Lab Members
Bitten by the research bug? The Fong Lab welcomes interested graduate, undergraduate and veterinary students students wishing to study membrane and cell physiology.
Since the lab's establishment, many students have contributed to our success, including Mariah Brown, Tina Langley, Sahiba Grover, Olivet Martinez, Grace Reilly, Molly Bassette, Meredith Schmidt, Maria Montes, Gracie Chen, Job Shiach, Alexis Tucker, Kristin Hirata (Reed College), Sami Miles, Katie George and Grace Winter.
KS-LSAMP/RiPS students:
- Summer, 2016: After a successful summer working in our lab, Olivet Martinez, presented her work at the Emerging Researcher National (ERN) Conference in STEM. After graduation, she entered the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
- Summer, 2015: Maria Montes was our first KS-LSAMP/RiPS student. We are very proud of Maria, who successfully presented her work at the Emerging Researcher National (ERN) Conference in STEM, held in Washington, DC. Maria now is an associate scientist in small molecule chemistry with Catalent Pharma Solutions.
Learn more about Kansas Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (KS-LSAMP) and the Research Immersion: Pathways to STEM (RiPS) program.
Developing Scholars Program:
- Sahiba Grover (KSU Class of 2020) was our most recent Developing Scholar, having joined in Fall term, 2016. Sahiba currently is studying toward a Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant at the University of Missouri Kansas City
- Delia Hernandez (KSU Class of 2016), our first Developing Scholar, joined the Fong lab in September 2015 and successfully presented her research findings in the Spring, 2016 Developing Scholars Symposium.
Click to learn more about the Developing Scholars Program.
Veterinary Research Scholars:
The Veterinary Research Scholars Program (VRSP) provides summer training for veterinary medical students who wish to pursue current biomedical questions in an active research environment.
During the summer of 2014, Gracie Chen (CVM Class of 2017) joined the Lab as a VRSP scholar. Gracie was recognized in 2015 for her outstanding poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Society of Phi Zeta Sigma Chapter. She currently practices veterinary medicine at BLVD Vet.
Volunteer:
- Swathi Punreddy, BDS, MHA
Swathi is a healthcare professional who enjoys learning many facets of laboratory research. She assists with many molecular biology and cell culture needs of the laboratory.
Accomplishments of previous students:
Congratulations to Job Shiach and Grace Winter, KSU Class of 2015!
Job Shiach (KSU Class of 2015).
Job researched novel chloride channels implicated in tumor invasiveness. His work was supported by Undergraduate Research Awards from the Johnson Cancer Center. Job trained in the highly selective Summer Medical and Research Training program at Baylor College of Medicine and subsequently was accepted to the Master of Engineering (in Bioengineering) program at UC Berkeley, jointly offered by the Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership. After graduating from UC Berkeley and serving as Vice President of Research at SmartPhage, Job started his MD studies at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
- Grace Winter (KSU Class of 2015).
Grace was a Johnson Cancer Center Undergraduate Research awardee during the academic year 2012-2013. Grace graduated with her MD from The University of Kansas Medical School and now practices as a general surgeon.
- Katie Erickson (Katie George, KSU Class of 2012)
Katie worked on a Johnson Cancer Center Undergraduate Research award-funded project during the academic year 2011-2012. Her studies provided key preliminary data for our currently NIH-funded R15 project. Katie completed her PhD in Medical Nutrition Science, School of Health Professions at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Katie is now a Pediatric Dietician at Phoenix Children's Hospital. The Lab looks forward to reading about her future professional achievements.
Further Kudos
Congratulations to Samantha Miles (KSU Class of 2010), who worked in the Lab during academic year 2009-2010. Sami graduated from the University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine in Spring 2015. Sami is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). After working as an equine veterinarian at Palm Beach Equine Clinic, in Wellington, Florida, Sami currently is a radiology resident at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine.
Banner: Image of a South African clawed toad, Xenopus laevis. Oocytes isolated from X. laevis are used for functional expression of cRNA encoding transport proteins.
