Meet Our Team
Arun Sethuraman
PI, Assistant ProfessorDr. Sethuraman is an evolutionary computational biologist, who develops new statistical methods to study how genomes evolve in structured populations during divergence and speciation in response to natural selection and demography. Applications of his work include conservation, deciphering human evolutionary history, agriculture, and biological control. Outside the lab, he loves to CrossFit, and spoiling his two cats Hobbes and Pepper.
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Anais Aoki
Graduate Research Assistant (MS)Anais is a first year graduate student in the BMI program at SDSU. She graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biology from CSU San Marcos in 2019, and worked in the biotech industry prior to joining the Sethuraman Lab. She is interested in conservation genomics, and will commence her thesis work with a meta study of conservation genetics literature.
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Michael Kuzminskiy
Graduate Research Assistant (MS)Michael is a first year graduate student in the BMI program at SDSU. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biology from CSU San Marcos in 2020 where he was a research assistant in the Eme Lab. He is interested in human population genomics, and will work on an extensive simulation study of ghost admixture into modern human populations.
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Alexandra McElwee-Adame
Graduate Research Assistant (PhD)Alex is a first year PhD student in the Evolutionary Biology joint doctoral program between SDSU and UCR. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in Biology from SDSU in 2018 and her master’s degree in Evolutionary Biology again in 2021 under the supervision of Dr. Lluvia Flores-Renteria. She is interested in the application of genomics, bioinformatics, and evolutionary biology theory in plant conservation with a special interest in population genomics and molecular evolution/ecology. Outside of academia, she enjoys baking, houseplants, sports and outdoor activities.
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Margaret Wanjiku
Graduate Research Assistant (PhD)Margaret is a first year PhD student in the Evolutionary Biology joint doctoral program between SDSU and UCR. She holds a Masters degree in Bioinformatics from Pwani University, Kenya, working on population genomics of a rice blast pathogen, Magnaporthe oryzae in Africa. In the Sethuraman Lab, she is working on developing new computational methods for estimating population structure, and understanding missing genomic variation in human genomes.
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Gavrila Ang
Graduate Research Assistant (MS)Gavrila is a second year Masters student in the BMI program. In the Sethuraman Lab, she is currently working on generating a high quality genome of the convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens, as well as on population genomics of H. convergens across its American range.
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Khuyen NguyenGraduate Research Assistant (MS)Khuyen is a first year graduate student in the BMI program. She graduated from UCSB with a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and currently work at Illumina in R&D working on optimizing different sequencing platforms and reagents. She is interested in population genetics and will be working on developing an R package estimate genetic relatedness. Outside of the workplace and classroom, she enjoys taking film photography, reading, and taking part in outdoor activities.
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Scott MonahanUndergraduate Research AssistantScott is a sophomore at SDSU majoring in Biology with an emphasis in evolution. He joined the Sethuraman lab in Fall 2021 and is planning on pursuing a graduate degree to work in higher education. In his free time, he enjoys reading and taking care of his many pets.
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Adrian KristanUndergraduate Research AssistantIan is a junior at SDSU majoring in Biology with an emphasis in evolution. Ian joined the Sethuraman Lab in Fall 2021 and has since worked on understanding phenotypic plasticity and heritability of body morphology in Dinocampus coccinellae.
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Mohammad Ali ShahUndergraduate Research Assistant |
Priyanshi ShahGraduate Research Assistant (MS)
Priyanshi is a first-year graduate student in the BMI program. She earned her bachelor's degree in biotechnology from St. Xavier's College in India. In the Sethuraman Lab, she will work on telomere length variation in modern humans. She is a proud plant parent who loves to paint in her spare time.
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Elijah VoglerUndergraduate Research Assistant
Eli is a junior at SDSU majoring in Microbiology. In the Spring semester of 2023, he joined the Sethuraman lab and hopes to continue his education with a graduate degree in the future. Some of his hobbies include watching movies and spending time with friends.
