Plant and Algal Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Texas A&M University
(summer 2019)
Shruthi is a high school student at College Station High School and joined the lab for the summer of 2019. She will be working with Ivette on B. braunii hydrocarbon analysis. Specifically, Shruthi will be analyzing how mutations in the LOS enzyme from the L race of B. braunii affect its ability to produce hydrocarbons.
(Summer 2017)
Alyssa is a summer intern for the TAMU Energy Institute Summer Research Program. In the Fall of 2017 she will be a Junior majoring in Biochemistry and Genetics at Texas A&M. Alyssa is working on isolating and characterizing the lycopene cyclase cDNA from the B. race of B. braunii. Alyssa is currently (as of 03.28.2018) finishing her junior year studying biochemistry at Texas A&M.
(August 2016-September 2017)
Dr. Cheng is from Wuhan, China where he is an Associate Professor in the College of Plant Science and Technology at Huazhong Agricultural University.
Dr. Cheng spent a year in the Devarenne lab on a sabbatical visit from August 2016 to September 2017. He studied substrates of Adi3 that control programmed cell death through phosphorylation events in the nucleus.
After his time in the Devarenne lab Jiasen moved back to Wuhan to continue his position as professor at Huazhong Agricultural University.
(Summer 2016)
Sophie joined the lab in the summer of 2016 as an NSF REM (Research Experience and Mentoring) student to carry out research on the KCS enzymes from the A race of B. braunii responsible for hydrocarbon biosynthesis.
Sophie is a native of Newton, MA and came to us from the University of Michigan. Currently (as of 10.04.2019) Sophie is a second year graduate student in the lab of Miriam Meisler in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Michigan.
(summer 2015)
Laura joined the lab in the summer of 2015 as an NSF REM (Research Experience and Mentoring) student to carry out research on the enzyme that produces polysaccharides in the B race of B. braunii.
Laura came to us from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI and graduated in May 2016.
Laura is currently (as of 03.28.2018) a PhD student in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M in the lab of Tadhg Begley.
(summer 2014)
Katelyn joined the lab in the summer of 2014 as an NSF REM (Research Experience and Mentoring) student to carry out research on the fatty acid elongation pathway in the A race of B. braunii for the production of alkadiene/triene hydrocarbons.
Katelyn came to us from College Station A&M Consolidated High School and is currently (as of 03.28.2018) a Senior at the University of North Texas.
(summer 2012)
Ben was our NSF REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) student for the summer of of 2011.
He came from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Ben carried out research to clone the squalene epoxidase gene from the B race of B. braunii.
Currently (as of 03.28.2018), Ben is a graduate student in the lab of Margy Glasner in the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics at Texas A&M University .
(summer 2011)
Daniel was our NSF REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) student for the summer of of 2011.
He came from the University of Southern Mississippi. He worked on the characterization of methyltransferase genes from B. braunii responsible for hydrocarbon biosynthesis.
(summer 2010)
Laura was our NSF REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) student for the summer of of 2010.
She came from Grinnell College in Iowa. She worked with Taylor Weiss trying to obtain the actin genes from the A and L races of B. braunii for phylogenetic analysis.
Laura is currently (as of 03.28.2018) a Master of Social Work graduate student at New Mexico State University.
(2014-2015)
Hnin joined the lab in January 2014 as a research supporter and has now taken on a research project involving the identification and characterization of hydrocarbon biosynthesis genes from the A race of B. braunii. Hnin worked in the lab until she graduated in May 2015.
Currently (as of 01.31.2018), Hnin is a Food and Beverage Safety Trainer at LEARN (HK) Limited in Myanmar.
