TRG Spring 2023 Principle Investigator Rick Tarleton Regents’ Professor and UGA-Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences Ph.D., 1983, Wake Forest University People Aylla von Ermland Graduate Research Assistant - Cell Biology - ayllae@uga.edu Bachelor’s and teaching degree in Biological Sciences at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil Aylla started her PhD program with the Cell Biology Department in January 2023. Her project is focused on the study of DNA repair mechanisms in T. cruzi. "I investigate how DNA repair relates to parasite dormancy and immune evasion, and I work on modifying repair pathways to facilitate CRISPR-Cas9 editing. I’m also interested in the evolution of DNA repair pathways, particularly in the kinetoplastids". In her spare time Aylla loves doing yoga and watching Sci-Fi movies with friends. Caleb Hawkins Research Technician III -caleb.hawkins@uga.edu B.S. in Biology with minor in Chemistry, University of South Carolina M.P.H., Southern New Hampshire University Caleb joined the lab in August 2021 and has quickly learned his way around the lab. He is currently developing a method for identifying nanobodies that target T. cruzi amastigotes, and investigating the role those nanobodies can play in the identification of dormant T. cruzi infections by using a yeast nanobody library. Outside of the lab Caleb enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and watching movies. Jihyun Lim Research Technician III -limji79@uga.edu Lim joined the Tarleton lab in the fall of 2018. She works mainly on drug discovery assays targeting T. cruzi, testing using both in vitro and in vivo techniques. In the past she has studied genetic engineering and food science. In her free time she is passionate about Zumba and travel. Natalie Poole Undergraduate Laboratory Assistant José Saenz Post-Doc - jose.saenz@uga.edu PhD in Biochemistry at UFPR (Brazil) José joined the lab in December 2022. His main project will aim to design and optimize a library for Knockout/Knockdown of T. cruzi genes. He is also assisting with other projects involving gene editing and RNA sequencing. In his free time José enjoys video games and reading books and appreciates traveling to new places and meeting new people. Fernando Sánchez-Valdéz Research Professional III - nano2014@uga.edu PhD, Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry in the University of Buenos Aires. Argentina. The main focus of his research has been to uncover the mechanism of drug resistance in Chagas disease by combining ex vivo luminescence assays and tissue-clearing techniques. Saanvikha Saravanan Undergraduate Research Assistant - ssaravanan@uga.edu Spring 2022 Brooke White Lab Manager - bewhite@uga.edu B.S. in Biological Sciences, Valdosta State University Brooke has been managing the Tarleton lab since 2017. She works mainly on detecting parasite DNA in mouse, macaque and dog tissues and isolating PBMC samples from macaque and canine T. cruzi treatment trials along with day to day running of the lab. Previously she managed a Drosophila Genetics lab at UGA. Brooke loves spending time with her family, traveling, hiking, and watching movies in her free time. Recent Lab Alumni Carolina Vieira Visiting Researcher February 2023 - February 2024 Angel Padilla Research Scientist 2004-2023 Luiz Vasconcelos Visiting Researcher - November 2022- November 2023 Gonzalo Cesar Visiting Researcher - May 2023 - November 2023 Aylla von Ermland Visiting Undergraduate Research Student January 2022 - July 2022 Molly Bunkofske Graduate Research Assistant 2016-2022 PhD. University of Georgia Spring 2022 Now with Chris Hunter's group Wei Wang Research Professional IV 2014-April 2022 Natasha Perumal Graduate Research Assistant 2016-2021 PhD. University of Georgia Fall 2021 Juan Bustamante Assistant Research Scientist 2005-2021 Natália P. de A. Nogueira Visiting Research Scholar September 2019 - May 2020 Anita Minniefield Research Technician III August 2018 - May 2020 Huifeng Shen Research Professional 2016-2021 Adriana M. C. Canavaci Martins Research Technician III January 2020 - February 2021