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Lab Alumni
Tamar Beridze
Visiting PhD Scholar
Tamar was a visiting PhD student who is currently in her third year of Doctoral work at Ilia State University, Georgia. Tamar holds a Bachelor of Ecology and a Masters degree in Applied Genetics from Ilia State University, which she completed in 2018. She is interested in conservation and population genetics, working on sturgeon species in the eastern Black Sea and Rioni River in Georgia.
Andrew Zhang
NSF REU ScholarAndrew is an undergraduate at Indiana University, Bloomington studying biology. He was an NSF REU scholar in the Sethuraman Lab in Summer 2021 where he applied techniques in next-generation sequencing and analysis on Hippodamia convergens. In his free time, Andrew loves to lift weights, play video games, and read books.
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Robert Reyes
Undergraduate Research AssistantRobert is a 4th year undergraduate student at CSUSM. He is currently studying biology with a concentration in physiology. He joined the Sethuraman lab in Spring 2021 and has assisted in projects involving Dinocampus coccinellae and Hippodamia convergens. He hopes to work in the healthcare field after graduating CSUSM. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with friends and family.
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MJ Lee
Undergraduate Research AssistantMarianne (M. J.) Lee is a student at CSUSM in Bachelors in Biology and concentration in Molecular and Cell Biology. She was born and raised mostly in Southern California, but also lived in various parts of the United States like Virginia, Texas, and Georgia. She is currently in the United States Navy and served over 12 years nationwide and overseas. She has been part of Sethuraman Lab for one year and hopes to continue genetic research in the future. M. J. is also preparing for admission to Dental school.
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Ryan DettmersRyan was an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Sethuraman Lab, where he worked with Alicia on various D. coccinellae projects. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences from CSUSM in Fall 2020.
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Alexander RothenbergAl was an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Sethuraman Lab where he worked with Bryce and Alicia on various D. coccinellae and H. convergens projects. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences from CSUSM in Fall 2020.
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Timothy Skaggs
Tim was an undergraduate student at CSUSM and earned his Bachelors of Science in molecular and cellular biology in Spring 2021. He hopes to earn a Masters, and a PhD in Molecular Biology, then work in research or the industry after.
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Walker Welch
Undergraduate Research AssistantWalker was a 4th-year undergraduate at CSUSM working toward a Bachelor of Science in Biology (Physiology Concentration). He joined the Sethuraman lab in Spring 2020, and was a Summer Scholar in Summer 2020. He is also a collegiate athlete on CSUSM’s Men’s Track and Field team. In his free time, he enjoys working out, spending time with family, and reading. He plans to attend medical school after graduation with the hopes of becoming a surgeon.
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Camila Arce, Michelle Ruben, Theresa BuckCamila, Michelle, and Theresa were Undergraduate Research Assistants in the Sethuraman Lab where they worked with Alicia on various D. coccinellae projects. They all graduated with Bachelors degrees in Biological Sciences from CSUSM in Spring 2021.
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Alicia Tovar
Graduate Research AssistantAlicia was a graduate student who graduated with her Master's degree in Biological Sciences from CSUSM in Summer 2021. Her research focused on the evolutionary history, heritability of size in the parasitic wasp Dinocampus coccinellae. She graduated with a B.Sc. in Ecology, Behavior & Evolution from UCSD in 2017. In her downtime, Alicia enjoys going on adventures with her dog, Peach, and taking pictures.
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Tanairi MartinezTanairi graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences from CSUSM in Fall 2019. In the Sethuraman Lab, she was involved in several behavioral and molecular projects, including population genomics of invasive lady beetles.
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Jack WangJack graduated with a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from CSUSM in Spring 2019. In the Sethuraman Lab, he was exploring machine learning methods in predicting speciation events from genomic data.
