Graduate Student Chris Topp

Chris started as a technician in 2001 and entered the graduate program in 2003. His primary interest is the function of centromere-associated RNA. He is also interested in overall kinetochore architecture in both maize and Arabidopsis.

Zhong C.X., Marshall J.B., Topp, C et al. 2002. Plant Cell 14, 2825-2836 ---- Topp, C.N., Zhong C.X., and Dawe, R.K. 2004. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 101, 15986-15991 ---- Topp, C.N., and Dawe,  R.K.  2006. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 9, 647-653 ---- Phan B.H., Jin, W., Topp, C.N., Zhong, C.X., Jiang, J., Dawe R.K., and Parrott, W.A. 2006. Transgenic Res 16, 341-351 ----

Graduate student Han Zhang

Han is a Genetics PhD candidate who joined the lab in April of 2006. She is designing and implementing a protein tethering system in maize, focussing on CENH3 and CENPC.

Graduate student Yun Li

Yun is a Master's student who joined the lab in the Spring of 2006. She is working on CENH3 and CENPC diversity in maize and Zea relatives, in an effort to test the centromere drive hypothesis.

Graduate student Brunilis Burgos

Brunilis joined the lab in 2007 as a SREB-State Scholar and is now a Ph.D. candidate in Genetics. Brunie is developing new RNAi methods in Arabidopsis for assaying essential genes. In addition she is studying the CENP-E family of kinesins, testing the hypothesis that this large clade of kinesins encodes kinetochore motors.

Graduate student Lisa Kanizay

Lisa joined the lab in June 2007. She has five-year UGA Presidential Fellowship to pursue her PhD in Plant Biology. She is focussing on evolution and meiotic drive at maize knobs and centromeres. She is taking advantage of the diversity in Zea, aiming to combine the power of maize cytogenetics with maize diversity.

Graduate student Nate Ellis

Nate joined the lab in August of 2009. He is studying epigenetics, focussing on transposons in general and centromere activation and inactivation in particular.

Technician Sarah Wolf

Sarah joined the lab in mid 2007. She has worked on many projects, with her primary effort being directed towards the centromere mapping effort. She runs the lab effortlessly.