Support Staff

1
Stephanie Chirello My responsibilities involve
helping the lab run smoothly. I order equipment
and supplies and make sure they are received
timely, check on backorders, and return goods
received in error. I coordinate travel logistics,
complete necessary forms for approval, provide
itineraries for trips, and prepare documentation
for reimbursement of expenses. Various other
duties include maintaining office equipment and
files, communicating with other UGA departments,
helping international employees with their visas,
conducting miscellaneous correspondence,
coordinating meetings and performing general
office duties.
2
Kowser Hasneen My research interests focus on
mesenchymal and neural stem cell differentiation
into specific lineages for use in bone,
cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.
As a research professional, my responsibilities
include general lab maintenance and lab project
coordination.
3
Kimberly Kelley I have been at the Stice lab
for 3.5 years working as a student assistant lab
technician. My position in the lab involves
general lab maintenance, thawing and plating
of the MEF plates, coating tissue culture dishes
with various substrates, and making the lab's
cell culture media.  I am currently a student
at the Medical College of Georgia School of
Nursing at Athens.
4
Sujoy Dhara My educational background includes
training as a veterinarian as well as a masters
and PhD in genetics. For the last 8 years, I have
been working in the field of human embryonic stem
cell biology. My current research interest
focuses on neural differentiation of human
embryonic stem cells. Applications of stem cells
for the cure of neurodegenerative diseases and
the epigenetics of stem cells are my long term
research goals.
5
Mahesh Dodla My research interests are in the
field of stem cell biology, nerve regeneration
and biomaterials.  I received my Ph.D. in
Biomedical Engineering with specialization in
Biomaterials and Nerve Regeneration from Georgia
Institute of Technology.  Currently, I am working
on the differentiation of human embryonic stem
cells into functionally active neurons to be used
as biosensors for detection of water-based
toxins.  My long term goal is to use stem cell
technology and biomaterials for
neuro-regeneration.
6
Anirban Majumder My current research focuses on
the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells
to specific types of neurons and the studying of
functional aspects of derived neuronal networks
using multi-electrode arrays and optical imaging
approaches. My long term goal is applying stem
cell technology to problems in neurodegenerative
disease.
7
Jennifer Mumaw I became a PhD student in the
department of Animal and Dairy Science
after receiving bachelors degrees in Genetics and
Cell Biology.  I analyze the ultrastrucutral
changes that cells undergo during differentiation
from embryonic stem cells into neurons with
scanning and transmission electron
microscopy.   My research focuses on the
interaction between embryonic stem cell derived
neural cells (hNPs) and the extracellular matrix
and understanding the resulting developmental
implications from these interactions.   My
research goals involve optimizing culture
conditions and subtype specification of hNPs for
research, drug screening, and future cell
therapies. 
8
Amber Young My broad research interests focus on
drug development for neurodegenerative diseases.
My current research is on the characterization
and differentiation of dopaminergic cells from
human embryonic stem cells for use as a cell
therapy or drug screen for the treatment of
Parkinsons disease. My long term goals include
the understanding of the development of
neurodegenerative diseases for application
towards better drug therapies for human diseases.
9
Brian Gerwe My current research includes the
study of new treatments for neurological
disorders, such as Alzheimer's, Alexander's
Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou
Gehrig's Disease), glial tumors as well as
central nervous system inflammation through the
establishment of human embryonic stem
cell-derived astrocytes.  I have research
experience encompassing a wide range of genetic,
biochemical, and human developmental techniques
(e.g., biofuels and stem cell research).  I have
authored four publications in peer-reviewed
journals.
10
Franklin West My broad research interests are
in the field of stem cell biology and
regenerative medicine with an emphasis in
directed differentiation of stem cells into germ
cells. My current research focuses on germ
specification and differentiation signaling,
gene expression and meiosis. The ultimate goal of
my research is to develop a system that can be
used as an assisted reproductive technology to
help infertile couples and to potentially be used
in endangered animal species conservation.
11
Tulsi Patel Undergraduate researcher in the
Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities.
Goldwater award honorable mention.
12
Muktha Natrajan I am interested in researching
human health, more specifically, areas involving
neurodegenerative diseases. I would like to
research environmental health hazards such as
neurotoxins. These hazards may be causes of
neurodegenerative diseases, and I want to better
understand their relation to the diseases. I
would like to focus on signaling pathways that
cause or are related to these disorders.
13
Nolan Boyd Cardiovascular disease is the leading
cause of death in Western society.  My interests
include using stem cells to understand the
molecular mechanisms involved in regulating
development of the early vasculature.  My goal is
to apply this knowledge to develop cell sources
for engineered therapeutic applications as well
as  stimulation of the bodys own regenerative
mechanisms.
14
Carla Sturkie Research Coordinator II
15
David Machacek Our primary research focus is in
developing and characterizing cell lines and
support materials for cells derived from human
stem cells to provide a novel source of tissue
for drug discovery and toxicity screening.  Our
research interests have been focused on
optimizing the culturing of these cells under
basal conditions and the understanding of their
potential for differentiation to multiple
lineages.  Additionally, we have a keen interest
in characterizing physiological responses of the
differentiated populations to pharmacologic
agents in assays that would later be applicable
to medium to high-throughput screening for drug
discovery.