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Gwendalyn Wulf
Gwen graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biology from CSUSM in Spring 2020. While in the Sethuraman Lab, she was a Summer Scholar, analyzing the population genetics and morphometrics of loggerhead shrikes, in collaboration with the lab of Dr. Diego Sustaita. She is currently a Conservation Geneticist at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
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Roxane Saisho
Roxane graduated with an Undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from CSUSM in Spring 2020. In the Sethuraman Lab, Roxane was instrumental in managing our greenhouse experiments, assaying/conducting various population genomics projects in Dinocampus coccinellae, and analyzing life history differences in gene expression in lady beetles. Roxane tragically passed away in December 2022. Her incredible contributions to our lab and science will forever be etched in our memories.
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Jiali Tang
Jiali graduated with a Masters degree in Computer Science at CSUSM. Her research focused on data mining and machine learning. She likes hiking, sailing and traveling. But the thing she likes most is SPICY food!! She worked on parallelelization of MULTICLUST. She is currently interning at Amazon (as of Summer 2019).
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Ryan Cartmill
Ryan graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Biological Sciences from CSUSM in Spring 2020. While in the Sethuraman Lab, he was involved in a variety of projects, including population genomics of invasive lady beetles, and behavioral assays of the convergent lady beetle. Ryan aspires to apply for PhD Programs focusing on bioinformatics and entomology for Fall 2021.
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Bryce Summerhays
Bryce graduated with his Masters degree in biology at CSUSM in Fall 2019, working in population genomics of predatory lady beetles. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biology in 2012 from UCSD, where he was a research assistant working with native and non-native, invasive species of ants. He has since taken up a position as a Research Technician at Illumina Inc.
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Dylan Steinecke
Dylan is a San Marcos native and graduated with a Bachelors degree from CSUSM in Spring 2020, majoring in Biological Sciences (Molecular & Cellular Concentration) and minoring in Mathematics and Computer Science. He also worked part time as a tutor on campus at the Math Lab. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking and reading. As of Fall 2020, he began a PhD in Biomedical Informatics at UCLA.
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Jeff Jaureguy
.Jeff Jaureguy graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and minor in mathematics from CSUSM in Spring 2020. He has completed over three years of research at CSUSM in a terrestrial ecology lab and now is focusing on bioinformatics-related research with an emphasis on programming and simulations in Dr. Sethuraman's lab. In his free time, he likes going to the beach or enjoys rock climbing in nature. He also loves traveling with his fiancé (now wife!) and two puppies. As of Fall 2020, Jeff began a PhD in Bioinformatics at UCSD.
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Stefany Nuñez-Zavala
Stefany loves watching sunsets, drinking coffee and listening to music. She is always looking for a good adventure and in her spare time, she enjoys playing piano and knitting. Stefany since graduated and pursued a post-baccalaureate program at Virginia Tech, following which she began a PhD program at UC Riverside.
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Nicolette Gonzalez
Nicolette Gonzalez was an undergraduate student studying Molecular and Cellular Biology at CSUSM. She plans to obtain her master's degree in Physical Assistant Studies at the University of California Davis.
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Khyati Kansagara
Khyati graduated with a B.S.in Biological Sciences, along with a Minor in Chemistry. Since graduating with honors from CSUSM, she started a position as a Lab Technician at Kyowa Kirin Pharmaceuticals Research Inc. She is currently a Graduate Student at Johns Hopkins University, and was recently featured on CSUSM news!
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Christy Grenier
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Melissa Lynch
Melissa graduated with her Masters degree in biology at CSUSM in Summer 2019. She graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biology (major) and Computer Science (minor) in Spring 2017 from CSUSM. She loves coffee, traveling, and podcasts. Melissa worked on quantifying biases in evolutionary demographic analyses in the presence of unsampled "ghost" populations. Melissa has since begun a Bioinformatics specialist position at Rancho Biosciences.
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Nitesh Sabankar
Nitesh graduated with a Masters degree in Computer Science at CSUSM. He worked on developing a web-front, GUI, and tools as part of the PPP-Pop-Gen Pipeline Platform project. He is currently a Software Engineer at Facebook.
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Jerrika Scott
Jerrika is currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in Biology at Benedict College in South Carolina. She was an NSF REU scholar in the Sethuraman Lab through Summer 2019.
