LAB MEMBERS

LAB MEMBERS

LAB NEWS

Left to right: (standing) Paul Frazel, Alex Carter, Ricardo Mallarino, Megan Rothstein, Ben Brack, Sarah Mereby; (First row) Harsha Sen, Forrest Rogers, Jiyoung Kang.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Ricardo Mallarino - rmallarino(at)princeton.edu
Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Biology
Affiliated Faculty, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Molecular Biology

Ricardo graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia). He completed his graduate studies at Harvard in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology in 2011, working with Arhat Abzhanov on developmental mechanisms underlying beak shape diversity in Darwin’s finches and their close relatives. After completing his PhD. he joined Hopi Hoekstra’s lab at Harvard, where he developed tools for studying the molecular basis of pigment pattern formation in mammals.

LAB MANAGER

Sarah Mereby - smereby(at)princeton.edu

Sarah received her M.S. in Genetics and Molecular Biology from Emory University where she studied non-primate lentiviruses. She received her B.S. in Biology from The College of New Jersey.

POSTDOCS

Dr. Paul Frazel - [email protected]

Paul received his PhD in 2024 from New York University, studying glial biology in the group of Dr. Shane Liddelow in the NYU Neuroscience Institute. During his PhD, Paul used advanced sequencing and genetic engineering tools to study transcriptional changes in astrocytes during normal development and Alzheimer's Disease (AD), in both mouse and human stem cell model systems. Paul is currently interested in how evolution drives transcriptional changes that generate discrete natural traits, such as the stripe phenotype seen in Rhabdomys. He is also developing new technologies for high-throughput generation of transgenic animals in non-traditional model species, in order to mechanistically address evolutionary and biological questions more generally.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

VISITING RESEARCHERS

UNDERGRADUATES

FACULTY ASSISTANT

Dr. Forrest Rogers - fr1510(at)princeton.edu
F32 (NRSA) Fellowship (NIH)

Forrest received his PhD in 2020 from the University of California, Davis. His doctoral work, completed under the advisement of Dr. Karen Bales, investigated how compositional variation in early life parenting structures alters biobehavioral development in socially monogamous and biparental prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). As a trainee in the NIMH-sponsored (T32) Bay Area Affective Science Training Program, he completed additional training in human psychophysiology under the advisement of Dr. Wendy Berry Mendes at the University of California, San Francisco. Forrest completed his B.S. in Biological Science (College & Departmental Honors) and his B.A. in French from Oklahoma State University. Forrest is principally interested in elucidating the neurobiological causes and biobehavioral consequences of parental care. He is co-advised by Dr. Catherine Peña at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute.

Dr. Megan Rothstein - mr6463(at)princeton.edu
F99/K00 Fellowship (NIH)

Megan's research interests lie in understanding the developmental basis underlying phenotypic novelties observed across the animal kingdom. She received her PhD from Cornell University, where she studied gene regulatory networks controlling neural crest formation under the direction of Dr. Marcos Simoes-Costa. Currently, she seeks to combine experimental embryology and comparative genomics approaches to uncover the molecular mechanisms governing variation in avian bill morphology.

Ben Brack - bbrack(at)princeton.edu

Ben is a graduate student in the Department of Molecular Biology. He received his B.A in Biology from Cornell University studying the genetic basis of red pigmentation in butterfly wings and later returned to Cornell as a technician working on the evolution of facial recognition in paper wasps. Ben is generally interested in how developmental mechanisms shape and constrain the emergence of novel traits, and how these can influence convergent evolution. He is using genomic and molecular approaches to explore how stripe patterns are established in the African Striped Mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) and the Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus).

Alex Carter - ac6892(at)princeton.edu

Alex is a graduate student in the Department of Molecular Biology. He received his B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from George Washington University, studying how genetic changes over evolutionary time produce unique pigmentation patterns on butterfly wings. Alex is interested in the cellular and gene regulatory logic behind the development of novel traits, and how tight modulation of these factors leads to evolutionary divergence. To better understand these questions, his goal is to use the development of gliding membranes in the Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps) as a system for study - taking advantage of both genetic and computational tools. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys watching soccer and playing strategy board/video games.

Jiyoung Kang - jiyoung(at)princeton.edu

Jiyoung is a graduate student in the Department of Molecular Biology. She received her B.A. from Yale University. She is broadly interested in dynamic patterns and plans to study melanocyte development in the African Striped Mouse. In her free time, she likes to read, solve puzzles, and enjoy other sedentary hobbies. Jiyoung is co-advised by Dr. Danelle Devenport

Harsha Sen - hs2508(at)princeton.edu

Harsha is a graduate student in the Department of Molecular Biology. He received his B.A. in Biology and Economics from Swarthmore College where he worked on modeling speciation dynamics during the Cambrian explosion, and on investigating the conservation of pericentric satellite repeats in great apes. He also studied paralogy in the dual genomes of the ciliate Oxytricha trifallax. After graduation, he worked in Steve McCarroll’s lab on developing single-cell, single-virion approaches for high-throughput inference of synaptic connectivity. Harsha is broadly interested in understanding biological systems from evolutionary and genomic perspectives by developing and using computational and molecular tools. Harsha plans to investigate the functional evolution of gliding and flying membranes in mammals using computational and high-throughput molecular approaches.

