Dr. Ian Andrew Williamson Principle Investigator
“My personal dietary journey and fascination with cell culture technologies motivate my research”
Ian Williamson grew up in Sunrise, Florida, part of the Miami metropolitan area. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he competed in athletics and trained in Dr. Scott Magness’s lab. He stayed in the Magness lab at UNC as a lab technician and later earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering developing organoid screening and co-culture technologies.
After graduate school, Dr. Williamson first joined the labs of John Rawls and Xiling Shen at Duke, as part of the Gastroenterology T32 training program led by Dr. Andrew Muir. He later joined the lab of Rodger Liddle, where he studied enteric involvement in neurodegenerative disease.
Emma Brickey, M.S.
Research Associate, Lab Manager
“It’s always a good day when I get to do cell culture”
Emma Brickey was born and raised in Virginia Beach, VA. She earned her bachelor’s degree at James Madison University, where her love of immunology began. She spent time working in dermatology before returning to graduate school at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, where she earned her Master of Science in Biology, with a concentration in Microbiology and Immunology.
During graduate school, she worked in Dr. Lisa Shollenberger’s lab, which studied the interactions between HIV vaccines and the parasitic helminth Schistosoma mansoni. She gained extensive experience in cell culture and cell-based assays, such as flow cytometry and ELISA. She joined Dr. Williamson’s lab in July 2024.
Megan Tarr, B.S.
PhD Student
“Life’s better with a little enzymatic action”
Megan Tarr is originally from Middletown, DE, and did her undergraduate degree up the road at the University of Delaware. She completed her Honors Bachelor’s Degree with Distinction in Biomedical Engineering in May 2025. Throughout her time there, she worked in Dr. Mark Blenner’s Cellular Engineering and Applied Synthetic Biology Lab within the Chemical Engineering Department. She contributed to discovering the plastic-degrading capabilities of the mealworm gut microbiome, advancing solutions in sustainability challenges related to climate change and pollution. Her senior year, she completed an honors thesis on elucidating a non-terminal, oxidative enzymatic cascade to deconstruct low-density polyethylene.
She joined Dr. Williamson’s lab in August 2025, and is excited to expand upon her prior knowledge of protein interactions and enzymatic pathways from mealworm microbiota to human small intestines. Megan has plenty of experience working with bacteria, but is eager to apply her skills with assays, PCR, and all things protein to mammalian cells! After her days at the lab, you can find her running, hiking, or finding a new cafe on campus.
Jazz Stephens, DVM, DACVP
PhD Student
“I swear, this is my last degree!”
Jazz Stephens was born and raised in Stone Mountain, GA. In 2018, she completed her Bachelors of Science degree at Agnes Scott College, with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry and German. She then got her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of George College of Veterinary Medicine, where she explored her interests in pathology and reserach through extended summer externships at UGA and Wake Forest.
After earning her DVM, she completed a dual appointed comparative anatomic pathology residency at NC State University and UNC-Chapel Hill, where she received training focusing on both typical domestic species and laboratory animals.
She joined the Williamson lab in January 2026 as a T32 appointed PhD student, and is excited to study in vitro human and mouse small intestine organoid models. When she’s not in the lab, you can find her in the gym, on her motorcycle, gardening, cooking, or maintaining her diamond status on Catan online.
Austen Berry, M.S.
PhD Student
“Is there any way I can fast-forward this incubation time?”
Austen Berry was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin and grew up in Granite Bay, California. After his family relocated to Raleigh, Austen attended and received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at North Carolina State University, where he also conducted undergraduate research in Dr. Kurt Marsden’s laboratory in the Department of Biological Sciences. After graduating summa cum laude in 2021, Austen worked for a year in the biopharmaceutical industry before beginning graduate school at the University of Virginia, where he received his Master of Science in Biological and Physical Sciences in 2024. In the Department of Cell Biology at UVA, Austen conducted his graduate research on epithelial cell-neuron communication in the lab of Dr. Gordon Laurie. This research included differentiating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into neurons for further study.
