Principal Investigator:
Mark Forsyth, Ph.D.
Mark is the fearless leader of the lab. He rules with an iron fist and boldly goes where no Microbiologist has gone before. He observes the sacred, "Hawaiian Shirt Friday", at least three days a week. He also has a fear of shaving. 

(learn what's really important to Mark here!)

Student Researchers: real photos coming soon

                                               Ryan Shipman

Ryan is a junior and second year researcher.  Ryan is investigating the role of TCSs in the ability of H. pylori to modify gene expresseion as the result of binding host gastric cells.  Among his numerous hobbies (including home chemistry projects!), Ryan is a dedicated 70’s Funk band afficianado!


                                

                                               Justin Reed

Justin is a senio biology major considering MD/Ph.D study.  He joined the lab as a freshman while involved in the HHMI Phage Hunters Program.  In our lab he’s involved in studies of a gene duplication event seen in some Asian strains of H. pylori and some genomic studies of some cagA Negative H. pylori strains.  While Justin may seem like a mild-mannered W&M student, on the weekends, his crazy alternate persona shines through and he becomes  Justin Reed; Polka Band Leader and Swing dance instructor!

Hermella Zerihun Hermella is a junior, 2nd year researcher and TA for Phage lab. Hermella is involved in studies immunoprecipitate a histidine kinase from both activating and non-activating conditions to examine post translational modifications beyong phosphorylation. She says she wants to go to medical school, but in reality, she is looking for a career in stand up comedy!
Olivia Tran is a junior and second year lab researcher. Olivia’s project examines various arsS mutants’ abilities to modify gene expression upon challenge with acidic pH environments. She recently gave up her life long desire to be a circus clown and has instead opted for a pre-medical tract here at WIlliam & Mary. We think she just couldn’t find Clown shoes she liked!!

                                                 Catie Burgess

Catie is a senior honors scholar working on mutations to DNA binding proteins and the effects of phosphomimetic amino acid substitution on DNA binding capabilities.  In her spare time, of which there isn’t much, she is a long time Highland Dancer and a Scottish hooligan!

 

   

                                               Danielle Jones

Danielle is a junior, second year researcher and a veteran of the Phreshman Phage lab.  She is investigating the effects of a potentially constitutively active histidine kinase on the ability of H. pylori to survive environmental challenges.  Outwardly she appears to be normal pre-med, pre-MD/Ph.D kind of girl.  But we know her secret alter ego that prowls campus on the weekends teasing the squirrels and the deer!

Sara Martinez Sara is also a junior and veteran of Phage Lab! She is involved in gene expression changes associated with arsS mutations. She tells everyone she is going to medical school. But the truth is, she really wants a musical career as a tuba player in a German Om Pah Band!
Elizabeth Do Elizabeth is another junior, phage lab veteran. In our lab she is trying to express an epitope tagged version of a response regulator protein in H. pylori so we can purify the protein under various environmental conditions and use MS to examine post translation modifications. She would have usbelieve she is just another pre-medical student, but we all know her true passion involves playing the left wing for the Washington Capitals hockey team!

Aaron Marcum is a junior biology major and returning for year two in the lab.  His project involves creating constitutively kinase active mutants of a histidine kinase.  Although Aaron tells everyone he wants to go to medical school after graduation, we think his true calling is giraffe wrangling!

Anna Xystros is a senior researcher in our lab.  Her project involves some genomics from strains of Helicobacter pylori that naturally lack a crucial virulence locus.  In her leisure time, Anna collects vintage disco albums.

Jerry Lopez-Sanchez is a sophomore researcher.  His project involves the effects of functional mutants of the acid sensing histidine kinase, ArsS.  In addition to his love of microbiology and infectious diseases, Jerry is a huge fan Greenlandic Folk songs and hopes to produce an album of that genre one day!

Sanjana Challa is a sophomore, 2nd year student.  Her project involves co-immunoprecipitation of a membrane bound histidine kinase ti identify partner proteins via MS.

Sanjana’s truest passion is writing  romance novels under her pen name:  “Cuddles McNamara”