Alissa Richmond Armstrong, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator She/Her/Hers |
Dr. Armstrong is originally from Newport News, Virginia. She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia where she majored in Biology and minored in Spanish. An upper level developmental biology lab course sparked her interest in development and basic research science. She pursued this interest as a Master's student in the Department of Biology at the College of William and Mary under the advisement of Dr. Diane C. Shakes. While there, she studied the interaction of sperm and oocyte membranes during fertilization using the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, as a model system. Her phenomenal experience at William and Mary encouraged her to join the graduate program in the Department of Biology at Johns Hopkins University. For her Ph.D., she switched fields completely to study the development of the sympathetic nervous system using embryonic mice as a model under the direction of Dr. Rejji Kuruvilla. During this time, she was also an active member of a graduate student group MInDS, Mentoring to Inspire Diversity in Science, whose goal was to recruit, retain and provide outreach to underrepresented groups at all academic levels, starting in elementary school. Although she stayed in the Baltimore, MD area, she switched fields again for her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Daniela Drummond-Barbosa in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. There she developed her current research program investigating how nutrient sensing by multiple organs/tissues influences the activity of adult stem cells.
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Tancia Bradshaw (she/her/hers)
Biological Sciences Doctoral Student Tancia was born and raised in Saint Kitts and Nevis, an island federation in the Eastern Caribbean. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the University of the Virgin Islands where she majored in General Biology. She is currently a doctoral graduate student in the lab working on the role of diet-dependent insulin signaling in the adipose tissue in controlling oogenesis. Chad Simmons (he/him/his)
Biological Sciences Doctoral Student Chad is a doctoral graduate student in the Biological Sciences program from Rutherfordton, NC. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences and a master's degree in Biomedical Science from the University of South Carolina. He is currently investigating the role of adipocyte amino acid transporters in oogenesis and adipocyte morphology. He is also member of the Gamecock Triathlon Club. David Duncan (he/him/his)
Biological Sciences Doctoral Student David, from Richmond, VA, earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from Bridgewater College. He completed his Master's studies at Delaware State University where he used transcriptomics to investigate genome instability in the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line. David's current project aims to develop Drosophila as an in vivo model for chronic inflammation associated with diet induced obesity. In his free time, David enjoys playing basketball. Ymani Wright (she/her/hers)
Biological Sciences Doctoral Student Ymani, who is from Spartanburg SC, earned her undergraduate degree in Biology from Coastal Carolina University. She enjoys trying different cuisines and video games in her free time. The goal of Ymani's initial graduate work is to determine if there are tissue-specific amino acid sensing requirements that influence organismal physiology. Rachael Ott (she/her/hers)
University of South Carolina Undergraduate Class of 2023 Rachael is a Biological Sciences major, with minors in Chemistry and Neuroscience. Growing up outside of Washington, D.C., she loves spending time at Arts & Cultural exhibitions with friends on the Georgetown waterfront. Rachael’s project aims at understanding the downstream targets of insulin signaling in adipocytes that are responsible for regulating oogenesis. Ivory Bryant (she/her/hers)
University of South Carolina Undergraduate Class of 2025 Ivory is from Charleston, SC, and is a sophomore at UofSC. She is a premed student majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Psychology. Ivory's project in the Armstrong Lab is to help develop the most effective immunostaining protocol to examine adipocytes in adult Drosophila fat tissue. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading and playing her violin. Helena Volynets (she/her/hers)
University of South Carolina Undergraduate Class of 2025 Helena, a native of Columbia, SC, is a sophomore at USC majoring in Biological Sciences with a minor in Aerospace Studies and Medical Anthropology. She is a part of TriBeta, Women in Stem, Aspiring Pre-Health Student Mentoring Initiative, and AFROTC. Currently, Helena serves as a volunteer in the Armstrong Lab. She loves to spend time outside and try different cuisines. Isaiah Williams (he/him/his)
University of South Carolina Undergraduate Class of 2023 Isaiah is majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and minoring in Statistics. Isaiah's project aims to examine how high sugar diets affect oogenesis in Drosophila. He will be continuing research in the lab as a master's student in the Department of Biological Science's graduate program. Growing up in Charleston, SC, he loves going to the beach. In his free time, he likes to read and spend time with friends and family. J'nea Wiggins (she/her/hers)
University of South Carolina Undergraduate Class of 2026 J’nea, from Raleigh, North Carolina, is a Sophomore at USC and volunteering in the lab. She is majoring in Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Medical Humanities and Culture. She is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and the Biomedical Engineering Society. J'nea enjoys playing video games and watching anime. |
Former Lab Members
Justice Bell (SC-ADAR Program - 2023)
Alexis Boron (PREP Class of 2023)
Esha Hegde (USC Class of 2023)
Josh Lastimoso (USC Class of 2022)
Emma Otey (USC Class of 2022)
Megan Glover (USC Class of 2022)
Anshel Ross (SC-ADAR Program - 2021)
Jordan Glover (PREP Class of 2021)
Savannah Tucker (USC Class of 2021)
Jennifer "Jay" Stanton (USC Class of 2020)
Kristin Tolbert (SC-ADAR Program - 2019/2020)
Michael Meyerink (Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's 2020)
Subhshri Sahu, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral Trainee)
Alexandra Tamura (USC Honors College Class of 2019)
Alondra Villalba (PREP Class of 2019)
Brian Haimerl (USC Honors College Class of 2019)
Tinea Morris (USC Class of 2019)
Lexus Dickson (USC Class of 2018)
Shanieka Staley (PREP Class of 2018)
Samuel Lambert (USC Class of 2018)
Brooke Stewart (USC Class of 2018)
Matthew Herbst (Dutch Fork High Class of 2018)
Jessica Lawton (USC Class of 2017)
Alexis Boron (PREP Class of 2023)
Esha Hegde (USC Class of 2023)
Josh Lastimoso (USC Class of 2022)
Emma Otey (USC Class of 2022)
Megan Glover (USC Class of 2022)
Anshel Ross (SC-ADAR Program - 2021)
Jordan Glover (PREP Class of 2021)
Savannah Tucker (USC Class of 2021)
Jennifer "Jay" Stanton (USC Class of 2020)
Kristin Tolbert (SC-ADAR Program - 2019/2020)
Michael Meyerink (Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's 2020)
Subhshri Sahu, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral Trainee)
Alexandra Tamura (USC Honors College Class of 2019)
Alondra Villalba (PREP Class of 2019)
Brian Haimerl (USC Honors College Class of 2019)
Tinea Morris (USC Class of 2019)
Lexus Dickson (USC Class of 2018)
Shanieka Staley (PREP Class of 2018)
Samuel Lambert (USC Class of 2018)
Brooke Stewart (USC Class of 2018)
Matthew Herbst (Dutch Fork High Class of 2018)
Jessica Lawton (USC Class of 2017)
