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.
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?
Contact us aboout research opportunties in the lab!