The College of Sciences launched its Young Alumni Board (CoSYAB) this fall. This volunteer-based leadership group is tasked with deepening the relationship between recent Yellow Jacket graduates and the College. Specifically, CoSYAB will partner with the existing External Advisory Board and Friends of the Sciences to engage the College of Sciences community and support its strategic plan. 

“With over 16,000 living College alumni, it is no small feat to regularly connect and engage with our community,” says Leslie Roberts, director of Alumni Relations at the College of Sciences. “It is exciting that the College has a new group of alumni leaders targeting our most recent graduates. The Board will help us expand our efforts to connect our current students with professional opportunities and link our alumni with initiatives that support the growth of the College.” 

The inaugural Young Alumni Board consists of 13 members who obtained an undergraduate degree from the College within the last 20 years or a master’s or Ph.D. degree from the College within the last 10 years. 

“The first cohort was chosen from a list of alumni who have previously engaged with the College or the Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Moving forward, there will be a nomination process,” explains Roberts. Among the board requirements, members must provide at least $300 in annual philanthropic contributions to the Dean’s Excellence Fund and participate in regular meetings. The members will serve a three-year term. 

Building community through philanthropy and service

CoSYAB members bring a range of academic experiences and professional perspectives — united by two goals: to build a dynamic community of College of Sciences alumni and to help create a bridge between current students and recent graduates. Service is another key element of the Board’s mission. 

“Joining the Young Alumni Board was a chance to give back to a community that deeply invested in me during my time at Georgia Tech,” says Austin Hope (B.S. PSY 2014), who serves as a people partner at Google. “I'm looking forward to mentoring students and recent graduates, especially those eager to explore how a science background can open doors to diverse and rewarding careers.”

Piper Rackley (B.S. BIO 2022, M.S. BIO 2023), who serves as a startup technology analyst, agrees: “Giving back is important because the College of Sciences played a significant role in my academic and personal growth during both of my degrees. Staying connected allows me to contribute to the same supportive environment that helped shape me.”

According to Roberts, the Board will prioritize opportunities for philanthropic engagement and professional development, as well as events during which alumni can connect with current students, faculty, and each other.

Yusuf Uddin (B.S. BIO 2012, Ph.D. BIO 2018), Head of Talent at KdT Ventures, joined CoSYAB to network with fellow alumni and bring his perspective to conversations about the future of the Institute. “Georgia Tech has a strong brand and is very well known for engineering, but if we want to strengthen the sciences, it’s important for College of Sciences alumni to share their experiences, build a community, and connect with the next generation,” he adds.

Likewise, for Kristel Topping (Ph.D. Applied Physiology 2021), principal UX researcher at Home Depot, the Board is an opportunity to support the mission and impact of Georgia Tech: “It is important to connect and give back to the Institute and our students, to empower the next generation of engineers and scientists to take their talent beyond Georgia Tech's walls in order to drive innovation, make meaningful contributions to their communities, and leverage the immense potential they have to create lasting and positive change across the globe.”

2024 College of Sciences Young Alumni Board

Sathya “Sat” Balachander
Ph.D. Biology 2018

Riana Burney
B.S. Biochemistry 2015

Stephen Crooke
Ph.D. Chemistry 2018

Ralph Cullen
B.S. Psychology 2008; M.S. Psychology 2011

Alison Graab
B.S. Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 2008

Austin Hope
B.S. Psychology 2014

Hannah Liu
M.S Bioinformatics 2017

Anita Mohammed
B.S. Psychology 2012

Piper Rackley
B.S. Biology 2022; M.S. Biology 2023

Kristel Topping  
Ph.D. Applied Physiology 2021 

Yusuf Uddin  
B.S. Biology 2012; Ph.D. Biology 2018  

Megen Wittling 
B.S. Biology 2018

Ashley Zuniga 
B.S. Biochemistry 2014

In South Florida, two Caribbean lizard species met for the first time. What followed provided some of the clearest evidence to date of evolution in action. 

Lead author James Stroud, an assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences, was studying Cuban brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) in South Florida when the Puerto Rican crested anole (Anolis cristatellus), suddenly appeared in the region.

Published in Nature Communications, the study documents what happens as the two Anolis lizards adapted in response to the new competitor, while helping to resolve a longstanding challenge in evolutionary biology — directly observing the role of natural selection in character displacement: how similar animals adapt in response to competition.

"Most of what we know about how animals change in response to this process comes from studying patterns that evolved long ago,” Stroud says. “This was a rare opportunity where we could watch evolution as it happened."

