Former
Ph.D.
Student Graduates
Dr. Shelli "Elf" Williams
Dr. Williams is a May 2006 graduate of the Shack and currently works for the Department of Defense. Shelli worked as a scientific consultant with the MITRE corporation and the Central Intelligence Agency following postdoctoral training in forensic sciences and biodefense. She is currentDoc Elf is also an author, having written a textbook with the Docs C. called Integrated Genomics: A Discovery Based Laboratory Course sold internationally by John Wiley & Sons. Our beloved Elf was also the primary person responsible for establishing our epilepsy research where her work was the subject of an international press release from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Dr. Songsong "David" Cao
Wherever Dr. Cao may land in the end, the Shack will always be Sweet Home Alabama...Roll Tide!!
Former Research Staff
Lindsay Faircloth
Our former amazingly fabulous research technician, Lindsay has headed by to the land of the Tar Heels to pursue her doctorate in biochemisty at UNC-Chapel Hill. Lindsay was the lead author on a manuscript published in Cell Stress & Chaperones while in da Shack.
Cody Locke
Cody, who started in
The Shack as a freshman and ended as a post-grad technician, was a 2005
Goldwater Scholarship recipient and was named THREE TIMES named to the USA Today All-USA College Academic
Team. In 2003,
Cody was chosen as 1 of only 4 nationwide recipients of the Benjamin
Cummings Biology Prize. He was the recipient of The Merit Award
from the National Society of Collegiate
Scholars. As President of the UA chapter of Beta Beta Beta national
biology honor society, he was Editor-in-Chief of JOSHUA for 2 years and
founder/webmaster of the online edition. Among his many
accomplishments, Cody developed a novel public database on the genetics
of epilepsy, aptly named CarpeDB, which was featured in Biotechniques, Epilepsy USA,
and Science magazine.
As the leader of "Team Seize", Cody was co-author of research
articles published in Human
Molecular Genetics , Brain Research, Neuroscience
Letters, and Innovations
in Epilepsy Research (with more to come still). His research was
the subject of an international press release from the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute and was highlighted by the American
Society for Cell Biology as one of only 11 abstracts selected for
their 2003 Press Book
at their 2003 international meeting. Through this illustrious
collegiate career, Cody "was indeed "UA" (see Cody's
TV commerical with NFL Pro-Bowler DeMeco Ryans), but has now moved on
to pursue his doctorate in neuroscience at UCSF. Carpe 'frisco Cody!
Amber Clark
A former stellar undergrad researcher turned techncian in The Shack, Amber personified "working hard and playing hard" (and sleeping well, sometimes in lab meeting!). She was our lead researcher in the STOP-PD intitiatve and co-authored a paper with colleagues at The Mayo Clinic in The Journal of Neuroscience. Amber was also a big part of the Shack's drug discovery research that led to a sponsored research agreement with QRxPharma, Ltd. Hearing the call of the big city, Amber , a part-time guitar player but full time scientist, lived in freakin' Brooklyn and was a research technician at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in the field of human genetics for our collaborator Dr. Laurie Ozelius following her time in the Shack
Cindi Makowsky
A former member of STOP-PD team in the Shack, Cindi, an animal lover extraordinaire, now works at Trinity River Authority of Texas.Michelle Norris
Former M.S. Student Graduates
Bwarenaba Kautu (see Ph.D.
students now!)
Michelle Tucci (see Ph.D. students now!)
Chris Porter
Chris completed his M.S. degree in 2008 and is a research technician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Summer Slater
Summer finished her M.S. degree in 2005 and is a teacher at a private academy in Lafayette, LA.
Chris Gelwix
Dr. Gelwix completed an outstanding M.S. degree in 2003 and then his M.D. at UAB. "Nerms" is currently a medical resident at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. His "excellent" legend lives on in The Shack, where he knows "Who's doing the science?" is always the question being asked. Chris was responsible for initiating the Shack's research into dopamine neurodegeneration and co-authored papers in Human Molecular Genetics and The Journal of Neuroscience in his all too brief time as a Shacker.
Elaina Sexton
Dr. Sexton completed her M.S. in 2002 and co-authored papers in Human Molecular Genetics. Elaina iearned her M.D. from the University of South Alabama, where she is also currently a medical resident.
Mike Shiffler
Mike was the very first graduate student in The Worm Shack. A former BYU running back, Mike receved his M.S. in our lab and now also holds an MBA from UA. He runs his own successful photography business.
Former Visiting Scholars
Bettina Reischmann
Bettina, a German Ph.D. student, shared 6 wonderful months of 2006 with us all in the Shack learning how to use worms to study human movement disorders. She has taken her training back to the lab of Dr. Olaf Reiss at the Universität Tübingen, where we will continue our collaboration (and visit!).
