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Li-Jun Ma
Principle Investigator
Professor Li-Jun Ma studies mechanisms that guide eukaryotic genome evolution and genetic determinants of fungal pathogenicity using the model system Fusarium oxysporum. She loves books and enjoys meaningful conversations and all outdoor activities.
Kelly S. Allen
Postdoc
Kelly is a postdoctoral researcher in the Ma lab studying basil downy mildew and Fusarium wilt. Kelly completed her B.S. in Plant, Soil & Insect Sciences at UMass Amherst, and joined the Plant Biology Graduate Program, completing her Ph.D. in 2022. Prior to her time at UMass, Kelly worked as a horticulturist and arborist for commercial landscaping companies and public gardens in the Boston area, during which time she gained a deep appreciation of plant health and care.
Gengtan (Daniel) Li
MCB PhD Student
Daniel is a PhD student in the Molecular and Cellular Biology program. After graduating as BS from Biochemistry and Molecular Biology department at UMass, with a strong passion in discovering the fundamental molecular mechanisms of fungi-host interaction, Daniel joined the Ma lab and devoted in discovering and characterizing small secreted effectors of Fusarium oxysporum.
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Joni Rey Campilan
Plant Bio PhD Student
Joni is Fulbright-CHED Scholar from the Philippines. Currently pursuing a PhD in Plant Biology at UMass, Amherst, Joni's passion revolves around the urgent mission of "saving bananas" from the grasp of the Fusarium pandemic. With a heart deeply connected to his community, particularly in Southern Mindanao, Philippines, Joni strives to bring concrete solutions through bioinformatics and molecular biology to the forefront of science and local community he serves.
Siyuan (Melanie) Wu
MCB PhD Student
Melanie is a PhD student in the Molecular and Cellular Biology program. She is from Shenzhen, China. After graduating from Boston College in 2020, she studied cancer genetics at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She is very excited to join the Ma Lab in 2023 and her research focus on the pathogenetic strains of Fusarium that cause human infections and understanding the antifungal resistance properties in Fusarium.
Madison Newman
OEB PhD Student
Madison is a PhD student in the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology program. After graduating from Dominican College in New York in 2022, she joined the lab as a lab manager. She enrolled as a PhD student in Fall 2023. She is mainly interested in the interactions between host plants and the endophytic strain of Fusarium oxysporum, Fo47.
Rachel Cole
Plant Bio PhD Student
Rachel is PhD student in the Plant Biology program. After graduating from SUNY ESF in 2020, she helped to teach an intro to Biochemistry lab at UMass Amherst before pursuing her interest in plant biology and joining the Ma Lab as a PhD student in 2023. Her interest lie in investigating the differences between the pathogenic strains of Fusarium oxysporum and the endophytic strain.
Harun Cerkezi
PostBac Student
Harun Cerkezi is a postbaccalaureate student in the Ma Lab. Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, he came to the USA at 18 to study Microbiology at California State University, Los Angeles. At the university, he joined a lab that studies how the body naturally fights off diseases and found he really enjoyed working with tiny organisms. Outside of the lab, he loves going on long hikes to explore nature, and he's a big fan of soccer!
Charlotte Koch
Greenhouse Lab Manager
Isabelle Stephen
Undergraduate Researcher
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Rachel Griffiths
Undergraduate Researcher
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Cecelia Murphy
Undergraduate Researcher
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Minjae Ko
Undergraduate Researcher
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Alan Perry
Undergraduate Researcher
Ryan Lai
Undergraduate Researcher
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Himani Patel
Undergraduate Researcher
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology & Informatics
Nicole deBlois
Undergraduate Researcher
Louisa Crenshaw
Undergraduate Researcher
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