Competition from coexistence 

While these two small, brown lizards diverged evolutionarily between 40-60 million years ago and evolved on completely separate Caribbean islands, the two species are nearly identical, and fill similar ecological niches.

So, when the Puerto Rican crested anole suddenly appeared in Cuban brown anole habitat at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in 2018, the two were competing for similar habitats and food sources.

“When two similar species compete for the same resources, like food and territory, they often evolve differences that allow them to coexist,” Stroud says. But, while scientists have found many examples of similar species developing different traits to ease this overlap, “scientists have rarely been able to observe this process as it unfolds in nature.”

Stroud’s team had already been studying Cuban brown anoles at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Miami, Florida, two years prior to when the crested anoles invaded. The team was able to quickly pivot to observe how the invasion changed both species, analyzing the lizards’ changing diets, measuring if the lizards were moving through foliage or on the forest floor, and recording the different species’ locations relative to each other. For over a thousand lizards, they also measured perch height — the distance from the ground that the lizard is perching — a primary marker of how Anolis lizards divvy up habitat.

“We not only observed how these lizards changed their habitat use and behavior when they encountered each other,” says Stroud, “but we also documented the natural selection pressures driving their physical evolution in real-time."

Human-made habitats and natural experiments

The research team found that when these lizard species occur together, they divide up their habitat in predictable ways — the Cuban brown anole shifted to spend more time on the ground, and evolved longer legs to run faster in this habitat, while the slightly larger Cuban crested anole lived in vegetation above the ground. 

"We found that brown anoles with longer legs had higher survival after crested anoles showed up," says Stroud. "This matches perfectly with the physical differences we see in populations where these species have been living together for many generations."

Stroud adds that while the research provides some of the strongest observations of evolution in action to date, it also demonstrates how human activities can create natural experiments that help us understand fundamental evolutionary processes — both species of Anolis lizard in the study were originally non-native to South Florida.

“As species increasingly come into contact due to human-mediated introductions and climate change, these studies may be important for predicting how communities will respond,” he says. "By studying these non-native lizards who are meeting each other for the first time in their existence, we had a unique opportunity to see the actual process unfold and connect it to the patterns we observe in nature."

Kristine Lacek vividly remembers watching news coverage of the West Africa Ebola outbreak while she was in high school. Inspired by the brave scientists investigating the disease, she wrote one of her Georgia Tech application essays about her aspiration to work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and contribute to their mission of preventing, detecting, and responding to disease threats.

Less than 10 years later, her high school dream became a hectic, fast-paced — and fulfilling — reality. Armed with an accelerated bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in bioinformatics from Georgia Tech, the double Jacket started a fellowship at the CDC during a pivotal time in history — the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“It was sink or swim for sure,” says Lacek. “Knowing I was working on public health decision-making that could make a lifesaving difference worldwide showed me I had chosen the right path.”

Today, Lacek continues her drive to make a positive global impact as a bioinformatics scientist at the CDC, specializing in influenza and SARS-CoV-2 genomics. Her career has taken her around the world, with time spent in places like Ghana, Oman, Panama, Algeria, India, Thailand, and the Republic of Georgia. She currently lives in Denver, but will return to Georgia Tech to provide the graduation speech at the College of Sciences’ inaugural master’s commencement ceremony this December.

We recently sat down with Lacek to talk about her career and Georgia Tech experience:

What is your favorite memory from Georgia Tech?

Lacek: I always enjoyed the Georgia Tech nights at various Atlanta special event locations like the aquarium and Six Flags. When I was in grad school, the grad gala was held at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Halfway through the night, my then-boyfriend-and-now husband looked around and said we should get married here — and we did!

What were some of your college activities?

Lacek: I worked a lot to fund my way through school. I tutored at the Center for Academic Success and worked as an athletic training aid with the track and field team. I gained research experience in the Exercise Physiology Laboratory as an undergrad and in the Gibson Lab as a grad student. Each summer, I served as the teaching assistant for the Biomolecular Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST) Study Abroad Program in Lyon, France.

How did Georgia Tech prepare you for success?

Lacek: The mix of coursework in my undergraduate and graduate studies was ideal for my career. As an undergrad biology major, I learned key theories and scientific concepts that I still use daily. Studying bioinformatics in grad school, I refined my technical skills in coding, math, and computer science. My two skill sets work well together. Because I understand the molecular side of the interdisciplinary coin, I can better apply technical tools to get the answers I need from the data. 

What advice do you have for Georgia Tech students, particularly those looking for a career in bioinformatics?

Lacek: Being a fast learner is the best skill you can have, especially as technology continues to rapidly evolve. The things you are learning right now may not be the exact language or application you will use as a young professional, so the ability to learn new products, programs, and schema quickly will make you very valuable.

