Lab members

Chris Oakley - PI

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology and the Purdue Center for Plant Biology at Purdue University. I recieved my BS in Botany from the University of Washington, and my MS and PhD degrees in Biological Science at Florida State University, followed by a postodoctoral position in the Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University. I am broadly interested in plant ecological and evolutionary genetics.

Google Scholar Page

Postdocs, graduate students, and technicians

Mac Johnson, Technician 2023-2024

- currently a graduate student at UIUC

Tatyana Soto, MS student 2020-2022

- currently Biology Lab Manager and part-time Lecturer at Mills College

Gonjin Lee, Postdoc 2020-2022

- currently an Assistant professor at West Virginia State University

Brian Sanderson, Postdoc 2018-2019

- currently a Senior Associate Researcher at the University of Kansas Center for Genomics

Kattia Palacio-Lopez, Postdoc 2017-2018

- currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston, Downtown

Josh Kraft, Technician 2018, Graduate Student 2018-2019

- currently a PhD candidate at Purdue

Inam Jameel, Technician 2017-2018

- currently a postdoc at the University of Michigan

Undergraduates

Evangelina Kalathoti, Assistant 2024

Jo Brigham, Assistant 2023-2024

Santiago Reinoso Castillo, Summer undergraduate research (visiting from Universidad de los Andes in

Bogota, Colombia) with the SURF program 2024

Audrey Courtier, Summer REU student with the Purdue PURE-PD program 2023

Nick Ryan, Undergraduate researcher and assistant 2021-2023

- currently working at Corteva

Madelyn Lopp, Undergraduate researcher and assistant 2022-2023

Annie Klemsz, Assistant 2022

Pavithra Chidambaram, Assistant 2021-2022

Rachel Toppo, Assistant 2021-2022

Christina Gallick, Undergraduate Honor's Thesis in Biology and assistant 2019-2021

- currently working at the US EPA

Isabel Turner, Undergraduate research credit (BTNY498) and assistant 2019-2021

- currently a PhD student Miami University

Alex Wassgren, Assistant 2019-2021

- currently a MS student at Purdue

Madilyn Schaider, Undergraduate research credit (BTNY498), 2021

Jo Will, Assistant 2021

Azolla Ralston, Assistant 2019-2020

Jacob French, Assistant 2018-2020

Saira Ahmed, Assistant 2018-2019

Parker Caldwell, Assistant 2018-2019

Rebecca Deater, Assistant 2017-2019

Hsiu-An Chou, Assistant 2017-2018

Caylie Leclercq, Assistant 2017-2018

Alex Dowden, Undergraduate research credit (BTNY498), 2017

Brandon Garver, Assistant 2017

Lab Alumni

Juan Diego Rojas Gutierrez -

PhD candidate

Juan Diego recieved his BS in Biology from Universidad Icesi in Colombia. He is working on the genetic basis of heterosis and heterosis by environment interactions.

September 2017 - K. Palacio-Lopez, R. Deater, C. Oakley, C. Leclercq, A. Dowden, I. Jameel

Joanna Miller -

Undergraduate researcher and assistant

Joanna is working on a BS in Animal Sciences (pre-vet). Joanna joined the lab in Fall 2022.

March 2019 (Partial lab photo) - C. Gallick, J. Kraft, C. Oakley, B. Sanderson, R. Deater, I. Turner, and J. French. Photo by Tom Campbell, Purdue Agriculture Communications

Stephen Mills -

PhD student

Stephen has a BS in Horticulture (Landscape Design). He is currently researching the costs of cold acclimation in Arabidopsis, Plantago and Populus.

Audrey Hostrawser -

Undergraduate assistant

Audrey is working on a BS in Plant Science in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology with a minor in Farm Management. She joined the lab in Fall 2024.

Covid era partial lab photo - C. Gallick, G. Lee, C. Oakley, J. D. Rojas_Gutierrez, M Schaider, T. Soto, I. Turner, and A. Wassgren.

Sam Mantel - Postdoc

Sam received a BS in Biology from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, and a PhD in Genetics from the University of Georgia. He broadly interested in ecological adaptation and its differential effects on closely related plant populations/species.

Lane Bell -

Undergraduate researcher and assistant

Lane is working on a BS in Plant Science in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Lane joined the lab in Fall 2023.

July 2023 - C. Oakley, J. D. Rojas Gutierrez, J. Miller, A. Courtier, and S. Mills.

Shannon Andrewlavage -

Undergraduate assistant

Shannon is working on a BS in Natural Resources and Environmental Science with minors in Plant Science and Wildlife Science. Shannon joined the lab in Fall 2024.

Suya Shen -

Undergraduate assistant

Suya is working on a BS with double majors in Plant Science and Linguistics. Suya joined the lab in Fall 2024.

Kathryn Dunham -

Undergraduate Researcher

Kat is working on a BS in Plant Science in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. She will join the lab in Spring 2025 to work the effect of soil microbiota on heterosis in partridge pea.

You?