Nine curious minds from around the world join UW Biology
Nate Grassi
I am a first-year graduate student primarily interested in molecular and cell biology, especially research that incorporates a microbiological system and/or work that has a broader public or environmental health application. I am currently in the Paredez lab, but I am planning to rotate through a number of labs in my first year at UW. I am originally from Chicago, Illinois then moved to California to complete my bachelor’s degree at the University of San Diego. Following graduation, I stayed in San Diego for an additional year working as a contractor with the U.S. Navy in an infectious disease laboratory. Overall, I am very excited to explore the incredible research occurring at UW and what Seattle in general has to offer!
Elena Stiles
I am joining the Stromberg Lab, where I am interested in studying how Andean uplift has shaped plant diversity throughout the South American fossil record. I recently finished my Masters at Penn State in Peter Wilf’s palebotany lab, where I worked with fossil plants of Argentina studying the effect of the cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event (the one that killed off the dinosaurs) on plant communities in the Southern Hemisphere. I am originally from Bogotá, Colombia, which is where I got my B. Sc. in Geology from the Universidad de Los Andes. I’m excited to be living in such a vibrant and diverse city surrounded by such beautiful mountains (reminds me of home). I have so far enjoyed a little hiking and exploring Seattle’s neighborhoods, and I’m excited to do so so much more of that over the next few years. I look forward to meeting everyone in the UW Bio community!
Adamaris Muñiz Tirado
Adamaris is joining Dr. Kerr’s lab to study plasmid evolution to better understand the mechanisms that lead to antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Her research interests include evaluating ecosystem dynamics, specifically how organisms function in their environment and what role each plays in community and population coevolution. She is also interested in understanding evolutionary events, such as the emergence of novel traits, and how they impact organisms’ ecological interactions. As an undergraduate, she studied the evolution of novel features in sand dollar fossils, the ecology of oligochetes and foraminifera, and how the biogeochemistry of lakes affects populations of cyanobacteria and wild rice. She is very excited for the opportunity to explore a field new to her in UW Biology!
Robin Fales
Robin is interested in coastal marine ecology, especially sea grasses and seaweeds. She is from southern California, where she obtained her bachelors degree at UC Irvine and masters degree at Cal Poly Pomona. Her masters degree focused on understanding the community dynamics and demography of a rare species of rockweed along its distribution in California. She will be joining Jennifer Ruesink’s lab to study eelgrass. She is excited to work and learn about the organisms in the coastal waters of Washington.
Natalia Guayazán Palacios
I am interested in plant pathogen interactions. I will be joining Dr. Adam Steinbrenner in the winter quarter, where I hope to study the mechanisms underlying plant responses to chewing herbivores. I completed my BSc in Microbiology and double MSc in Biological Sciences and Computational Biology in Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. There, I was part of the Laboratory of Mycology and Plant Pathology (LAMFU) under Dr. Silvia Restrepo. My studies were focused on transcriptional changes in plant pathogens during host colonization, and population genetics and phenotype-genotype associations in plant pathogens. My model organisms where Phytophthora infestans (Irish famine pathogen) and Phytophthora betacei causing late blight on potato and tree tomato crops in South America, respectively. As someone working from the pathogen perspective, I am particularly excited to learn about the other side of the story: How do plants defend themselves?
Hayden Davis
Hayden is joining Dr. Adam Leache’s lab to study the speciation process in reptiles with a focus in population genomics and species delimitation. While he grew up and attended university in California, he most recently studied at Villanova University with Dr. Aaron Bauer where he completed his M.S. in biology. His thesis focused on the biogeography and systematics of Southeast Asian geckos on the island of Borneo. Hayden was drawn to the UW by the highly integrative and forward-thinking environment that exists within the Biology Department, and he’s excited for the opportunities available through the university and the Burke Museum.
Evan Craig
I graduated undergrad from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO where I obtained a bachelors degree in cell bio and played on the men’s soccer team. I spent 2 years working in Dr. Avasthi’s lab Ku Medical Center where I worked to characterize the actin cytoskeleton of the single-celled green algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which had previously never been visualized. I am currently rotating in The Paradez lab, where I’m continuing my passion for studying systems with truly bizarre cytoskeletal dynamics, which the parasize Giardia definitely qualifies for. You can tell I’m from the Midwest because anytime I’m walking around Seattle and mountains or water are in my sight, I get wayyyy too excited about it.
Simra Zahid
Simra is interested in plant-pollinator interactions. She is joining Imaizumi and Di Stilio labs. She has a masters degree in Evolutionary Biology from Stony Brook University where she was researching the molecular evolution of resistance genes in Hops. Currently, she is captivated by the evolution of pollination syndromes and the way circadian rhythms influence plant pollinator interactions. Other than that, she likes to spend her time eating comfort food, reading books, playing with her nephew and her dog, Ruby.
Andy Hempton
Andy is excited to re-join the University of Washington community where he earned his bachelors degree in plant biology in what seems like eons ago, in an age lost to the grey mists of the past. He is currently looking forward to joining the Imaizumi Lab where he plans to dig into the mechanisms influencing water transport into and throughout the plant body. Particularly enamoured by the molecular and physiological changes involved in fruit expansion and the maintenance of hydraulic architecture across root-shoot and shoot-fruit boundaries, he’s desperately hoping the greenhouse opens soon so he get his grubby little hands on more than a few lonely basement-dwelling plants.