Ruth Gutjahr - rg6199 (at) princeton.edu

Ruth is a visiting postdoctoral fellow from the M-Lab of Adaptive Intelligence at EPFL in Switzerland, where she is currently supervised by Prof. Mackenzie Weygandt Mathis. She obtained her PhD from the University of Graz in Austria, where she was looking at the neuronal connectivity of a layered neuronal forebrain structure in gobiiform fish, as well as the motor control underlying the air-borne escape response of hatchet fish under the advisement of Prof. Boris Chagnaud. She has a B.S. in Biology and Linguistics and an M.S. in behavior and physiology. Ruth is interested in understanding the neuronal principles underlying adaptive motor control; she loves crazy side projects and can often be found enjoying the outdoors or the local basketball court.

Jay Falk - j.jinsing (at) gmail.com

Jay is a Smithsonian-Princeton Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ecology and Evolution. He is generally interested in the diversification of sexual phenotypes and the evolvability of complex traits. During his PhD at Cornell University he studied male mimicry by female hummingbirds in Panama. His current work uses enigmatic sexual polymorphisms in hummingbirds to uncover the molecular basis of color differences between the sexes. Ultimately, he hopes to better integrate lab and field techniques to understand biodiversity, especially in the tropics.

Mindy Sim – ms5683(at)princeton.edu

Mindy is an undergraduate in the Department of Molecular Biology. She is interested in the genetic basis of observable traits and is especially fascinated by how the evolution of non-coding sequences can drive phenotypic change by regulating gene expression. Currently, she is working with Megan to understand the molecular mechanisms driving the evolution of avian beak morphology across different bird species. Outside of the lab, Mindy can be found reading, working on musical productions on campus, as well as conferencing with students at the Writing Center.

Ciara Loughran – ciaraloughran(at)princeton.edu

Ciara is an undergraduate student in the Department of Molecular Biology. She is very interested in uncovering the genetic foundations of traits. She is particularly fascinated by how genes influence physical adaptations and is currently collaborating with Harsha to investigate the molecular mechanisms behind the development of gliding membranes in bats. On campus, Ciara is a member of the Princeton Women’s Rugby team and serves as a Peer Health Advisor.

Alex Tu – at7909(at)princeton.edu

Alex Tu is an undergraduate student in the department of Molecular Biology. He is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms behind periodic patterning. He is currently working alongside Dr. Paul Frazel to understand how pattern reestablishment occurs in adult striped mice and whether the molecular mechanisms behind this phenomena contrasts with pattern implementation in embryogenesis. On campus, Alex is involved with Princeton Peer Nightline, Tiger Tails, and Alzheimer’s Buddies.

Rachel Rose - rr5321(at)princeton.edu

Office: LTL 105
Tel: 609-258-8956

LAB MASCOT

Leo is a Portuguese Water Dog who enjoys disrupting research and derailing grant and manuscript writing. His unusual coat pattern - whose underlying molecular mechanism remain a continous source of debate among lab members - serve as a constant reminder of how artificial selection, inbreeding, and domestication influence the processes controlling migration, differentiation, and proliferation of melanocytes during embryogenesis.

His genome is currently being sequenced, and we expect to find mutations in the regulatory regions of Mitf, Kit, Pmel, and perhaps a few others...

Past members and their current positions
- Yafei Mao (Visiting PhD student); Currently: Group leader in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
- Lydia Zhong (Undergraduate student) Currently: Ophtalmology Residence, UCLA
- Ares Alivisatos (Undergraduate student) Currently: Research Technician, Tufts University
- Ella Kaage (Undergraduate student) Currently: Research Technician, Harvard University
- Charles Feigin (Postdoc) Currently: Group leader, Latrobe University (Australia)
- Matt Johnson (Postdoc) Currently: Research Scientist, Bristol Myers Squibb
- Sha Li (Postdoc) Currently: Biotech Startup, China
- Jorge Moreno (PhD student) Currently: Postdoctoral Fellow (Stowers Institute, USA; Sánchez-Alvarado Lab)
- Fiona Logan-Sankey (Undergrad student) Currently: Research Technician, Stanford University
- Jongbeom Park (PhD student). Currently: Postdoctoral Fellow (University of Washington, USA; Shendure Lab)
- Aellah Kaage (Undergraduate student) Currently: Graduate student (MIT)