On the public health side of things, I think being a really good collaborator and communicator is quintessential for success. One of my biggest regrets is not learning another language. As someone who does a large amount of technical support for other countries and overseas partners, working well with others and good communication is vital.

How do you define bioinformatics? 

Lacek: To me, bioinformatics is like a triangle of biology, computer science, and mathematics/statistics. I’m kind of halfway between the biology and computer science side, focusing a lot on next generation sequencing. I use code and statistical applications to make global health predictions based on the data analytics available.

Tell us more about what you do.

Lacek: I do a lot of genomic surveillance, which is basically tracking and monitoring genetic material to detect new mutations and variants. Influenza, for example, circulates year-round worldwide, and we are constantly sequencing samples from all over the place to track what the virus currently looks like and project what will happen globally. At the same time, we're also monitoring for novel outbreaks, with a posture of pandemic preparedness so that if something new and scary pops up, we are already looking for it.

How are you making a difference in the world today?

Lacek: After the COVID-19 emergency response wound down, I moved my focus to influenza. Over the last two years I have been going around the world to train other ministries of health in bioinformatics and next generation sequencing to do what we do in the United States for respiratory virus surveillance.

I believe I've trained and supported scientists from 89 different countries. Because of this effort, we’ve detected some novel variants, such as a new swine flu in Vietnam. It’s thrilling to know that we are making a worldwide impact by helping countries who don’t always have the technical resources and informatics personnel we enjoy here in the U.S. 

What are your hobbies?

Lacek: I love to read; I read 106 books last year! I live in Denver, so of course, I enjoy hiking. I recently completed my first 14er (hiking a mountain peak that’s 14,000 feet above sea level). I also love to thrift, cook, and eat out!

The College of Sciences at Georgia Tech is proud to launch Science for Georgia’s Tomorrow, a new center focused on research that aims to improve life across the state of Georgia. 

“From resilient communities and agriculture, to health and sustainable energy resources, Science for Georgia's Tomorrow will focus on improving the lives of Georgians and their communities,” Dean Susan Lozier says.

An expansion of the College’s strategic plan, Science for Georgia's Tomorrow — Sci4GT, for short — will serve as a statewide fulcrum, fostering research in direct service to Georgia cities, counties, and communities.

The center specifically addresses critical health and climate challenges throughout Georgia, and aims to pave the way for increased public-private partnerships. The initiative will also expand access — broadening participation opportunities for Georgia students and communities to engage with research. 

The search for an inaugural faculty director has commenced, and will be followed by a dedicated cluster hire in 2025, funded by the Office of the Provost. Dean Lozier, who also serves as a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has reserved funds from the College of Sciences Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Dean’s Chair to initiate the center. 

People and planet

Selected from a pool of 17 faculty proposals, two dedicated faculty cluster hires will focus on improving the health of Georgians and Georgia’s communities — and the resilience of humans and ecosystems to current and anticipated climate change in the state. Appointments will be sought across the College’s six schools.

“These proposals address themes that are critically important right now for Georgia Tech research growth: sustainability and climate, along with health and well-being,” says Julia Kubanek, Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research at Georgia Tech and a professor in the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “This is an opportunity for Georgia to be a model for the nation on how to solve health disparities.”

“These new cluster hires will strengthen the College’s existing research programs,” Lozier adds. “They will also facilitate large collaborations across campus, and educate the next generation of scientists who will tackle these problems in Georgia and beyond.”

Rising Tide Program

An adjacent effort, the new College of Sciences Rising Tide Program, is selecting promising early-career scientists for a two-year virtual mentorship initiative.

The Rising Tide Program will work in tandem with the Sci4GT cluster hire, complementing the strong culture of mentorship in the College, while providing a pathway to support local research at the Institute. 

“Rising Tide aims to help the College recruit scientists with professional or lived experiences in the Southeast — or focused on research with particular relevance to the Southeast,” explains Rising Tide Director Alex Robel, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. “One of our key goals is to bring more faculty to Georgia Tech who can contribute to research and teaching that’s particularly relevant to communities in Georgia.”

“The reach of Georgia Tech is global,” Lozier adds. “Our fingerprints are on discoveries and innovations that benefit people and their communities around the world. As researchers at a leading public university in the state of Georgia, we are also cognizant of the responsibility and opportunity to focus our efforts more intently here at home.”