Austen joined Dr. Williamson’s lab in August of 2026 as a PhD student in the CBS program, where he is looking forward to pursuing his research interests in cellular signaling pathways and communication, protein biochemistry, and stem cells. Outside of the lab, Austen is a lifelong tennis player and can also be found spending time with his three cats (Arthur, Robert, and Cedric), biking, and trying new restaurants. He is also a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan and will gladly talk (or rant) about the team for hours.
Thy Nguyen, B.S.
PhD Student
Thy Nguyen is originally from Vietnam, and she came to the United States in 2022 as an international student at Arizona State University. In May 2025, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Data Science. During her undergraduate studies, Thy worked in Dr. Stephanopoulos’s Self-Assembling Biotechnology Lab, where she focused on DNA-based conditional therapeutic templates for drug delivery. She also spent her senior year in Dr. Cease’s Global Locust Initiative Lab, contributing to the understanding of blood metabolites in desert locusts.
After graduation, Thy worked as a medical laboratory technician for a year. She joined the Williamson lab in 2026, and is excited to study metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract using organoid models.
Outside the lab, Thy enjoys traveling, trying new foods, and cooking.
Suhana Chakravarty, B.S.
Masters Student
Suhana was born in White Plains, New York, but has lived most of her life in Cary, North Carolina. She joined the Williamson lab during the junior year of her undergraduate studies, during which she worked independently on her own project, characterising the gastric mucosa of Sox9-GFP mice.
She completed her undergraduate degree in May 2026, earning a B.S. in Biological Sciences from NC State University, with a concentration in Integrative Physiology and Neurobiology, and a minor in Biotechnology. Suhana continues to work in the Williamson lab as a Graduate Research Assistant, in the Master of Microbial Biotechnology (MMB) program at NC State.
Her interests include translational medicine, gene therapy, and neuroscience, as well as commercial strategy and market research analysis within the biotech industry. She is particularly drawn to research that connects fundamental biological mechanisms to engineered solutions and real-world clinical applications.
Outside of the lab, Suhana likes painting, going for long walks, and making caffeinated drinks for friends and family (but mainly herself).
Julia Yurkiv, B.S.
Masters Student
Julia Yurkiv was born in Raleigh, and raised in Wendell, North Carolina. She graduated from NC State in May 2026, earning a B.S. in Biochemistry with minors in Biotechnology and Microbiology. During her undergraduate studies, she conducted research under Dr. Trino Ascencio-Ibáñez, and investigated Geminiviruses by producing and identifying the Rep protein. Her initial research centered around quantifying the protein for NMR, before shifting to investigate the inhibition of small molecules and aptamers bound to Rep.
Julia joined the Williamson lab in August of 2026 as a Master’s student, in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Master’s Program (IBMP). She is excited to incorporate past laboratory skills, as well as gain a new understanding of data analysis and metabolic regulation.
In her free time, Julia enjoys reading, watching movies, and hosting board games with friends.
Our Undergrads
Liz Winterhalter, Undergraduate
Liz is a sophomore, majoring in Biomedical Engineering. She joined the Williamson lab in 2026 as part of the U-TEAM Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Her scientific interests include gut microbiome research, stem cell biology, and regenerative medicine. In her free time, she enjoys going to the gym, running, reading, and cheering on the Wolfpack!
Kallyna Mendoza, Undergraduate
Kallyna is a sophomore, majoring in Biology. She is interested in cell biology and pharmacology, and she loves to travel.
Alumni
Nicholas Rojas, B.S.
Nicholas graduated with a major in Microbiology and a minor in Genetics in December 2025. He joined the Williamson lab in 2024 as its first member, and now works for Labcorp.
Binh Duong, M.S., Research Associate and Animal Manager
Binh joined the Williamson in August 2024, specializing in cell culture, qPCR, western blotting, and mouse work. She played a crucial role in establishing the lab’s mouse colony, and developed a vast number of thorough protocols. After two years of incredible work in the Williamson lab, Binh left to move to Colorado with her husband. She now works at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine as a Research Associate.