Ayse Kanneci
Ayse, a molecular biology student at the Istanbul Technical University in Turkey, was a visiting Shacker for the summer of 2007, and assisted with our Parkinson's research.Former Undergraduate Researchers
Stacey Fox
Sigh, it is hard to imagine life in the Shack without this young woman. A co-author of two scientific manuscripts, former Parkinson Assocation of Alabama Scholar, and recipient of numerous other honors, including twice winning awards at the UA Undergraduate Research Competition, Stacey was a Shacker from her first week through her last day in college. The future Dr. Fox, forever a Floridian, but equally a loyal Crimson Tide fan, is now on her way to becoming a veterinarian at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
Cassie Martin
Our sassy, lassy, Cassie, was a sadly Shacker only for her last few semesters at UA, but certainly made her (~5 ft?) presence felt! A former national junior Olympic champion gymnast, turned Alabama Gymnastics Team member, turned Worm Shack research scientist, this multalented 3-time Scholastic All-American honors student is taking some time off following her hectic undergraduate career prior to entering vet school.
Stephanie Parker
Max Thompson
Ashley Phares
World-traveler extraordinaire, Ashley, a UHP and Blount Scholar, was a fixture in the Shack from her freshman-senior year. She is attending dental school at the University of Connecticut.
Lauren Bryant
Lauren, a UHP and Blount Scholar, was a Shacker during her freshman and sophomore years at UA.
Emily Kay Woods
Emily worked in the Shack during her freshman year at UA, during which time she was awarded a Walker Scholarship and was named one of the original Alabama Dystonia Scholars.
Renee Rivas
The lovely soon-to-be Dr. Rivas, a 2006 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship recipient, was also one of only 4 national recipients of the Benjamin Cummings Biology Prize in 2006 and served as an author and Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Science and Health at the University of Alabama (JOSHUA). Renee was named to the 2008 USA Today All-USA Academic Team, 1st Team for her research into Parkinson's disease that was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Check out her full-page ad in Nature too! Renee is currently a M.D./Ph.D. student in the UCSF Medical Scientist Training Program.
Robyn Thomas
While a Shacker, Rockin' Robyn was a contributor to multiple research projects and served as an author and Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Science and Health at the University of Alabama (JOSHUA). Robyn was selected from nearly 20,000 applicants as a recipient of a prestigious Amgen Fellowship from Teach for America, for whom she currently teaches high school science in, yes, Hawaii. Poor Robin. :(Aloha from da Shack, Miss Thomas!
David Agee
David is a former Howard Hughes Medical Intern in the Shack. He is currently an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Jennifer Edmonds at UA and aspires to become a dentist.
Shermeen Memon
Shemeen is the recipient of national scholarships from Golden Key and Alpha Lambda Delta as a medical student at The University of Alabama School of Medicine at UA. Shermeen was co-author on a paper published in Chemical Communications and has a second paper in preparation with us.
John Phillips
John, a former Truman Scholar while in the Shack, is medical student on full scholarship at Vanderbilt University.
Meaghan Till
A Biology major and 2006 Isabella Hummel Graham Scholarship recipient of The University Women's Club, Meaghan is a Psychology major and is also a former Howard Hughes Rural Science Scholar.
Amy Gargis
A former 2004 Isabella Hummel Graham Scholarship recipient of The University Women's Club, and 2004 Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award recipient while in the Shack, Amy is now a UA graduate student pursuing a career in food microbiology with Dr. Gary Sloan.
Kim Peters
'lil Kim is now a Ph.D. student at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Stephanie Brennan
Stephanie is medial student at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, where she works in the lab of our collaborator, Dr. David Standaert.
Perry Guevara
Perry is a graduate student in English at Georgetown University.
Sarah Fulghum
Dr. Fulghum was the Shack's first (of seven now) USA Today All-American Academic Team member and the co-founder of JOSHUA . Sarah received her medical degree at The University of Alabama School of Medicine and is now a medical resident in Tuscaloosa.
Andrea Braden
Our ever caffinated "Dr. Tweek" received her medical degree at the University of South Alabama and is now a resident at the University of Connecticut.
Matt Cybulsky
Master Matt received a first M.S. degree in Bioethics from Case Western Reserve University and second M.S. degree in Hosptial Administration at UAB. He is now a hospital administrator in Dallas.
Jenny Whitworth
Our very first HUg, Dr. Jenny received her M.D. at The University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham.
Dan Wyatt
Dan was the former the
coordinator of biology laboratories at Birmingham Southern College and
currently works at the Alabama Eye Bank.
He is attending pharmacy school at that other college across the state.
Jay Garrett
Jay attended medical
school
in Grenada.
Sarah Howard
Sarah is an information technology specialist in Atlanta.
Meiklejohn McKenzie
Dr. McKenzie is a medical resident in pathology at UAB.
Clay Blanton
Clay is working in the mangament information systems field in Atlanta.
John Paul Bevel
John Paul was the VERY first student to set foot in The Shack. He is a Biology graduate of UA and co-author of a paper in Human Molecular Genetics. He played on The Crimson Tide football team, and now works in the pharmaceutical industry in Birmingham.
