Jinfang Li
Graduate Student

I came to Penn State University from north China in pursuit of a Ph.D in August of 2000. I completed my masters degree in basic medicinal research in China. For my masters degree, I focused on DNA vaccines for malaria. I am currently working on the malaria program, which is the major program in the Cui lab. My reasearch involves trying to understand the differential expression of a family of RNA Binding Proteins (RBPs) in malaria gametocytes. This is my first time in the United States and my life here at Penn State has adapted smoothly. When I am not in the lab, I like to attend activities to further adapt to American life.

Carlye Mascorro
Graduate Student

I graduated from New Mexic o State University with a B.S. in Animal Science and a minor in Entomology. I am working on a M.S. in Entomology. My interest in entomology stemmed from an undergraduate thesis project which focused on the ecology of Culicoides sonorensis and its role in the transmission of the Bluetongue virus to cattle. I plan to expand my knowledge of molecular biology techniques and the disease/virus, vector, and host triangle. I'm from the southwest where winter is defined by 60 degree weather, so I'm in for a big surprise when school is not cancelled for a snowy day.

Augustus Kesselly
Graduate Student

I was born in Monrovia, Liberia, which is located on the west coast of Africa. I received my bachelors in biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. I am molecularly characterizing a gene expressed in the gametocytes of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium falciparum is the major infectious agent of the mosquito vector. Malaria kills over one million people in Africa each year, with most victims being under the age of five. Being a native of the continent, I do have personal interests in the eradication of this deadly disease. Outside of the laboratory setting, I'm a huge sports fan with soccer being my favorite (remember born in Africa), and basketball as a distant second. I also follow politics around the world because I want to be a rounded individual.

Tony Pomicter
Research Technologist

I graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in August of 2002 with my bachelors in Biology:Developmental Biology and Genetics. My main tasks are to maintain the malaria cultures and to work on cloning and sequencing projects. I am also responsible for assisting the other lab members, general lab maintence, and maintaining this website.

Yi Hu
Graduate Student

I am molecularly characterizing a Plasmodium gene that has a known function in C. elegans.

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Past Members of the Cui Lab

Dr. Qi Fan
Post-doctoral Scholar

I arrived at Penn State in August of 2001 from the Dalian Institute of Biotechnology in China. My interests are using molecular tools to address questions related to entomology and parasitology. Currently, I am working on the improvement of methods to express malaria proteins in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems.(Qi returned to China, and his family, in January of 2004)

Dr. Michael Kariuki
Post-doctoral Scholar

I am a Kenyan national. I came over from Scotland after completing my studies at the University of Edinburgh. I am interested in gametocytogenesis in Plasmodium falciparum. Gametocytes are relatively metabolically inactive, a fact that renders many anti-malarial drugs ineffective. Although gametocytes do not directly cause any clinical symptoms in humans, they are responsible for the continued transmission of parasites from one vertebrate host to another via a complex sexual life cycle in the mosquito vector. The process of sexual differentiation and development therefore plays a central role in the life cycle of the human malaria parasite. My main focus of research is on analyzing the genes that are differentially expressed only in gametocytes with the hope of further understanding gametocyte metabolism. (Michael left in April of 2003 to pursue a position at Tufts University in Boston)

Dr. Kuijun Zhao
Visiting Scholar

I am a visiting scholar from the Northeast Agricultural University where I teach courses and do research on the biological control of insect pests. I am interested in insect pathology and using molecular biology tools to study insect-virus interactions. (Kuijun returned to China in February of 2003)

Brad Lovett
Graduate Student

My work in the Cui lab is divided between two projects. Firstly, I am involved in developing molecular tools to distinguish cecidomyiid gall midges in a cryptic species complex, which are affecting hot pepper crops in Jamaica. These gall midges have become a serious concern because they are of quarantine importance to the United States, a major trading partner of Jamaica. The taxonomic placement of these gall midges is uncertain, and I hope that molecular data will also support this placement based on previous morphological descriptions. The focus of my thesis research involves identifying patterns of gene flow in corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea, by characterizing the genetic structure of populations of this pest in the eastern United States. I am particularly interested in the resistance of H. zea to pyrethroid insecticides due to target-site insensitivity of the voltage gated sodium channel. I am coordinating my sampling efforts with an existing resistance monitoring program in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. Using these field-collected specimens, which have been bioassayed for cypermethrin resistance, I hope to identify the common mutations associated with the resistant phenotype in field populations as well as evaluate the effects of selection on the sodium channel gene.

Kim Rzomp
Research Technologist

I joined the Cui lab as a technician in June of 2000. In April of 2002, I left the Cui Lab to begin a Technician Position in a lab in the Microbiology/Immunology Department in the Vetrinary College at Cornell University.

Christy Pepple and Jenn Sommer
Undergraduate Students

Christy:I started in the Cui Lab as a WISER Student in January 2001. I am a Agricultural and Biological Engineering Major with a minor in Bioengineering. In the Cui Lab, I work on a Plasmodium vivax genotyping project and I also help out other lab members with their projects. In my spare time, I am in the pep band and I like to read, ski and play tennis.
Jenn:I started in the Cui Lab as a WISER Student in January 2001. I have worked on a Leismania Project as well as an Ascovirus project. Currently, I work on a Plasmodium vivax genotyping project. I am a Biology Major with a Genetics option with a minor in Astrobiology. I am in the orchestra and in my spare time I like to ski and read. My future plans include Optometry School.

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