Michelle Tucci

Our belle, Michelle, is a doctoral student and aspiring biomedical researcher. A former maroon-blooded Mississippi State Bulldog from Starkville, this new Bama Girl is learning to embrace a slightly different shade of red (Crimson!) these days. This top honors MSU biochemistry and molecular biology graduate has added “culture” (neurons and otherwise) to the Shack, not to mention novel insights into human brain diseases. Michelle is studying the neuron circuitry and factors that may prevent worms (and us all) from our demented ways.

Bwarenaba Kautu

Bwarenaba is unequivocally the most interesting Shacker! This dedicated young scientist is a native of the beautiful South Pacific island Republic of Kiribati, from where he represents the very first person in his country to obtain a B.S. (and now M.S.!) degree in the mainland United States. He received that Biology degree as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin River Falls, where as an eager young researcher he taught himself how to work with C. elegans. Now as a Ph.D. student, Bwarenaba has heard “the Call of the Worm” and traded Micronesia for a microscope…not to mention climbing up coconut trees for a living (literally!) for the search for genes that may cause a susceptibility to epilepsy.
Ko na mauri! Tekeraoi Bwarenaba! (Look it up and learn some Kiribatese!)

Arpita Ray