Department of Biology
Tenley returned to us from Marlboro College. She is working with Prof. Elena Casey as a Ph.D. student since 2003. Her interests are in developmental biology.
Aaron joined the Department of Biology in the fall of 2006. He intends to pursue his Ph.D. degree with Prof. Edward Barrows. He has a B.S. degree in Biology and Education from Grove City College.
Haibei is from Fudan University, in the People's Republic of China. He is very interested in cell biology and has joined the laboratory of Dr. Heidi Elmendorf. He is investigating cytosolic and cytoskeletal proteins necessary for attachment of the parasite Giardia lamblia to solid structures such as slides and cells.
Heather entered the program in 2005. She has joined the Weiss laboratory and is working on her dissertation, studying learning in the praying mantis.
She has earned several honors including the Best Poster Award which was bestowed at the 2006 Entomological Society of America annual meeting for her poster "Learning across development in the praying mantis".
Deblyn entered the program in 2005 and she has joined the laboratory of Prof. Edward Barrows. She is interested in beetles - their ecology and evolutionary history.
June has joined the laboratory of Prof. Elena Casey in 2005 to study the molecular mechanisms of neural development in the frog Xenopus laevis.
Debbie joined the Department of Biology in spring of 2005 after she obtained her MS degree from the University of Maryland. She is working with Prof. Peter Armbruster to investigate the mosquito A. albopictus.
Eric Patterson joined the Department of Biology in the fall of 2007, and plans to work with Janet Mann. Eric did his undergraduate work at the University of Colorado.
Crystal graduated from UCLA in 2001 where she learned to love all of Biology. She has a strong background in evolution and ecology but has also worked in a neuroscience research group at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
Crystal has joined the laboratory of Prof. Elena Casey for her research work on neural development in the frog Xenopus laevis. She received the Outstanding Graduate Student in Biology award in October of 2007.
Banu is originally from Turkey. She recently earned an M.S. degree in plant sciences from the University of Maryland. She joined the Department of Biology in January of 2007, with research interests in the molecular sciences. She has joined the laboratory of Elena Casey.
Steve joins the Department of Biology with newly arrived faculty member Chris Elsik. He uses bioinformatic tools to investigate genomes. Steve earned an MS degree at Fudan University in the People's Republic of China.
Originally from Iran, Shahram joined the Department of Biology in January of 2008. Shahram holds a Bachelors degree in Veterinary Medicine, and a Masters in Medical Parasitology from the School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). Before joining the Department of Biology, he worked as a Visiting Researcher at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville. His work there focused on signal transduction mechanisms in the human pathogen Entamoeba histolytica. He also developed enhanced molecular diagnostic modalities for the rapid diagnosis of human amebiasis. Currently, he works with Dr. Steven Singer on mechanisms of host's immune responses to infections in the murine models of giardiasis. Click here to link to his personal web-pages.Maggie joined the laboratory of Prof. Janet Mann in the fall of 2006. She recently obtained her BS degree from the University of MD. Maggie was named an University Fellow in 2006.
Ernest entered the Ph.D. program in Jan. 2003 after obtaining a MD from the University of Yaounde in Cameroon. His interests are in immunology and parasitology. He has joined the laboratory of Prof. Steven Singer where his research project focuses on the changes in gene expression in mice that are infected with the parasite Giardia lamblia. He is also investigating the role of innate immune mechanisms in the elimination of this protozoan.
Jean has recently joined the Department of Biology to study dolphin behavior under the direction of Prof. Janet Mann. Jean came to Georgetown from the University of Arizona.
Jean is a Clare Booth Luce Fellow!
Divya joined the department during the summer of 2004 after receiving a Masters Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Mysore, India. Her research interests encompass the study of the natural history of insect life and behavior. Divya will be pursuing her research with Prof. Martha Weiss. Outside of the laboratory, Divya enjoys painting and playing the veena, an Indian string intrument.
Jenn entered the PhD program in 2005 with a BS in Biology and a minor in Art History from Canisius College. She has joined the Armbruster laboratory and is investigating mosquito evolution and ecology for her dissertation.
Colleen entered the PhD program after spending a year as a technician in the Elmendorf laboratory. Colleen received her AB from Smith College where she studied the molecular biology of parasitic worms. She will study the mechanisms of transcription in Giardia with Prof. Elmendorf. Colleen was named as a University Fellow (2003-2008).
Chris has joined the Department of Biology in the summer of 2006 and is working Prof. Heidi Elmendorf. He recently received his BS degree from Frostburg State University. He received a Healy Fellowship in 2006.