Our team.

Tania Rozario (PI)

Tania Rozario got her PhD from the University of Virginia and completed her postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Phillip A. Newmark at the Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI. She joined the University of Georgia in 2021 as an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases and the Department of Genetics. Her work established H. diminuta as a tractable model organism for the study of stem cells with the goal of uncovering how these monstrous parasites achieve feats of growth, regeneration, and reproduction.

 

Brittany Chropra (Lab Technician II)

Brittany got her BSc from the University of Georgia and is our organizational maven! She is working on optimizing methods for growing gravid tapeworms.

 

Izzy Skipper (Lab Technician I)

Izzy got her BSc from the University of Georgia and is newest tech! She is working on validating differentiation lineages that are necessary to make various tapeworm tissues such as the tegument, neurons, and muscle.

 

Corey Rennolds (Postdoc)

Corey got this PhD studying annelids at the University of Maryland and has now joined the flatworm family. He is working on characterizing molecular markers of stem cell subpopulations and understanding their potency and plasticity.

Trevor Haskins (Graduate Student)

Trevor is working on understanding how the regenerative neck is patterned (primarily through studying Wnt signaling) and how signals in this microenvironment affect stem cell behaviors and regeneration.

Cierra Gladfelter (Graduate Student)

Cierra is interested in exploring early stages of germ cell development in H. diminuta with a particular focus on the role of nanos. Cierra is also studying the progression of sex-specific germline stem cells and how they occur.

Elise Nanista (Graduate Student)

Elise got her BSc from the University of Georgia in Biological Sciences, worked as a technician in the lab and we are delighted to welcome her back as a graduate student!. Elise’s focus is on uncovering the germ cell niche.

Chandler Lowe (Graduate Student)

Welcome Chandler to the lab! Chandler will be working on understanding stem cell extrinsic signals with the regenerating neck with a focus on extracellular matrix and their receptors.

Logan Kelly (Undergraduate Researcher)

Logan is identifying lineage-specific and pan stem cell regulators, primarily though a comparative approach with planarians and schistosomes.

Lanni Poythress (Undergraduate Researcher)

Lanni is exploring how cell proliferation is affected by different amputation paradigms with the goal of uncovering how the tapeworm head regulates stem cell behaviors.

 

Jane Logan (Undergraduate Researcher)

Jane will be working on uncovering pan-stem-cell markers with a focus on the argonaute family

Thank you to our alumni!

Rachel Nelson (undergrad)

Thank you for your contributions to describing stem cell subpopulation makers. Best of luck in med school at Louisianna!

Mohamed Ishan (post doc)

Thank you for being working out so many critical staining techniques for us in just 6 month! Best of luck in your new position at Emory University!

Grace Conrad (undergrad)

Thank you for your work on germ cell markers. Best of luck in medical consulting!

Medha Guduru (undergrad)

Thank you for working out the cellular identity of polarized Wnt signaling components. Best of luck in med school in Augusta!