Sci4GT: Director search

The College has launched an internal leadership search for the Science for Georgia’s Tomorrow center, with an expected appointment to be announced in February 2025. The inaugural director will have the opportunity to shape the direction of this new initiative by:   

• Formulating a strategic plan for the center in partnership with interested parties across campus 
• Promoting synergies between faculty within the college, and elsewhere at Georgia Tech, whose work relates to the health of Georgia’s people, its ecosystems, and communities  
• Fostering collaborations with offices at Georgia Tech that focus on community, government, and industry engagement so as to develop meaningful external partnerships that will advance the work of this center  

All faculty who hold a majority appointment within the College of Sciences are eligible and encouraged to apply. Learn more and apply via InfoReady. 

Funding

Initial support for Sci4GT is generously provided by the College of Sciences Betsy Middleton and John Clark Sutherland Dean's Chair fund. Cluster hire funding has been awarded by Provost Steven W. McLaughlin. 

Sci4GT will also seek funding from state, national and international organizations, private foundations, and government agencies to expand impact. Philanthropic support will also be sought in the form of professorships, programmatic support for the center, and seed funding.

Georgia Tech researchers Meltem Alemdar, Heidi Turcotte, and Emily Weigel have received a National Science Foundation grant to develop the Research Experiences for Pre-Service Teachers program. This initiative, supported by funding from NSF’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, aims to enhance STEM training for pre-service teachers through immersive summer research experiences. The project is one of four funded by a new partnership between NSF and the Micron Foundation, aimed at advancing STEM education training for both pre-service and in-service teachers. 

Weigel, a senior academic professional in the College of Sciences, plays a critical role in the new project. As the internship director within the School of Biological Sciences, she has extensive experience placing and evaluating biology undergraduate students in internships. Weigel's work in the grant focuses on providing authentic scientific experiences to pre-service teachers, helping them to effectively teach STEM practices and enhance their teaching capabilities through hands-on learning.

The partnership program will recruit up to 30 pre-service teachers and pair them with researchers and mentors for six-week summer internships at Georgia Tech. The program aims to build a strong STEM foundation for future educators, ensuring they become effective teachers from the start.

The research team has secured support for internship placements in several Georgia Tech labs for the summer 2025 pilot including with Weigel and William Ratcliff, associate professor and co-director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences . 

Read the full story in the College of Lifetime Learning newsroom.

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Summary aided by Microsoft Copilot.

A multi-institutional team of researchers, led by Georgia Tech’s Francesca Storici, has discovered a previously unknown role for RNA. Their insights could lead to improved treatments for diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative disorders while changing our understanding of genetic health and evolution.

RNA molecules are best known as protein production messengers. They carry genetic instructions from DNA to ribosomes — the factories inside cells that turn amino acids into the proteins necessary for many cell functions. But Storici’s team found that RNA can also help cells repair a severe form of DNA damage called a double-strand break, or DSB.

A DSB means both strands of the DNA helix have been severed. Cells have the tools to make some repairs, but a DSB is significant damage — and if not properly fixed can lead to mutations, cell death, or cancer. (Interestingly, cancer treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation, can cause DSBs.) 

Storici, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences, has dedicated her research to studying the molecules and mechanisms underlying damaged DNA repairs. Ten years ago, she and collaborators discovered that RNA could serve as a template for DSB repair.

“Now we’ve learned that RNA can directly promote DSB repair mechanisms,” said Storici, whose lab teamed with mathematics experts in the lab of Nataša Jonoska from the University of South Florida. They’re all part of the Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology based at Georgia Tech. They explain their discovery in the journal Nature Communications.

“These findings open up a new understanding of RNA's potential role in maintaining genome integrity and driving evolutionary changes,” added Storici.

The researchers used variation-distance graphs to visualize millions of DSB repair events, offering a comprehensive snapshot of sequence variations. The graphs highlighted major differences in repair patterns, depending on the DSB position. 

This mathematical approach also uncovered significant differences in repair efficiency, pointing to RNA's potential in modulating DSB repair outcomes.

“These findings underscore the critical role of mathematical visualization in understanding complex biological mechanisms and could pave the way for targeted interventions in genome stability and therapeutic research,” said Jonoska.

Molecular Grunt Work

When a DSB happens in DNA, it’s like a load-bearing beam in a building breaking. A careful, precise repair is needed to ensure the building’s — or the DNA’s — stability. The pieces must be rejoined accurately to prevent further damage or mutation. Repairing a damaged building requires having a reliable foreman on the job site. A DSB requires something very similar.

“A key mechanism we identified is that RNA can help position and hold the broken DNA ends in place, facilitating the repair process,” explained Storici, whose team conducted the research in both human and yeast cells. 

