Research Scientists
Julia Bartel, M.S. Email:jbartel@ufl.edu
Projects involved with: CRISPR, FRDA, Spheroids, Toxicology
I grew up in Bowie, MD, and graduated from Seton Hill University (1998-2001) in Greensburg, PA with a B.S. in Pre-Vet (Biology) and a minor in Chemistry. I went to graduate school at Delaware State University (2008-2010) for Neurobiology. I have a Master of Science degree (2020-2022) from the University of Florida in Medical Microbiology and Cell Science.
My professional background has been in molecular and microbiology with years of lab management and contamination control. I enjoy working with and training undergraduate and graduate students while watching them achieve their goals. My early career involved mice and rat stroke model studies at Johns Hopkins University. I have held a secret security clearance working with the Pentagon and have worked in both academia and industry.
I have worked in Dr. Jones and Dr. Karst’s labs at UF with norovirus. I joined Dr. Vulpe’s lab on Jan 30, 2023 and have been working with a graduate student, Christian Maugee, and postdoc, Noble Isaac Iheukwumere focusing on human induced pluripotent stem cells differentiation and feline and canine cardiac muscle cell lines using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, respectively.
I grew up in Bowie, MD, and graduated from Seton Hill University (1998-2001) in Greensburg, PA with a B.S. in Pre-Vet (Biology) and a minor in Chemistry. I went to graduate school at Delaware State University (2008-2010) for Neurobiology. I have a Master of Science degree (2020-2022) from the University of Florida in Medical Microbiology and Cell Science.
My professional background has been in molecular and microbiology with years of lab management and contamination control. I enjoy working with and training undergraduate and graduate students while watching them achieve their goals. My early career involved mice and rat stroke model studies at Johns Hopkins University. I have held a secret security clearance working with the Pentagon and have worked in both academia and industry.
I have worked in Dr. Jones and Dr. Karst’s labs at UF with norovirus. I joined Dr. Vulpe’s lab on Jan 30, 2023 and have been working with a graduate student, Christian Maugee, and postdoc, Noble Isaac Iheukwumere focusing on human induced pluripotent stem cells differentiation and feline and canine cardiac muscle cell lines using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, respectively.
Abderrahmane Tagmount
Postdoctoral Researchers
Noble Noble Email: noble.egekwu@ufl.edu
Projects involved with: CRISPR, gene therapy
I am a Post-Doc in Dr. Vulpe's lab and I am interested in molecular biology and translational research. I previously worked in the USDA and then a honeybee lab here at the University of Florida. Currently, I work on dialed cardiomyopathy in canine models, and am working towards creating a gene therapy using CRISPR screening. I am originally from Nigeria. Outside lab I love to hangout with my 4 kids and go to church.
B.S. Zoology, Nigeria
M.S. Integrated Science Technology
PhD. Biomedical Science
I am a Post-Doc in Dr. Vulpe's lab and I am interested in molecular biology and translational research. I previously worked in the USDA and then a honeybee lab here at the University of Florida. Currently, I work on dialed cardiomyopathy in canine models, and am working towards creating a gene therapy using CRISPR screening. I am originally from Nigeria. Outside lab I love to hangout with my 4 kids and go to church.
B.S. Zoology, Nigeria
M.S. Integrated Science Technology
PhD. Biomedical Science
Junli Zhang Email: zjl1983@ufl.edu
Projects involved with: Animal Studies, Toxicology
I was born and grew up in the north part of China and graduated from Hebei University in China (2002-2006) with a B.S. degree in Bioengineering. I went to graduate school at Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and obtained a Master of Science degree in plant molecular biology (2006-2009). I continued my graduate study in Kansas State University in plant pathogen and graduated with a Ph.D degree (2009-2015).
I have been wanted to become a biological scientist since I was little, which made me choose bioengineering as my college major. My professional focus has been molecular biology, genomics and lab management. I have a diversified research background, and have been studying small microorganisms such as virus, bacteria and fungus, and also big objects such as plants and animals. Currently my job will mainly focus on toxicologic pathology studies in rodents and humans.
In my spare time, I like reading and watching movies. Most of the time, I like hanging out with friends, family trips are my way of relaxing. And I also service in children ministry in my church.
I was born and grew up in the north part of China and graduated from Hebei University in China (2002-2006) with a B.S. degree in Bioengineering. I went to graduate school at Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and obtained a Master of Science degree in plant molecular biology (2006-2009). I continued my graduate study in Kansas State University in plant pathogen and graduated with a Ph.D degree (2009-2015).
I have been wanted to become a biological scientist since I was little, which made me choose bioengineering as my college major. My professional focus has been molecular biology, genomics and lab management. I have a diversified research background, and have been studying small microorganisms such as virus, bacteria and fungus, and also big objects such as plants and animals. Currently my job will mainly focus on toxicologic pathology studies in rodents and humans.
In my spare time, I like reading and watching movies. Most of the time, I like hanging out with friends, family trips are my way of relaxing. And I also service in children ministry in my church.
Chan Hee Kim Email: ch.kim@ufl.edu
Projects involved: CRISPR, scRNA-seq, Spheroids
I am a Post-Doc Associate of Dr. Vulpe's lab and have broad interests in functional toxicology using either human cell lines or ecologically relevant cell models such as fish. I have currently been working on establishing a Perturb-seq (CRISPR screen coupled with single-cell RNA-seq) system in 3D spheroid cell models to investigate cellular stress response to environmentally relevant toxicants at high phenotypic resolution.
B.S. Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Korea University (2014)
M.S. Pharmacology, Seoul National University (2016)
Ph.D. Animal Biology, University of California, Davis (2022)
I am a Post-Doc Associate of Dr. Vulpe's lab and have broad interests in functional toxicology using either human cell lines or ecologically relevant cell models such as fish. I have currently been working on establishing a Perturb-seq (CRISPR screen coupled with single-cell RNA-seq) system in 3D spheroid cell models to investigate cellular stress response to environmentally relevant toxicants at high phenotypic resolution.
B.S. Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Korea University (2014)
M.S. Pharmacology, Seoul National University (2016)
Ph.D. Animal Biology, University of California, Davis (2022)
Jie Zhou Email: jiezhou68@ufl.edu
Projects involved: CKDu, Iron Metabolism, Exosome, NGS, Neurodegenerative disease
I’m a Postdoctoral Associate and a former Ph.D. student in Dr. Vulpe’s lab. I’m working on multiple projects, 1) discover pesticides and heat stress-induced kidney damage biomarkers in both human and rodent model system to understand the mechanism of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu); 2) assess brain iron accumulation in aged Hephaestin knockout mouse via MRI; 3) study the mechanism behind iron deficiency-induced hair loss in pups fed by Hephaestin knockout dams (“Mask” phenotype). Recently, I start a new project focus on environmental toxin-induced tau aggregation with a collaboration lab. From my research experience, I naturally developed a long-term interest in biomarker discovery and mechanism study of diseases. In the lab, I supervise undergraduate and visiting graduate students, as well as be in charge of animal colony management and IACUC protocol writing. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling and hosting dinner parties for friends!
Ph.D. Nutritional Sciences, University of Florida (2020)
M.S. Nutrition, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2013)
B.Eng. Food Science and Engineering, Nanchang University (2011)
