Graduate Researchers

(2019-present)

Born in Peoria, Illinois, I attended Northern Illinois University and obtained a BS degree in Chemistry and a minor in Biological Sciences in 2018. I joined Texas A&M University in August of 2018, pursuing a PhD in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and joined the Devarenne lab in February of 2019.

My research focuses on elucidating the enzymatic machinery responsible for tetraterpenoid synthesis in the L race Botryococcus braunii. Specifically, identifying and biochemically characterizing key reductase enzyemes responsible for reducing lycopadiene precursors.

In my free time, I enjoy fishing, hunting, and playing music.

(2014-present)

I am from Incheon, South Korea. I received a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Chung-Ang University in Korea, 2009. I began my Master’s course in Life Science (Immunology) at Seoul National University, but I transferred back to Chung-Ang University in 2010 and earned a Master’s degree in Life Science (Microbiology) in 2012. I joined the Biochemistry and Biophysics doctoral program at Texas A&M University in August, 2013 and joined the Devarenne Lab in May, 2014.
My research project involves studying the control of programmed cell death (PCD) during plant-pathogen interactions. My first project is to understand nuclear phosphorylation events controlled by the tomato protein kinase Adi3, which is a host PCD regulator during resistance to pathogens. My second project is to isolate and characterize a novel AGC kinase that regulates host immune responses during the resistance response to pathogens.