UNC Charlotte
Lab Alumni & Other Volunteers
Lauren Dineen
Former Postdoctoral Scholar & Collaborator
Lauren was awarded her PhD from the University of Manchester, UK where her research focused on the role of transfer RNA in pathogenicity and drug resistance in the human fungal pathogen, Aspergillus fumigatus. Lauren is new to Charlotte and enjoys going to her local brewery run club, and exploring Plaza Midwood.
Sun Lee
Sun was a student at Cannon School and very interested in researching fungi and plants. Outside of his fascination with science, he plays tennis, organizes service events and student events, and serves as a math tutor.
Colin Speer
Colin worked in our lab on various human and yeast evolution projects. His research interests are utilizing machine learning and statistics to address challenges in cancer research. He also indulges in his passion for sports by avidly following hockey and Formula One.
Bryan Zavala
Bryan graduated with his Master’s in Bioinformatics at UNC Charlotte. He worked (and continues to work!) on a project characterizing codon usage in the budding yeasts.
Tazkia Ahmed
Tazkia graduated with her Master's in Bioinformatics at UNC. Tazkia is interested in learning more about genetic variations in humans in relation to evolution. In her spare time, outside of work and academia, she loves traveling, singing, and hiking.
Stella Lo
Stella was a local volunteer working on machine learning in fungi. We are continuing to pursue projects started by Stella.
Aayu Kalaria
Aayu graduated from UNC Charlotte, majoring in Computer Science with a concentration in Bioinformatics. Aayu is researched orthology and genetic annotations in budding yeasts. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, cooking, and exploring new places.
Laasya Bodducherla
Laasya is a junior at East Mecklenburg High School, and she is interested in pursuing a career in medicine. She has always had a passion for performing arts, and in her free time, she loves doing community service and spending time with her friends and family.
Hareem Niazi
Hareem graduated with her Master’s in Bioinformatics at UNC Charlotte, where she used genomic analysis techniques and statistical modeling to uncover how genetic mutations impacted disease risk in humans. Outside academia, she is passionate about finding the best coffee spots or getting lost on hiking trails.
Roshini Selvakumar
Roshini is a student at NCSSM Morganton interested in pursuing a career in medicine or biology research. She enjoys volunteering in the community, reading, and trying new food!
Sanjita Srinath
Sanjita was a high school volunteer looking to major in biomedical engineering with a focus on computational biology and biostatistics in college. Outside of academics, she enjoys baking, robotics, and reading mystery novels. She has continued her education at UNC Chapel Hill
Aarsh Shukla
Arsh volunteered in the lab working on both computational and wild yeast experiments. He has continued to volunteer in the lab while attending UNC Chapel Hill
Isabel Montoya
Isabel worked in the lab during her undergraduate degree at UNC Charlotte. She explored how machine learning can improve our understanding of yeast metabolism
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Abigail Leavitt LaBella
Principal Investigator
Dr. LaBella has researched organisms from across the tree of life from deep-sea clams to humans. Her current research focuses on harnessing genomic patterns to extract new and exciting biological information. She has 2 dogs and 2 cats! She loves making crafts, playing disc golf, and gardening
Stevie Clemens
PhD Candidate
Stevie is a PHD student in Bioinformatics with a Masters in Bioinformatics and an undergrad background in Biology and Mathematics. He has worked on projects involving horizontal gene transfers, horizontal transfers, and the microbiome. He enjoys basketball, volleyball and walks on the greenway.
Caroline West
PhD Student
Caroline is a Bioinformatics PhD student with a Master's of Science in Chemistry and a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. She has always been fascinated with the structure-function relationship of nucleic acids and learning the mechanisms behind disease processes. When she isn't learning a new analytical method or in classes, she is taking her daughters to Discovery Place to encourage them to enjoy knowledge discovery the same way that she has.
Isha Jain
Master's Researcher
Isha is a Master’s student in Bioinformatics with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She has a strong passion for helping underrepresented communities and hopes to pursue a line of research addressing challenges in that area. Isha enjoys classical dance, painting, and working with local South Asian fashion designers in her free time.
Abhishek Kasula
Master's Researcher
Abhi is a Master’s student in Bioinformatics with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He’s passionate about the medical field and driven to make healthcare more accessible and equitable for all. In his free time, he enjoys reading books and engaging in outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, and more.
Taylor Powell
Master's Researcher
Taylor is a Master’s student in Bioinformatics, holding a Bachelor of Science in Bioinformatics with a minor in Actuarial Mathematics. Passionate about the intersection of computation and life sciences, his research interests span computational biology, neuroscience, and health sciences—with a keen eye on their real-world applications. When not analyzing data, he channels his creativity into music production and stays disciplined through martial arts training.
Audrey Ward
Postdoctoral Scholar
Audrey was awarded her PhD in Genetics from the University of Georgia, where her research focused on the phylogeny and thermal growth of the wine yeast Lachancea thermotolerans. Her undergraduate work included projects focused on analysis of social behaviors in fish and reproductive isolation in macaques. In addition to her scientific interests, she loves going to music and art festivals, playing with her dog, board games, and crafts like painting or needlepoint.