School of Humanities and Sciences
Showing 441-460 of 694 Results
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Lauren O'Connell
Associate Professor of Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe O'Connell lab studies how genetic and environmental factors contribute to biological diversity and adaptation. We are particularly interested in understanding (1) how behavior evolves through changes in brain function and (2) how animal physiology evolves through repurposing existing cellular components.
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Okikiola Morenike Olajide
Postdoctoral Scholar, Biology
BioOkikiola M. Olajide, PhD is a molecular virologist and emerging structural biologist specializing in HIV-1 vaccine research. Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Barnes Lab at Stanford University, Dr. Olajide focuses on designing HIV-1 immunogens that elicit silent face-targeting broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) and developing innovative HIV infection models using human spleen organoids. Her research aims to bridge the gap between promising preclinical immunogens and their effectiveness in human clinical trials, advancing the path toward more effective HIV vaccines. Dr. Olajide earned her PhD in Biology from Albert Ludwigs University, Freiburg, where she investigated protein-protein interactions crucial for viral entry in bat influenza A viruses, pioneering approaches such as photo-affinity protein crosslinking and genetic code expansion. She also holds an MSc in Medical Virology from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, where she studied the role of cockroaches in the dissemination and sustained transmission of live-attenuated oral polio vaccine virus. During her BSc in Microbiology at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, she uncovered an ongoing rubella outbreak among at-risk, unvaccinated pregnant women. A strong advocate for advancing research in developing regions, Dr. Olajide actively supports training initiatives for scientists in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her commitment to mentorship, shaped by her experiences as an international scholar, drives her to guide the next generation of researchers in making meaningful scientific contributions.
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Julian Olaya Restrepo
Postdoctoral Scholar, Biology
BioJulián’s (he\his) research seeks to understand and strengthen the relationships between marine ecosystems, the communities that depend on them, and the policies that shape their management. Positioned at the intersection of ecology, spatial analysis, and social science, his work produces actionable insights to support the conservation and sustainable governance of marine systems. He approaches the ocean as a socioecological system—an integrated network where natural and human components co-evolve—and applies a transdisciplinary lens to address urgent global challenges, including biodiversity loss, fisheries collapse, and climate change. At Stanford University, he has led research on nature-based solutions, developing spatially explicit fishery models that assess how coral reef and mangrove restoration can enhance ecological resilience and improve fisheries outcomes for coastal communities across the Caribbean and U.S.
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Jessie Ong
Bachelor of Science, Biology
Masters Student in Biology, admitted Autumn 2024Current Research and Scholarly InterestsUnder mentorship of Jennifer Anne Co (PhD Candidate) in the Steven Banik Lab.
Engineering a molecular-glue detector in mammalian cells with CRISPR and degron based tools.
Creating platform for novel drug candidates through screening of a 15,000 protein ORFeome library. -
Michael Edward Palmer
Affiliate, Biology
Visiting Scholar, BiologyBioI'm visiting the Marc Feldman Lab while writing my book, "Clade Thinking: The Macroevolution of Recursive Clades and the Evolution of Evolvability". The motivating question of the book is, "Can macroevolution be reduced to merely the repeated iteration of microevolution?" (Answer: no, you would be missing a lot.)
I'm also doing some machine learning (ML) applied to genomics with the Fraser Lab, related to the evolution of cis-regulatory elements (CREs), which are involved in a lot of recent/rapid evolution in, say, mammals. We are doing what we call "in silico genome transplants": placing DNA variants from one species into the (ML-modeled) cellular environment of another species (or cell type, or individual with some pathology, etc.). We analyze changes in gene expression to detect various modes of selection on CREs.
I got my B.S. in Physics at Yale, and my Ph.D. in Computer Science at the California Institute of Technology. I've gone back and forth between academia (computational biology) and the tech industry in Silicon Valley. -
Stephen Palumbi
Jane and Marshall Steel Jr. Professor of Marine Sciences, Professor of Oceans and of Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe're interested in ecological, evolutionary, and conservation questions related to marine (and sometimes terrestrial) organisms and ecosystems. We use evolutionary genetics and molecular ecology techniques, and our fieldwork takes us all around the world. Currently, we're studying coral diversity, the adaptive potential of corals in response to climate change, the movement of organisms between marine reserves, genetic changes in abalone in response to environmental.
