trying to address the following questions: 1) How are the timing and cell-type specificity of gene expression controlled in developing neurons to ensure proper circuit formation? 2) How are these mechanisms perturbed in neurodevelopmental disorders? To address these questions, the lab applies single-cell genomics, genetics and molecular biology approaches in the developing mouse and fruit fly visual systems.

Jung Choi is an associate professor in the School of Biology at Georgia Tech and director of the Professional Masters program in Bioinformatics. He has been at Georgia Tech since 1986. Choi has done research on plant protein kinases with calmodulin-like domains, and some research with yeast lipid metabolism that has yet to bear fruit. He has taught a wide variety of courses, but most enjoys teaching large intro lecture courses – which he finds both challenging and rewarding.

Educational Experience:
Doctor of Philosophy, December 2009, Georgia Institute of Technology (Bioengineering), Masters of Science, May 2003, Brown University (Bioengineering), Bachelor of Science, May 2002, Brown University (Mechanical Engineering)
Research Interests:
Wheeled mobility and seating, Pressure ulcer prevention and early detection, Assistive technology, Rehabilitation engineering.

Overview:
Our brain not only processes sensory signals but also makes predictions about the world. Generating and updating predictions are essential for our survival in a rapidly changing environment. Multiple brain regions including the cerebellum and the cortex are thought to be involved in the processing of prediction signals (aka predictive processing). However, it is not clear what circuit mechanisms and computations underlie predictive processing in each region, and how the cortical and cerebellar prediction signals interact to support cognitive and sensorimotor behavior. Our lab is interested in figuring out these questions by using advanced experimental and computational techniques in systems neuroscience.

Educational Experience:
Ph.D., Ecology & Evolution, Florida International University, B.Sc. (Hons), Zoology with Conservation, University of Wales
Research Interests:
Evolutionary ecology, community ecology, species interactions, microevolution, macroevolution, herpetology, global change biology, climate change, invasive species, functional morphology

Overview:
Welcome to the Stroud Lab!

Our goal is to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes responsible for driving patterns of biodiversity across space and time. To do that, we study the evolutionary ecology of lizards: a fascinating and hyper-diverse group of organisms.

Our approach is highly multidisciplinary, integrating ecology, evolution, behavior, physiology, biomechanics, and natural history. To do this, we combine field studies in the wild with macro-ecological and evolutionary analyses.

For more information on our key research themes please take a look at our website (above; soon to be updated) and please get in contact if any of our research interests you!

Gaucher was guided in biochemistry by Peter Tipton and Bayesian Theory by George Smith. Gaucher subsequently earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida under the tutelage of Steve Benner and Michael Miyamoto.[1] Gaucher received the Walter M. Fitch Award from the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution for his graduate work.[2] He then did postdoctoral work with NASA's Astrobiology Institute in conjunction with a National Research Council Fellowship. After the two-year fellowship, Gaucher served as President of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution.

Gaucher was hired as an Associate Professor by the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008 [1][3][4] The Gaucher group conducts basic and applied research at the interface of molecular evolution and synthetic biology. As of February 2016, his h-index, as calculated by Google Scholar, is 25.[5]

Gaucher is also the founder and president of the early-stage biotechnology company General Genomics. His company exploits novel platforms to engineer proteins for the biomedical and industrial sectors.

After studying ecology as a biology major at Swarthmore College, Annalise Paaby learned fly pushing as a technician for Steve DiNardo and then discovered evolutionary genetics as a tech for Paul Schmidt. She joined Paul’s lab as a graduate student and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009. In 2015, Paaby completed her postdoctoral training with Matt Rockman at New York University and began her appointment at Georgia Tech.