Elif Sarinay Cenik is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas, Austin. She uses genetic, genomic and computational approaches to study how the nucleolus and ribosome maturation are linked to epigenetics and multicellular growth coordination. She has a PhD in RNA biochemistry from Dr. Phillip Zamore’s lab, at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University of Massachusetts Medical School. She has completed postdoctoral research in Dr. Maria Barna and then Dr. Andrew Fire’s lab at Stanford Medical School. She has been awarded by Stanford School of Medicine Dean's Postdoctoral Fellowship, The Walter V. and Idun Berry Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, UT Stars Program and CNS Catalyst Awards. She is currently funded by NIH-NIGMS Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (R35) and Welch Foundation. She feels passionate about mentoring students, postdocs and producing high-quality, reproducible science. In her free time, Elif enjoys being in nature, connecting with friends, bouldering and live figure drawing.

Qiuxia Zhao is a postdoctoral fellow She is interested in delineating how ribosome synthesis in specific tissue contributes to coordination of organismal growth in C. elegans. She got her PhD in Genetics from Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, eating and walking outside, having new fun experiences.

Agustian Surya is graduate Student, in the Cell and Molecular Biology ILS Graduate Program. August is interested in studying the effects of single copy loss of function in different ribosomal protein genes on cellular signaling and organism fitness. He obtained BSPharm at Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia; and MS in Food Science and Human Nutrition at University of Illinois. In his free time, August enjoys a long walk in the park, singing in the choir, playing clarinet and discussing global history and politics.

Blythe Bolton is a research associate. She is interested in pursuing cell and molecular biology, and genetics. She received her BS in Biology from McNeese State University. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis and volleyball, traveling, and spending time with her dog, Chanel.  

Raquel Mejia-Trujillo is a research associate. She is interested in combining bioinformatic and molecular techniques to characterize how nucleolar elements affect germline chromatin architecture in C. elegans. She received her BS in Computational Biology from The University of Texas at Austin. In her free time, Raquel enjoys exploring Austin's diverse ecosystems and cuisines.

Abhi Gorusu is an undergraduate researcher and a B.S. major in Cell and Molecular Biology on a pre-med track. He is interested in analyzing the impact of growth-arrested worms due to ribosome biogenesis inhibition on wild-type strains during cohabitation. In his spare time, Abhi enjoys cooking Indian cuisine and exploring the great outdoors

Olivia Snelgrove is an undergraduate work-study student. She is pursuing a B.S. in Biology in hopes of working in the field of veterinary medicine, specifically noninvasive wildlife medicine. In her free time she likes camping and exploring with her friends, watching old movies, and Taekwondo