ScienceLIVE Interns and Trainees
-
Co-founders & Staff
RTI & MAPS, UMass Chan Medical School -
Athma Pai , PhD
Assistant Professor, RNA Therapeutics InstituteDr. Pai is an RNA systems geneticist who uses functional genomics and computational approaches to address open questions in mammalian gene regulation. Athma received her Ph.D. from the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago, working with Yoav Gilad and collaborating closely with Jonathan Pritchard’s group on human and comparative genomics analyses. She then moved on to postdoctoral research as a Jane Coffin Childs fellow at MIT working with Christopher Burge, focusing on understanding the changes in mRNA splicing after immune response and developing methods to measure the dynamics of such processes. Athma assumed her current position as an Assistant Professor in the RNA Therapeutics Institute at the UMass Chan Medical School in January 2018. Her lab works on developing and applying methods to study the kinetics of RNA processing and understanding how various steps in RNA maturation are coordinated through lifecycle of an RNA molecule.
-
Interns, Students & Postdocs
UMass Chan Medical School -
Christine Carbone
PhD Candidate, RTI, UMass Chan Medical SchoolPhD Candidate in Andrei Korostelev's Lab, RTI, UMass Chan Medical School
-
Katarzyna Dubiel
Postdoctoral Fellow, UMass Chan Medical School -
Maryam Fatouraei
Graduate Student, UMass Chan Medical School -
Erica Hildebrand
Postdoctoral Fellow, UMass Chan -
Eleni Jaecklein
Graduate Student, UMass Chan Medical School -
Aylish Klepper
Undergraduate Intern, Wellesley College -
Timmy Le
Graduate Student, UMass Chan Medical School -
Joe Magrino
Graduate Student, UMass Chan Medical School -
Evan Offord
Medical Student, UMass Chan Medical School -
Maya Spichal
Postdoctoral Fellow, RTI, UMass Chan -
Ximena Zottig
Postdoctoral Fellow, RTI, UMass Chan Medical School
-
Christina Baer , PhD
Director, SCOPE, Associate Professor, MAPSDr. Baer completed her PhD in Biophysics at the University of California, Berkeley, CA. Sher has been the director of the SCOPE since 2017. Her extensive experience with wide-field, confocal, and multi-photon imaging, plus skills in molecular tools development and quantitative image analysis provides essential scientific support to the UMass Chan Medical School research community. SCOPE has become a catalyst for optical experimentation at UMass Chan, serving as a site where engineers and biologists interact to develop innovative instruments and analysis methodologies that are readily accessible to the community.
-
Mary Pickering , PhD
Director, Public Engagement with Science, RTIDr. Mary Pickering graduated from Providence College with Bachelor degrees in Chemistry and Biology. She completed her PhD and postdoctoral work at UMass Chan and returns to the university after serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at area colleges. Dr. Pickering is one of the co-founders of ScienceLIVE, a STEM educational outreach program for middle school students in the Worcester area. She joins the RTI to expand the impact of the experiential program by developing and implementing engaging content and provide opportunities for trainees to develop science communication skills.
-
Nathan Bamidele
PhD Candidate, RTI, UMass Chan Medical -
Shalaka Chitale
Postdoctoral Fellow, UMass Chan Medical School -
Rachel Duong
Medical Student Class of 2022, UMass Chan Medical School -
Aurian Garcia Gonzalez
MD/PhD Class of 2021, UMass Chan -
Sushmita Hoque
MD Student, Class of 2021, UMass Chan -
Eraj Khokar
Postdoctoral Fellow, RTI, UMass Chan -
Melanie Kossuth
Nursing Student, UMass Chan Medical School -
Silvia Lee
Graduate Student, UMass Chan Medical School -
Michelle Narvaez Ramos
MD Candidate, UMass Chan Medical School -
Charlotte Reames
Lab Manager, UMass Chan Medical School -
Lorissa Smulan
Postdoctoral Fellow, UMass Chan
-
Angela Messmer-Blust , PhD
Sr. Scientific Advisor, Associate Professor, RTIDr. Angela Messmer-Blust studied cell motility during her graduate studies at the University of Toledo where she received her PhD (2009). She began her postdoctoral research at the CardioVascular Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School under Jian Li, investigating transcriptional regulation in diabetes and obesity. Following her postdoctoral studies, she held editorial positions at the Journal of Visualized Experiments, and later joined Cell Press as the director of scientific conferences from 2012 - 2017. In 2017, Dr. Messmer-Blust joined the faculty of the RNA Therapeutics Institute as Assistant Professor and Senior Scientific Advisor where she develops and directs departmental initiatives including the annual RNA Therapeutics symposium and ScienceLIVE educational outreach in the Worcester area.
-
Stacey O'Neil
Project Manager, RTIStacey has over 20 years of experience in executive administrative support as well as project & event management. She joined the RTI in 2017 and has been with the University of Massachusetts for over 10 years, previously working in business operations at UMassOnline in the President's Office. She manages several initiatives including the annual RNA Therapeutics Symposium, ScienceLive Educational Outreach Program, the RTI seminar series, website development and immigration for foreign nationals joining the department . Outside of work Stacey enjoys kayaking, flea markets and time with her family.
Office Location: AS4-1046A
Office Phone: 774-455-4682
Mobile: 508-380-6077
LinkedIn Profile -
Michelle Bellerose
Scientist, Moderna, UMass Chan Medical Alum -
Sammie Doxsey
Project Assistant Intern, UMass Chan Medical School -
Ishani Dasgupta
Postdoctoral Fellow, UMass Chan Medical School -
Pooja Dutta
Medical Student, Class of 2024, UMass Chan Medical School -
Sarah Hansen
MD Student, Class of 2024, UMass Chan -
Nicholas Jacques
Graduate Student, UMass Chan Medical School -
Erin Kim
Undergraduate Intern, Wellesley CollegeErin Kim authored and illustrated the Emma RNA Saves the Day coloring book as an intern from Wellesley College in 2021, led by co-founder, Dr. Angela Messmer-Blust. For more on the coloring book
-
Carolyn Kraus
Graduate Student, RTI, UMass Chan