Each year, the number of primary and affiliated faculty members who have available positions for master’s students in their laboratories changes. You may indicate your interest for specific faculty members in your personal statement. After your application is deemed acceptable for this program by the admissions committee, it will be reviewed by these faculty members for potential fit with their research program. They will then contact you for some form of interview.
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Safder Ganaie, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (sganaie@ufl.edu) Our research focuses on understanding host-pathogen interactions that facilitate virus entry, infection, and pathogenesis. We are particularly interested in Bunyaviruses, a group of highly pathogenic, negative-strand RNA viruses. Our work utilizes multidisciplinary approaches—spanning genetics, biochemistry, biophysics, and in-vivo models—to uncover bunyaviral entry pathways and investigate the host-virus interface. Our recent studies have identified LRP1 as a receptor for Rift Valley Fever Virus and have defined the role of LRP1 in Oropouche virus infection. These findings provide a foundation for developing therapeutics against multiple bunyaviruses. We are seeking a master’s student to work on projects focused on entry mechanisms in bunyaviruses. I am also open for undergraduate students in the Biology 4+1 BS/MS program.
Paola Giusti Rodríguez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry (giustirodriguezp@ufl.edu) I am also open for undergraduate students in the Biology 4+1 BS/MS program. The Giusti-Rodríguez lab uses functional genomics approaches, including short- and long-read RNA sequencing, as well as single nuclei/cell RNA-seq methods for the analysis of 3D genome architecture; ATAC-seq and open chromatin methods, to interrogate psychiatric disorders. We are also involved in efforts at expanding our understanding of the genetic architecture of psychiatric disorders by increasing the number of research participants of non-European ancestry. Master’s students will have a chance to participate in projects that both generate functional genomics data and that employ bioinformatics to analyze it. We are exploring the relationship between genome organization and structural variants associated with psychiatric disorders. We are also using patient-derived cells and organoids to characterize genetic variants associated with psychiatric disorders with neurobiological and genomics approaches. Likewise, given our many local, national, and international collaborations, the master’s student will have a chance to join analysis teams working on meta-analyses on a number of psychiatric phenotypes/disorders. https://www.latinamericangenomicsconsortium.org/ https://www.giustirodriguezlab.com/
Laura McIntyre, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (mcintyre@ufl.edu) I am a quantitative/statistical geneticist. My research is grounded in the tractable model Drosophila. My specific questions about sex-dimorphism in gene expression provide a focus for my research, and a structure in which to explore more general questions about the impact of genetic variation on transcriptional regulation. In addition to specific hypotheses about sex-dimorphism in gene expression, I develop general methodology. This combination of biological focus and development of broadly applicable and innovative experimental and analytical methods has enabled me to make substantive contributions beyond the Drosophila community. I have worked on successive waves of technology and developed innovative and rigorous approaches to applying these technologies to the basic questions that drive my research program. In addition to Drosophila, I have leveraged collaborations in other systems to address basic questions of how allelic variation impacts phenotype, where phenotypes of interest range from omics (e.g. gene expression and metabolism) to whole organism (e.g. pathogeneisis, and photosynthesis). For gene expression my focus has been on allele specific expression and alternative splicing, with experimental questions on sex dimorphism in expression in D. melanogaster and D. simulans and statistical methodology in this area that is broadly applicable to model organisms. I have developed cutting edge experimental designs for untargeted metabolomics in LCMS and NMR in C.elegans. I am intersted in data integration between omics. I am also open for undergraduate students in the Biology 4+1 BS/MS program.
Megan L. Stanifer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (m.stanifer@ufl.edu) The Stanifer lab is interested in understanding how respiratory and intestinal cells combat virus infections. We focus on the role that the key antiviral cytokines, type III interferons, play in this process. We have found that type III interferons are necessary to keep these cells healthy and different type III interferons are required to fight against viruses. We are working on unraveling the molecular mechanisms of how type III interferons act on mucosal surfaces. I am also open for undergraduate students in the Biology 4+1 BS/MS program.