In this episode, Veronika and Sam spoke with Dr. Dmitry Kurouski. Dr. Kurouski is an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Texas A&M University. He received his Bachelor's and Master of Science at the Belarussian State University and his PhD at the State University of New York at Albany. His lab focuses on many different topics, from lipids in neurodegeneration, plant diseases, nanostructures, and forensic hair analyses. We hope you enjoy!

If you want to know more about the Genetics program at Texas A&M or the research discussed in this episode, please visit the following websites:

Dr. Kurouski bio: https://bcbp.tamu.edu/people/kurouski-dmitry/

Genetics IDP: https://genetics.tamu.edu

Genetics Graduate Student Association: https://g2sa.tamu.edu

Welcome to Blue Genes and Boots, everyone!

In this episode Anthony talked to Sarah Ingram, a 4th-year PhD candidate in the Interdisciplinary Genetics program at Texas A&M, a US Navy veteran, and a 2024 Tillman Scholar. She returned to academia after 9 years of military service and received her undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University- Texarkana. Currently, she studies under Dr. Shaunna Clark in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and her research focuses on the relationship between DNA methylation and anxiety.

If you want to know more about the Genetics program at Texas A&M, the research discussed in this episode, or the Pat Tillman Foundation please visit the following websites:

Dr. Shaunna Clark: https://medicine.tamu.edu/faculty-listings/shaunna-clark.html

Sarah Ingram: https://vitalrecord.tamu.edu/graduate-genetics-researcher-named-among-60-tillman-scholars-for-2024/

https://pattillmanfoundation.org/meet-our-scholars/sarah-ingram-2/

The Pat Tillman Foundation: https://pattillmanfoundation.org/

Genetics IDP: https://genetics.tamu.edu

Genetics Graduate Student Association: https://g2sa.tamu.edu

Welcome to Blue Genes and Boots, everyone!

In this episode, Charles spoke with Dr. Matt Sachs. Dr. Sachs is a professor in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University who received his Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Cornell University and PhD in Biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research focuses on the mechanisms controlling protein synthesis, such as in Neurospora crassa. Dr. Sachs is also a practiced yogi (!) and we invite you to listen in as he discusses his research, career, and the parallels between yoga and science. We hope you enjoy!

If you want to know more about the Genetics program at Texas A&M or the research discussed in this episode, please visit the following websites:

Matt Sachs bio: https://www.bio.tamu.edu/faculty-msachs/

Genetics IDP: https://genetics.tamu.edu

Genetics Graduate Student Association: https://g2sa.tamu.edu

Howdy, and welcome to Blue Genes and Boots everyone!

In this episode Sam and Veronika spoke with third year GENE students, and newly minted PhD candidates, Emmarie Alexander and Tyler Chan. Emmarie came to our program from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and she currently studies under Dr. William Murphy. Tyler previously attended The University of Alabama - Huntsville, and he now studies under Dr. Zachary Adelman.

Emmarie and Tyler sat down with us and talked about their experience with the dreaded preliminary exam process. We invite you to listen in on how they prepped, what it was like, and how they feel now that it's over. They've got great advice for every stage of the process, so take advantage and check out this episode now! Thanks for listening, and we hope you enjoy!

If you'd like to learn more about Emmarie and Tyler, please visit their respective lab websites:

Emmarie: http://www.eutherialab.org/

Tyler: https://zachadelmanlab.entomology.tamu.edu/

If you'd like to learn more about the Genetics program at Texas A&M, please visit the following websites:

Genetics IDP: https://genetics.tamu.edu

Genetics Graduate Student Association: https://g2sa.tamu.edu

Welcome to Blue Genes and Boots, everyone!

In this episode, Veronika talks to Dr. R. Graham Reynolds. Dr. Reynolds is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina Asheville and an associate at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. He received his B.A. in Biology from Duke University and his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dr. Reynolds is an expert in vertebrate evolution and endangered species biology, especially reptiles in the Caribbean, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Gazette, Discover Magazine, Newsweek, National Geographic, and Smithsonian Magazine, among others.

If you want to know more about the research discussed in this episode or about the Genetics program at Texas A&M, please visit the following websites:

Dr. Reynolds’ lab: https://reynoldslab.wp.unca.edu/
Dr. Reynolds’ Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Onue3acAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate
Dr. Reynolds’ National Geographic Explorer Page: https://explorers.nationalgeographic.org/directory/r-graham-reynolds

Genetics IDP: https://genetics.tamu.edu
Genetics Graduate Student Association: https://g2sa.tamu.edu

Welcome to Blue Genes and Boots, everyone!

In this episode, Sarah talked to two speakers from the 2024 Genome Editing Symposium at Texas A&M: Dr. Paul Christou and Dr. Makoto Saito. Dr. Christou is an ICREA research professor at Universitat de Lleida (UdL) Life and Medical Sciences. Dr. Saito is a senior scientific fellow conducting post-doctoral research in Dr. Feng Zhang’s lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology McGovern Institute. We invite you to listen in on what they have to say about their path to their current positions, impactful moments and colleagues encountered during their career, and their advice for aspiring graduate students.

If you’d like to learn more about our guests, please visit the following websites:

Dr. Christou: https://www.icrea.cat/Web/ScientificStaff/paul-christou-319

Dr. Saito:

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=caJcp0cAAAAJ&hl=en

Feng Zhang lab: https://www.zlab.bio/

Genome Editing Symposium 2024: https://genomeeditingsymposiumtamu.wordpress.com/

If you want to know more about the research discussed in this episode or about the Genetics program at Texas A&M, please visit the following websites:

Genetics IDP: https://genetics.tamu.edu

Genetics Graduate Student Association: https://g2sa.tamu.edu

Welcome to Blue Genes and Boots, everyone!

In this episode, Anthony talks to Dr. George Church. Dr. Church is a Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and founding Core Faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. He received his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology at Harvard University in 1984. His research has spanned many disciplines, from genomic sequencing to synthetic biology. He has also co-founded multiple companies, such as Colossal Biosciences, which is working to de-extinct various species like the woolly mammoth.

If you want to know more about the research discussed in this episode or about the Genetics program at Texas A&M, please visit the following websites:

Dr. Church’s bio from the Wyss Institute: https://wyss.harvard.edu/team/core-faculty/george-church/

George Church’s Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SfDzdgEAAAAJ&hl=en

Colossal Biosciences: https://colossal.com/

Nebula Genomics: https://nebula.org/whole-genome-sequencing-dna-test/

Genetics IDP: https://genetics.tamu.edu

Genetics Graduate Student Association: https://g2sa.tamu.edu

Welcome to Blue Genes and Boots, everyone!

In this episode, Samantha and Sarah talk to Dr. Qing Sun, one of our Genetics and Genomics Faculty members. Dr. Sun is an assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and did her postdoctoral training at the Synthetic Biology Center at MIT. Her lab uses synthetic biology to improve human health and the environment.

If you want to know more about the research discussed in this episode or about the Genetics program at Texas A&M, please visit the following websites:

Sun Lab Website: https://qsunlab.com/

Dr. Qing Sun’s Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=pEZ1tkEAAAAJ

Genetics IDP: https://genetics.tamu.edu

Genetics Graduate Student Association: https://g2sa.tamu.edu