Specifically, they found that RNA molecules and the broken section of DNA can match up like puzzle pieces. When RNA has this kind of complementarity with the DNA break site, it acts as a scaffold, or a guide, beyond its traditional coding function, showing the cellular machinery where to make repairs. Over millennia, cells have evolved complex mechanisms to fix DSB, each of them functioning like different tools from the same toolbox. 

Storici’s team showed that RNA can influence which tools are used, depending on its complementarity to the broken DNA strands. This means that in addition to being the important protein production messenger, RNA acts as both a foreman and laborer when it comes to DNA repair. 

A deeper understanding of RNA’s role in DNA repair could lead to new strategies for strengthening repair mechanisms in healthy cells, potentially reducing the harmful effects of treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. 

“RNA has a much broader function than we knew,” Storici said. “We still have a lot of research to do into these mechanisms, but this work opens up new ways for exploring how RNA could be harnessed in healthcare, potentially leading to new treatments for cancer and other genetic diseases.”

As Storici and other researchers continue probing RNA’s effects in DNA repair, their revelations could have a lasting impact on human health and evolution. That means better gene therapies, new cancer treatments and anti-aging strategies — and also the ability to influence how organisms adapt and evolve. 

CITATION: Youngkyu Jeon, Yilin Lu, Margherita Maria Ferrari, Tejasvi Channagiri, Penghao Xu, Chance Meers, Yiqi Zhang, Sathya Balachander, Vivian S. Park, Stefania Marsili, Zachary F. Pursell, Nataša Jonoska, Francesca Storici. “RNA-mediated double-strand break repair by end-joining mechanisms.” Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51457-9

FUNDING: NIH grants GM115927, ES028271; NSF grant MCB-1615335; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholar grant 55108574; Southeast Center for Mathematics and Biology NSF DMS-1764406; Simons Foundation grant 59459; NSF grants CCF-2107267 and DMS-2054321.

Three College of Sciences students with aspirations of making a difference in medicine were selected as recipients of the prestigious Stamps President’s Scholarship. Though this scholarship is typically given to 40 exceptional incoming first-year students, a select few second- and third-year students are chosen to receive the honor for exemplifying the program’s pillars of scholarship, leadership, progress, and service.

The new Scholars include School of Biological Sciences/School of Modern Languages student Sonali Kaluri, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry student Seth Kinoshita, and School of Biological Sciences student Medina McCowin.

As part of the program, the selected students will receive a full-ride scholarship, special mentoring, and travel opportunities.

About the Scholars

Sonali Kaluri is a third-year student double majoring in biology and applied languages and intercultural studies (with a concentration in Spanish). Deeply passionate about women's health, she has researched clinical considerations of treating liver disease in pregnant women and the impact of a virtual lactation program on maternal and infant health outcomes at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. In her spare time, she volunteers at the Winship Cancer Institute and the March of Dimes and is a member of the Yellow Jacket Fencing Club.

“I hope to attend medical school and pursue a career in academic medicine after graduation from Georgia Tech,” says Kaluri. “My research experience has made me acutely aware of the gaps in medical knowledge regarding the different ways disease processes affect women, and I hope to become an advocate for change through research and clinical practice!”

Seth Kinoshita is a third-year biochemistry major with a minor in health and medical sciences. As an undergraduate research assistant with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, he focuses on a novel drug delivery structure that can be surgically inserted to decrease recovery time and minimize invasiveness for tendon injuries. His work has been published in several academic journals. He serves as an undergraduate research ambassador and a pre-health mentor — and spends his free time with Sympathetic Vibrations, Georgia Tech's male a cappella group. Kinoshita also works as the medical coordinator for Aurora Day Camp, a camp for children with cancer and their siblings.

"After graduation, I want to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in regenerative orthopedic medicine to bridge my tendon repair research with direct implementation into patients,” says Kinoshita. “I aim to develop innovative treatments that can restore mobility in the extremities and improve the quality of life for patients with musculoskeletal disorders."

Medina McCowin is a third-year biology major researching cancer treatment methods in the Sulchek BioMEMS and Biomechanics Lab. She also worked for Lachance Laboratories as an undergraduate researcher, investigating cancer genetics. Active on campus, she is the biology representative for the Georgia Tech Undergraduate House of Representatives and president of the Georgia Tech Public Health Student Association. McCowin has also held several leadership roles with the Georgia Tech American Medical Student Association.

“In the future, I hope to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. and become a pediatric oncologist and cancer treatment researcher, focusing on improving pediatric cancer treatments,” says McCowin. “Working in the healthcare field and experiencing personal loss has taught me that empathy and compassion are the most important factors in becoming a doctor. As a doctor, I want to contribute to the advancements of pediatric medicine, but also be dedicated to improving the emotional and mental well-being of my patients and their families.”