Current Lab Members

  • Mary Gehring

    David Baltimore Chair in Biomedical Research, Whitehead Institute; Professor of Biology, MIT

    B.A., Biology, Williams College; Ph.D., Plant Biology, UC Berkeley

    Mary is interested in all aspects of epigenetics and seed biology.

    mgehring at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Lindsey Bechen

    Technical Associate

    B.A., Biology, Amherst College

    Lindsey’s research focuses on the function of DNA demethylation during plant growth and development.

    lbechen at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Dayishaa Daga

    Technical Assistant

    B.A., Biological Science, Data Science, Mount Holyoke College

    Dayishaa is assisting with several projects in the lab.

    ddaga at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Beverly Dobson

    Administrative Lab Manager

    Beverly manages the lab’s budget, among many other essential administrative duties.

    bmdobson at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Junsik Choi

    Postdoctoral Associate

    B.S. and M.S., Applied Life Chemistry, Seoul National University; Ph.D., Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University

    Junsik is interested in endosperm chromatin structure.

    jc2842 at wi dot mit dot edu

  • William Shaw

    EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow

    MBiolSci, Biochemistry, University of Sheffield; Ph.D., Bioengineering, Imperial College London

    Will is a joint postdoc with Mo Khalil at Boston University. He is developing and applying a bioengineering and synthetic biology toolkit to plants.

    willshaw at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Souraya Khouider

    Postdoctoral Associate

    B.S. and M.S., Genetics, Epigenetics, and Human Genetics, Pierre and Marie Curie University; Ph.D., Molecular Biology and Genetics, IBENS

    Souraya is investigating the mechanisms and function of endosperm domain-specific gene imprinting.

    khouider at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Roman Podolec

    EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow

    B.S, M.S. and PhD, University of Geneva, Switzerland

    Roman is investigating PRC2 function during endosperm development and in apomixis.

    rpodolec at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Joo Young Lim

    Postdoctoral Associate

    B.S., M.S. and Ph.D., Plant Science, Seoul National University

    Joo Young recently joined the lab and is exploring various projects.

    jlim at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Sonia Boor

    Postdoctoral Associate

    Sc.B., Biochemistry, Brown University; Ph.D., Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Sonia recently joined the lab and is interested in our projects focused on climate and sustainability.

    sboor at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Elizabeth Hemenway

    MIT Biology Graduate Student

    B.S., Biology, University of Missouri-Kansas City

    Elizabeth’s research focuses on the dynamics of DNA methylation and demethylation during plant growth and development.

    hemenway at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Alex Tang

    MIT Biology Graduate Student

    B.S., Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, UCLA

    Alex is investigating the function of RNA Pol IV in seeds.

    amtang at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Carly Martin

    MIT Biology Graduate Student

    B.A., Biology, College of William and Mary

    Carly is using single-nuclei RNA sequencing to investigate aspects of seed development and maternal-offspring communication.

    camart at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Ann Yang

    MIT Biology Graduate Student

    B.A., Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University

    Ann has recently joined the lab and is interested in seed biology.

    annyang at wi dot mit dot edu

  • Alysse Pusey

    MIT Undergraduate, ‘24

    Alysse is working with Carly on plant peptides.

  • Kylee Cogdill

    MIT Undergraduate ‘26

    Kylee is working with Carly to validate our Arabidopsis single-nuclei seed atlas.

  • Markey Freudenberg-Puricelli

    MIT Undergraduate ‘25

    Markey is an EAPS major working with Roman on a genetic screen relevant to apomixis.

Lab Alumni

 

Technicians

  • Katherine Novitzky, 2016-2018; EpiCypher

  • Johan Jaenisch, 2013-2014; Technical Portfolio Manager, Sound Agriculture

  • Elias Scheer, 2013-2014; Postdoc, Liston Lab, Weill Cornell Medicine

  • Morgan Moeglein, 2010-2014; Assistant Professor of Biology, Norwich University

 

Other Researchers

  • Rocio Nunez-Vasquez, Visiting PhD Student, Center of Molecular Biology Severo Ochoa, Madrid, Spain, Summer 2023

  • Dyna Louis, LEAH Knox Scholar, Summer 2022; Undergraduate, UMass Lowell

  • Amr Saadeldin, Visting Master’s Student, 2021-2022; PhD student, Baylor College of Medicine

  • Laura Bouza, Visiting PhD Student, Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Madrid, Spain, 2022

  • Maria José Aranzana, Sabbatical Visitor, Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics, Barcelona, Spain, 2020

  • Lauren Resnick, High School Teacher, Summer 2018 & 2019

  • Briana Valenti, High School Teacher, Summer 2015

  • Aurore Bochnakian, Visiting Master’s Student, 2015; Life Sciences Consultant

Graduate Students

  • Deborah Pohlmann, 2015-2021; Patent Agent, Morrison & Foerster LLP

  • Colette Picard, 2013-2018; NIH Postdoc, Steve Jacobsen Lab, UCLA

  • Robert Erdmann, 2011-2016; Assistant Professor, University of Minneosta Rochester

 

Undergraduates

  • Luke Young-Xu, Williams to Whitehead Researcher, Summer 2023; Undergraduate, Williams College

  • Sofia Haug, Course 7, MIT ‘25, 2022-2023

  • Pratheek H. Pandesha, Khorana Scholar, Summer 2019; PhD Student, Dept. of Biology, Washington University

  • Drew Cohen, Williams College ‘20, Summer 2019; MD-PhD student

  • Joshua Derrick, Course 6-7, MIT ‘20, 2017-2019; PhD Student, Ludington Lab, Johns Hopkins University

  • Gabriella Lopez Perez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, MSRPBio Summer 2019; PhD student, Davis Lab, MIT Biology

  • Eleanor Wintersteen, Course 7, MIT ‘19, 2017-2018; Teaching Resident in Montana

  • Timothy Duerr, SUNY Cortland, MIT-Amgen Scholar, Summer 2017; Postdoc, Monaghan Lab, Northeastern University

  • S. Dean Lee, UMass Amherst, MSRPBio Summer 2015; PhD Student, Ting Wu Lab, Harvard

  • Veronica Echevarria, UMass Amherst, MIT-Amgen Scholar, Summer 2015

Postdocs

  • Rebecca Povilus, 2017-2023; Geneticist, Vegetable Crop Germplasm Center, USDA-ARS, Lake Geneva, NY

  • P.R.V. Satyaki, 2014-2022; Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biology, University of Toronto Scarborough

  • Xiao-yu Zheng, 2017-2020; Senior Bioinformatic Scientist, Influenza Division, CDC

  • Ben Williams, 2013-2020; Assistant Professor, Dept. of Plant and Microbial Biology, UC Berkeley

  • Maja Klosinska, 2011-2017; Associate Professor, Dept. of Biology, Millersville University

  • Daniela Pignatta, 2011-2015; Director, Dyno Therapeutics