Principal Investigator
|
Madelaine Bartlett
Associate Professor, Biology Department, UMass Amherst Director, UMass Natural History Collections email: mbartlett[at]umass.edu phone: 413.545.2235 My lab is focused on figuring out the genetics underlying the evolution of plant development. I am particularly intrigued by floral development, and the evolution of the genes and gene networks that underly floral morphology. |
Lab Manager
|
Comfort Bonney Arku
Lab Manager email: cbonneyarku[at]umass.edu I received a BSc (2003) and an MPhil (2006) in Botany from the University of Ghana, Legon. Following my masters, I worked for many years at the University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) as a Research Assistant. In the US, I trained and worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant. In a quest to return to grad school, I’m currently working as a Lab Manager and gaining hands-on experience in plant genetics and molecular biology. I’m considering a PhD in genetics and molecular biology. |
Postdoctoral Researcher
|
Hailong Yang
Postdoc email: hailongyang[at]umass.edu I have been involved in maize research since I was an undergraduate. I am passionate and committed to a career understanding the molecular mechanisms which regulate growth and development of agricultural plants, especially corn. I finished my PhD at East Carolina University in Dr. Beth Thompson’s Lab working on floral development and translation regulation by microRNAs in maize. In the Bartlett lab, we combine computational data analysis with CRISPR/Cas9 and molecular techniques to understand how gene expression of developmental genes are regulated and how they have evolved in the grasses. |
Graduate Students
|
Amber De Neve
PhD Student email: adeneve[at]umass.edu I'm interested in the genetic pathways underlying plant form and function. Plants are amazing at adapting their growth to their environments, and sometimes this means being flexible with the sexuality of their flowers. Trillium grandiflorium, for example, grows wild in Amherst and has size-dependent floral sexual specification. Interestingly, many mutations in maize also cause changes to both plant architecture and floral sexuality. I'm currently using mutants and evolutionary analysis to see how these two aspects are related in the grass family. |
|
Thomas Harrington
PhD Student email: taharrington[at]umass.edu My research is focused on examining the evolution of plant development, with a specific focus on genomic architecture. Plant morphology is diverse across species, but is controlled by conserved genes and regulatory networks. However, the extent to which cis-regulatory elements have been conserved across evolutionary time remains unclear. My recent work in the Bartlett lab has been focused on dissecting the function of cis-regulatory elements in Brachypodium distachyon. Understanding the genetic networks underlying plant development would overcome a barrier towards applying genome editing in crop domestication and agricultural improvement. |
|
Erin Patterson
PhD Student email: elpatterson[at]umass.edu I’m interested in exploring the evolution of development in plants. As Dobzhansky said, “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”, and this holds true for development. I’m currently studying a mutation in an unidentified gene in Brachypodium distachyon that results in highly pleiotropic phenotypic changes. This system will allow us to examine the mechanisms by which a single gene is able to affect multiple developmental processes. |
Undergraduate Students
Fortuna Decimus
Kyra Lally
Jahzara Nordeus
|
Terice Kelly
Ronan McKnight
Benedikt Nuesslein
|
High School Interns
Amanda Dee
|
Maya Evans
|
Abigail Meunier
|
Ella Strzegowski
|
Kirsten Szala-Krotkov
Lab Alumni
María Jazmín Abraham Juárez
Postdoc Current Position: Assistant Professor Langebio, Mexico 
Jamie Kostyun
Postdoc 
Jarrett Man
PhD Student Current Position: Scientist, LatDe 
Diego Arroyo
Undergraduate 
Callan Carr
Rebecca Goldberg
Undergraduate 
Isabella Higgins
Undergraduate 
Tiffany Ma
Undergraduate 
Grace Pisano
Undergraduate 
Isabella Rozza
Undergraduate 
Katie Tumang
Undergraduate |
Joseph Gallagher Postdoc Current Position: Research Scientist USDA ARS, Corvallis Oregon 
Amanda Schrager Lavelle
Postdoc Current Position: Lecturer Utah Valley University 
Robert Del Gizzi
MSc Student Current Position: Conagen Inc. 
Mackenzie Barber
Undergraduate 
Adriana Chiaramida
Undergraduate 
Michelle Heeney
Undergraduate 
Karen Huang
Undergraduate 
Mondonna Mojahed
Undergraduate 
Morgan Powell
Undergraduate 
Julianna Rushdi
Undergraduate 
Maya Watanabe
Undergraduate |
Pubudu Handakumbura
Postdoc Current Position: Staff Scientist Pacific Northwest National Laboratories 
Harry Klein
PhD Student Current Position: Scientist Dana Farber 
Thompson Zhang
MSc Student Current Position: Xenobiotic Laboratories 
Jessica Brass
Undergraduate 
Ryan Desrochers
Undergraduate 
Jeffrey Heithmar
Undergraduate 
Chloe Li
Undergraduate 
Jennifer Pereira Badji
Undergraduate 
Jamie Richards
Undergraduate 
Noel Taylor
Undergraduate 
Kevin White
Undergraduate |
Interested in joining the lab?
If you're interesting in joining the lab as a grad student, consider applying through the plant biology, molecular and cellular biology, or organismal and evolutionary biology graduate programs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. If you're a postdoc or an undergraduate wanting to work in the Bartlett lab, please get in touch via email.