The Franks' lab is one big family. In between qRT PCRs and Yeast 2 Hybrids, we enjoy casual conversations and the occasional lab lunch party.

Email: rgfranks@ncsu.edu
Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Biology from Tufts University - 1986
• Doctor of Philosophy in Neuroscience from University of California at Los Angeles - 1994
• Postdoctoral Research in Molecular Genetics of Floral Development at University of Maryland - 1998-2001
• Postdoctoral Research in Molecular Genetics of Floral Development at University of California at Berkeley - 2001-2003

I got my Ph.D. with Steve Crews from the Interdepartmental Program for Neuroscience at UCLA. I then did postdoctoral work with Zhongchi Liu at the University of Maryland, College Park and with Bob Fischer at UC Berkeley. See Research for more information.

Email: sazhaka@ncsu.edu
Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Botany from University of Madras at Chrompet, India - 1995
• Master of Science in Botany from University of Madras at Tambaram, India - 2000

I received my masters degree in Botany from The University of Madras, Tambaram, Chennai, India. I am presently the lab In Situ Hybridization expert. In general, I am involved in genotyping mutant lines, sequencing, cloning, in situ hybridization, and maintenance of plants in the growth chanber. Additional responsibilities include general laboratory maintenance, ordering supplies, and technical and safety training to collaborators and graduate students affiliated with the laboratory.

Email: fbao@ncsu.edu
Education:

• Bachelor of Arts in in Forestry from Northwest Forest College in Shaanxi, China - 1994
• Master of Science in Biochemistry from Beijing Normal University in Beijing, China - 1997
• Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China - 2002
• Doing Postdoctoral Research in Molecular Genetics of Floral Development at University of California at Riverside - 2002-2004
• Doing Postdoctoral Research in Molecular Genetics of Floral Development at North Carolina State University - 2005-Ongoing

I received my Ph.D. working with Dr. Jia-Yang Li at the Institute of Genetics and Development at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I have also done postdoctoral work with Dr. Zhenbiao Yang at the University of California, Riverside. I am currently working on functionaly analizing the SEUSS-LIKE genes, screening for suppressors of aintegumenta mutants (Saint), and mapping of the Saint 49 gene.

Email: snolewi@ncsu.edu
Education:

• Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Indiana University Southeast - 1998
• Doctor of Philosophy in Biology from University of South Carolina at Columbia - 2004
• Doing Postdoctoral Research in Molecular Genetics of Floral Development at North Carolina State University - 2005-Ongoing

I have been studying the functional relationship of AINTEGUMENTA (ANT)and REVOLUTA (REV) during the development of the female reproductive structure, the gynoecium, in Arabidopsis thaliana. These transcription factors play important roles during Arabidopsis development, however their relationship during lateral organ growth(including the gynoecium) has not been established. This project has been funded through a postdoctoral award from the United States Department of Argriculture, CSREES NRI competitive grants program.

Email: anwynn2@ncsu.edu
Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Natural Science from McMurry University - 2004 - graduated summa cum laude
• Master of Science in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Texas A&M University - 2006
• Earning Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics from North Carolina State University - 2008-Ongoing

I am a Genetics Graduate Student working on identifying further SEU, SLK, and LUG protein interaction in Arabidopsis thaliana. In Arabidopsis thaliana, AGAMOUS (AG) gene expression is required for proper development of floral origin identity. Previous studies have identified a host of other proteins that interact in a complex with AG. SEUSS (SEU), a transcriptional adaptor, physically interacts with LEUNIG (LUG) to repress AG expression. In addition, SEUSS-LIKE (SLK) proteins have been found that show functional redundancy with SEU, but it has not been established that they physically bind to LUG. Through the use of yeast-two-hybrid experiments interactions between different full length proteins and smallest interaction domains are being assayed for interactions with SLK1, SEU, and LUG. The biological significance of these interactions are being examined through the use of single, double, and triple mutant plants with SEU and SLK1.

Email: nabihlme@ncsu.edu
Education:

• Earning Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from North Carolina State University - 2007-Ongoing

I am current working on proving the hypothesis that the proteins SEUSS, SEUSS-LIKE 1, SEUSS-LIKE 2, LEUNIG, and AINTEGUMENTA are part of a multimeric complex that represses the gene AGAMOUS in Arabidopsis using in vitro protein techniques.

Email: cfeng@ncsu.edu
Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Biological Science from Fudan University at Shanghai, China - 2005
• Earning Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Biology from North Carolina State University - 2005-Ongoing

My current research involves two areas. First, evolution of developmental mechanisms of inflorescence diversity in the dogwood genus (Cornus). This genus contains four major lineages that are divergent in inflorescence architectures, from large compound cymes with rudimentary bracts to umbellate cymes subtended by modified, non-petaloid bracts, heads subtended by large petaloid bracts, and reduced compound cymes (appearing to be a dichasium) subtended by petaloid bracts. Through detailed SEM and histological analysis, I characterize and compare the inflorescence developmental pathways and examine the expression of key candidate genes involving in inflorescence development and bract petaloidy including LFY,PI, and AP3 using in-situ hybridization With both morphological and molecular date, we are hoping to uncover the developmental and molecular basis underlying the evolution of inflorescence architecture in dogwoods. Second, developing an effective regeneration and transformation system for Cornus canadensis to permit future direct validation of candidate gene functions.