News

11/21/25 Made it to another side of the triangle for a lovely day of connecting with our neighbors!

11/17/25

9/28/25 Duke Sophomore Devyn Deschamps and Freshman Jimin Lee join us this semester to create content for the public.

9/25/25 Hannah, Molly, and Alia created a middle school lesson plan about X chromosome inactivation in Calico Cats for the Scientific Research and Education Network (SciREN). They presented their lesson to educators at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. See their lesson plan here!

9/22/25 - Alexis is an MD/PhD student originally from Long Beach, Mississippi. She received her BS in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Tulane University in 2023. During her time at Tulane, Alexis was a member of the Belancio lab, where she studied the relationship between LINE-1 transposon expression and exposure to light at night. Outside of lab, Alexis enjoys traveling, learning new languages, and indoor cycling. Welcome, Alexis!

9/4/25 We had a great time with the department at the beach! Adrianna co-organized the retreat, Hannah presented a flash talk, and Alia, Maike, and Molly presented posters! Alia and Molly also organized a fabulous MGM trivia night!

9/1/25 Spearheaded by PhD student Hannah Kubinski, this initiative brings undergraduates interested in science communication into the lab to create content about our research that is accessible for the public.

8/8/25 This pilot award will support RNA sequencing costs for Hannah’s project. Congratulations, Hannah!

7/5/25

6/3/25

5/19/25

5/20/25 She will be attending the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program starting this summer! Congratulations, Nelanne!

4/23/25 Hannah joins us from the Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Graduate program. Welcome, Hannah!

4/10/25

4/8/25 This national fellowship will support Alia’s graduate training for the next three years. Congratulations, Alia!

3/25/25 Alia joins us from the University Program in Genetics and Genomics. Welcome, Alia!

3/5/25 She will be attending the Emory University Genetics and Molecular Biology Graduate Program starting this summer! Congratulations, Ariella!

1/15/25 Maike joins us from the University of Linköping, where she recently received her PhD studying DNA methylation in healthy and malignant T-cells in the group of Colm Nestor. Welcome, Maike!

1/6/25 Anabelle is a first-year PhD student in the MGM program. Anabelle recently graduated from LSU with a degree in biochemistry, and is super excited to explore Duke and Durham more! During her undergrad, she had lots of fun working with honey bees and studying epigenetics using S. cerevisiae. Outside of research, she has many hobbies, including hiking, crocheting tiny stuffed animals, and playing the ukulele! Welcome, Anabelle!

1/6/25 Amanda is a first-year PhD student in the MGM program. She was born in Santiago, Chile and moved to Naples, FL when she was 5 years old. She recently graduated from Davidson College with a BS in Biology. Throughout her undergraduate, Amanda worked in Dr. Debbie Thurtle-Schmidt’s lab, focusing on transcriptional regulation of NHR-25 and EOR-1 in C. elegans. Prior to beginning her Ph.D. journey in the Molecular Genetics and Microbiology program at Duke, Amanda also participated in UCLA’s Bruins in Genomics program and Harvard’s Systems Biology Internship. Outside of lab, Amanda loves studying languages, crocheting, and dancing. Welcome, Amanda!

1/2/25 It’s been a year of growth for the lab! A big “thank you” to everyone who helped make it possible!

12/13/24 Congratulations, Molly and Nelanne!

12/9/25 We had a great celebration of our accomplishments over the past year and built gingerbread houses!

11/13/24 Ariella also won a Duke DiSTEM Travel Award that supported her travel to the conference!

10/31/24 Vivian’s comic, entitled “The Nightmare,” won the popular vote! Click here to see the full comic! Can you spot our lab members?

10/21/25 Alia is a first-year PhD student in the UPGG program. Alia was born and raised in the Bay Area, CA, and graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. There she studied genotype-dependent developmental delay of Drosophila resulting from rapamycin exposure in the Promislow lab. To explore more of human systems and genetics, she moved back to the Bay to work in the Corces Lab at the Gladstone Institutes, researching non-coding variation within neurodegenerative disease. Outside the lab, you can find her playing volleyball, hiking, making crafts or art, reading, or cooking. Welcome, Alia!