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Jonathan Tedjo
Jon graduated with a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from University of California, Irvine, and interned with the Sethuraman Lab, working on the Galaxy front-end for the PPP project in Summer 2018. He has since started a Software Engineer position at General Atomics.
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Ken Mey
Ken graduated with a Bachelors degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Ken hopes to obtain his PhD in Molecular Biology and work within the field of conservation biology. At CSUSM, Ken served as the supplemental instructor for genetics and also works in the STEM center as a tutor. In his free time Ken enjoys meditating and enlightening his-self, volunteering time at the local animal sanctuary, and binge-watching anime. Ken recently returned from an NSF REU program at Brooklyn College, working on urban evolution, and has since taken up a position as a Chemist at Inova Diagnostics, and is currently at BioLegend.
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Michael Adrian Rubio
Michael graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biotechnology in Spring 2017. He also spends too much time playing video games, is a connoisseur of soda, and an artist at misplacing his keys. Warning: he will eat anything. Michael worked with Yumary in analyzing the evolutionary demography of three species of lady beetles - Hippodamia convergens, Harmonia axyridis, and Coccinella septempunctata, and on a meta-analysis of recent studies utilizing genomic data to inform conservation.
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James Price
James graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biotechnology in Spring 2017. He enjoys hip hop, e-sports, and the company of his dog, Nacho. James worked with Shiori on quantifying the variation in lengths of telomeres across human populations. James is currently a Diamond Grader at the Gemological Institute of America.
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Shiori Takehara
Shiori graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biotechnology in Summer 2017. She interned in the laboratory of Dr. Knut Woltjen at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, Japan, where she initiated a disease modeling project using CRISPR gene editing. Besides research work, she enjoys drinking tea while watching movies with her dog, Bailey. Shiori worked on quantifying variation in telomere lengths across human populations. Shiori is currently a Quality Control Specialist at GenMark Diagnostics.
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Merielle Redwine
Merielle Redwine graduated in Spring 2018 with a Bachelors degree in Mathematics and Quantitative Biology at CSUSM. In the Sethuraman Lab, she worked on developing theory around the population genetics of interacting species. She loves being outdoors, rock climbing, and playing guitar.
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Apeksha Sukesh Kallur
Apeksha is an alumnus of CSUSM and graduated with a Masters degree in Computer Science in Spring 2017. She is a huge coffee lover and hobbies include writing poems and short stories. She worked on building a pipeline platform for easy development/implementation of complex workflows which is a part of PPP- Pop-Gen Pipeline Platform project.
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Hannah Vansant
Hannah graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biological Sciences in June 2018. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine following graduation. Personal interests include art, history and travel while academic interests include epidemiology and public health issues. In the Sethuraman Lab, Hannah worked with Yumary on the molecular and morphological diversity of Dinocampus coccinellae. As of June 2018, Hannah is a recipient of the prestigious NIH MHIRT fellowship, and pursued a summer post-baccalaureate program at Oxford University. She will begin Medical School soon in Fall 2021 in New York City!
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Daniel Magnusson
Dan graduated with an Undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from CSUSM in Fall 2017. He was an international student from Iceland who has been living in the United states for about 4 years. As of June 2018, he is a Production Support Technician at BioLegend.
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Yumary Vasquez
Yumary graduated in Spring 2018 with a Bachelors degree in Biotechnology. At CSUSM, she was the CSM Representative for ASI, and worked as a STEM ambassador. In the Sethuraman Lab, Yumary worked on lady beetle demography and their applications to biological control, and also with Hannah Vansant on quantifying molecular and morphological diversity of Dinocampus coccinellae. She is currently a PhD student in quantitative biology at UC Merced. In Spring 2020, she advanced to candidacy! Congratulations!
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If you are an undergraduate student in biology/biotechnology/computer science and interested in pursuing research opportunities in bioinformatics or population genomics, feel free to write to me about available opportunities. Include a brief bio, and why you want to pursue research in your email.
