Our Crew

Current Lab Members

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Hullibutton Chinyama

Undergraduate Researcher

  • Hullibutton Chinyama is a Biochemistry and Mathematics major expected to graduate in May 2027. They joined the lab in Fall 2024 and plan to attend medical school after completing their undergraduate studies.

    In the genetics research lab, Hullibutton assists with several ongoing projects. They are currently working on the Calycanthus (Sweetshrub) project, characterizing the genetic diversity of this species across three different sites, and contributing to the Ginseng project through DNA fragment analysis. They also collaborate on an ethnobotany project, assisting with data analysis.

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Katie Little

Undergraduate Researcher

  • Katie Little is a Conservation Biology major expected to graduate in 2026. She joined the lab in January 2024 and will begin her PhD in Evolutionary Biology at the University of South Carolina after graduation.

    In the genetics research lab, Katie’s primary project focuses on developing a less invasive method for identifying juvenile Nocomis fishes using DNA barcoding of the COI gene. This work has expanded into a broader study examining hybridization among three species within the Nocomis genus.

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Sabine Costello-Sanders

Undergraduate Researcher

  • Sabine Costello-Sanders is a Conservation Biology major expected to graduate in 2026. She joined the lab in 2025.

    In the genetics research lab, Sabine investigates phylogenetic mito-nuclear discordance and evolutionary divergence among freshwater fish in the Nocomis genus across North Carolina. She is also using DNA-based gut microbiome analysis to explore a hypothesis of interspecific coprophagy between American pika and marmots in the Rocky Mountains.

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Undergraduate Researcher

Diya Mukherjee

  • Diya Mukherjee is a Biochemistry major with a minor in Data Science, expected to graduate in 2028. She joined the lab in 2025 and plans to pursue graduate school to further specialize in her field after graduation.

    In the genetics research lab, Diya assists with experiments investigating genetic variation, including PCR, data collection, and analysis. She is currently working on the Farm Microbiome Project, studying microbial communities through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabarcoding.

Chloe Borgnis

Marketing Intern,
NC Friends of Plant Conservation

  • Chloe Borgnis is a Conservation Biology major expected to graduate in 2026. She has been working as a Friends of Plant Conservation (FoPC) employee since March 2025 and plans to pursue a career in conservation while exploring future Master’s programs after graduation.

    In her role with NC Friends of Plant Conservation, Chloe focuses on graphic design and marketing. She creates social media content, designs websites, and organizes volunteer events, helping share plant conservation efforts with a broader audience.

Lab Alumni

  • Toby Freel

  • Ursula Curlin

  • Wren Tisnado-Blake

  • Tabitha McBrayer, Lab Technician Milko 

  • Everett Isom

  • Aurora Rose

  • Grace Zaboski, Science Communicator

  • Jordan Goodyear, Ph.D. Student University of Maryland

  • Otto Crouch, Wetland and Riparian Research Technician

  • Mathilde Pineau, Master’s Student, Ecology, Monitoring and Management of Ecosystems, Université Marie et Louis Pasteur 

  • Teaghan McCallister, Ph.D. Student University of Vermont, Department of Plant Biology

  • Emza Shackelford-Whitten, Master’s Student at West Virginia University

  • Grace Dougherty, Researcher, Smithsonian Ecological Research Center

  • Paddington Mbumbgwa, medical student, Loma Linda School of Medicine

  • Bailey Spencer, Farm Manager, Round Mountain Creamery

  • Bassam Shawamreh, medical student, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

  • Kiersten Keith Pedersen, ASPCA Spay and Neuter Alliance 

  • Pratima Menyangbo, Senior Research Associate, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company

  • Thalia Garoufaldis, Conservation Gardener, Beech Hollow

  • James Kitchens, PhD student at University of California, Davis

  • Tristan Perryman, DVM and Public Health Graduate Student University of Georgia 

  • Alison Blount, Mother, business owner, and homesteader

  • August Starck, Senior Firefighter, US Forest Service

  • Galen Martin, Post-doctoral researcher, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University 

  • Max Olszack, Survey and CAD Technician, Holmes Geospatial

  • Jane Margaret Bell

  • Landon Edwards, MD/PhD Student at the Oregon School of Public Health