Chris Noble-Molnar BSc. in Biology from Virginia Tech As an undergraduate Chris worked on the co-evolutionary arms race of TTX between Garter snakes and Taricha newts. Chris is currently studying the mechanisms of adaptation by Type III CRISPR-Cas in both Bacteria and Archaea. Chris also has a particular interest in the diversity and evolution of CRISPR-Cas in the Thermococcales. Conor Pittman BSc. in Microbiology from The University of Massachusetts Amherst As an undergraduate, Conor studied the biochemical involvement of Geobacter sulfurreducens in the corrosion of iron and steel materials in the lab of Dr. Derek Lovley. Conor is currently studying CRISPR-Cas systems encoded by Archaeal mobile genetic elements. Justin McLean B.S. in Biology from Georgia Institute of Technology Justin's prior research experience involved the development of methods to detect SNPs in cis-regulatory elements of the human lactase gene. Justin's graduate studies are currently focused on using CRISPR to identify new mobile genetic elements in metagenomic datasets, specifically those infecting Thermococcales Archaea. Katie Johnson B.S. in Medical Laboratory Science from the University of North Dakota, ASCP certified Medical Laboratory Scientist M.S. in Biology from Eastern Washington University During her M.S., Katie studied the evolution of virulence during the initial stages of a host shift using Drosophila species and Drosophila C virus. Katie is currently studying anti-CRISPR proteins encoded by Streptococcal viruses which inhibit CRISPR-Cas systems. Jiawen Tian B.S. in Biochemistry from the University College London M.S. in Molecular and Structural Biology from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich As a Masters student, Jiawen studied pupylation (prokaryotic ubiquitination) in Acidothermus cellulolyticus and purification of the septal junction complex of Cyanobacteria Anabaena sp. Jiawen is currently studying anti-CRISPR proteins of Thermococcales mobile elements.
