Undergraduate Research

More than 50 undergraduates have done research in the Peifer lab since 1992. Most were UNC undergraduates enrolled in our honors research program through Bio 395/396. Others were students from other institutions who carried out summer research here through the SURE or SPGRE programs. These undergraduates have been an intergral part of our research team and have made significant contributions to our work. A list of scientific publications from our lab that have been co-authored by undergraduates can be viewed here. A subset of these students are profiled below.

Elise Stephenson

2008-2010
Hometown: Durham, NC
Project: Mechanism of action of the tumor suppressor APC

Jon Waldmann

2008-2010
Hometown: Centennial, Colorado
Project: Mechanism of action of the tumor suppressor APC

Jamie Mahaffey

2002-2006
Hometown: Raleigh NC
Currently: Ph.D Student, Kathryn Anderson’s lab, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Honors: Goldwater Scholarship
Project: Ena function during oogenesis and embryogenesis

Meredith Price

1999-2002
Hometown: Wake Forest, NC
Ph.D Student: Bruce Bowerman’s lab, University of Oregon
Currently: Bitplane Scientific Software
Project: Planar cell polarity

Charlie Anderson

1998-2002; Hometown: Lancaster PA
Ph.D.: Stanford University 2008; Postdoc Fellow, Energy Biosciences Institute, UC Berkeley
Currently: Asst. Professor, Penn State
Honors: NSF Grad Fellowship; Wilson Award for Cell & Molecular Biology
Project: p120′s role in cell adhesion

Mark Dodson

Hometown: Clearwater FL
Currently: MD/Ph.D. student, Guo lab, UCLA
Honors: Goldwater Schlarship
Project: Integrin function during dorsal closure

Gene Bain

2001-2004
Hometown: Sanford NC
MD: UNC-Chapel Hill 2009
Currently: Dermatology Resident, Univ. of Buffalo
Honors: Morehead Scholar
Project: Rho regulation of cadherin function

Laura Koontz

2001-2004
Hometown: Raleigh NC
Currently: Ph.D. 2011. Postdoc, Duojia D.J. Pan’s lab, Johns Hopkins
Honors: Wilson Award for research in Cellular and Molecular Biology
Project: The effects of the oncogene Bcr-Abl

Tina Tuskey Lockwood

1998-2001
Hometown: Chapel Hill NC
Ph.D.: 2007 University of Wisconsin
Currently: Asst. Professor, Pathology, Washington University
Project: The role of the MAPK Phosphatase Puckered

Joel Stein

1995-1998
Hometown: Chapel Hill NC
MD/Ph.D: U Penn, PhD. with Ted Abel
Currently: Radiology Resident, U Penn & member of Tsourkas Lab
Honors: Wilson Award for research in Cellular and Molecular Biology
Project: The structure and function of Armadillo in signaling and adhesion

Michael Casey

1992
Hometown: Rocky Mount, NC
MD: UNC 1997
Currently: MD, Wake Nephrology, Duke Raleigh Hospital
Project: How do Wnt signals regulate Armadillo?