10/21/25 Mel is a first-year PhD student in the UPGG program, originally from Pereira in Colombia and moved to Dumont, NJ when she was young. She earned her BA in Biology from Brown University in 2024. She studied X chromosome targeting and up-regulation in fruit flies in Dr. Erica Larschan’s lab prior to joining the University Program in Genetics and Genomics as a PhD student. Melissa is also a member of the 12th BioCore cohort. In her free time, she likes to reading, running, and cooking. She also teaches a citizenship prep class for adult learners and feels passionate about community outreach and engagement.

10/10/24

9/15/24 Molly won a travel award from the MGM department to support her attendence!

9/6/25 Ariella won best undergraduate poster and the lab won first place in trivia. Read more here!

8/26/24 Hannah is a first-year MGM PhD Student, originally from Norton, MA. She earned her BS in Molecular Genetics with a minor in Microbiology from the University of Vermont in 2023. She then worked as a Lab Technician in the Bruce Lab at the University of Vermont working on SARS-CoV-2 and influenza this past year before pursuing her PhD in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University. In her free time, Hannah enjoys spending time outdoors, running or hiking, as well as baking and reading. Welcome, Hannah!

8/26/24 Erin is a first-year MGM PhD student, originally from Charleston, SC. She earned her BS in Biology from Coastal Carolina in 2016 and MS in Genetic Counseling from University of South Carolina in 2018. She is a board-certified genetic counselor and practiced for over 6 years before joining the Duke University Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology as a PhD student. Welcome, Erin!

7/26/24

7/10/24 Dr. Devi Swain-Lenz, director of the SGT core, gave the lab a rundown of the exciting technologies available. Here, the lab is meeting the new Illumina NovaSeq X sequencer, “Rosie”, named after Rosalind Franklin. Read more about the SGT core here!

6/28/24

6/10/24 Ariella is a rising senior at Duke, majoring in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Psychology. She is interested in learning more about how genetic sex differences can affect the expression of certain genes. In her free time, Ariella likes reading, swimming, and going on road trips. Welcome, Ariella!

5/28/24 All hands on deck for our first cell culture experiment in the lab!

5/20/24 Ire is part of the Summer Scholars Program in Genome Sciences at Duke. Ire is a rising junior at NCSU studying Computer Science and Genetics. She is passionate about the use of CRISPR systems as therapy for hereditary, genetic, and neurological disorders. Aiming to receive her PhD in Bioinformatics, she hopes to create software that integrates advanced CRISPR techniques with comprehensive genetic data analysis to develop personalized treatments. In her free time, Ire is a photographer mainly focused on live events, loves to travel, and is a devoted Chelsea fan. Welcome, Ire!

5/20/24 Vivian is a rising junior at Duke majoring in Chemistry and Chinese, with a minor in Gender, Feminist, and Sexuality Studies. She is very excited to learn about the molecular relationship between biological sex and health outcomes. In her free time, Vivian enjoys reading, playing piano, and going on walks in rainy weather. Welcome, Vivian!

5/13/24 Dr. Joseph Heitman, Chair of MGM, presented Adrianna with the award at the annual School of Medicine Awards Ceremony. This award will help to support the lab’s start-up costs!

3/4/24 Mark is a first-year PhD student in the MGM graduate program. Mark is originally from the SF Bay Area and did his undergrad at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he worked in Alex Meeske’s lab studying how CRISPR systems provide their prokaryotic hosts with anti-viral immunity. In his free time he loves to read, cook intricate meals, watch sports, and ski (hard to do in North Carolina). Welcome, Mark!

1/29/24 Molly joins the lab as a research technician and lab manager. Welcome, Molly!

1/2/24 Hello world!