People
The research in our lab has been advanced through the efforts of a large group of colleagues, including talented technical staff, students, postdoctoral fellows, and collaborators. Some current and former members of our lab are noted below. If you are interested in joining the lab, please contact us.
Mark E. Hahn, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
Mark obtained his Ph.D. in toxicology in 1988 from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He came to WHOI in 1987 to conduct research in marine toxicology and the use of aquatic animal models for biomedical research.
Contact: mhahn@whoi.edu
Directory: http://www.whoi.edu/profile/mhahn/
Sibel I. Karchner, Ph.D.
Research Specialist
Sibel Karchner received her Ph.D. in biology in 1992 from Texas Tech University. She has been at WHOI and a member of Mark Hahn's team since 1993. Her main research interests are regulation of gene expression in environmental adaptation, and evolution of genes involved in the organismal response to environmental stressors.
Contact: skarchner@whoi.edu
Directory: http://www.whoi.edu/profile/skarchner/
Tessa Steiniche, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Investigator
Tessa obtained her Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2023 in Biological Anthropology. She started her postdoctoral work at WHOI in May 2024. She is investigating the evolution of ligand specificity of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR).
Contact: tessa.steiniche@whoi.edu
Chesna A. Mandl, B.S.
Research Assistant II
Chesna joined the Aluru-Hahn-Goldstone lab groups in October 2022. She received her B.S. in Biological Sciences in 2021 at University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Contact: chesna.mandl@whoi.edu
Mekia Bushell, B.S.
Ph.D. Student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography and Oceanographic Engineering
Mekia's research focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of phycotoxin effects on neurodevelopment. She is the recipient of an NSF Graduate Fellowship.
Contact: mekia.bushell@whoi.edu
Diana G. Franks
(Some of the) Former Members of Our Lab
- Bryan D. James, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University.
- Jordan Avery Pitt, Ph.D., Scientist, Exponent Inc.
- Kallen Sullivan, M.S., Res. Asst. II
- Diana G. Franks, B.S., Research Associate. Diana was a member of our research team from 1996 until her retirement in January 2022.
- Jennifer Martinez Panlilio, Ph.D., Health Science Policy Analyst, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
- Lilah Glazer, Ph.D., Marie Curie Fellow; Queen Mary University, London
- Alicia R. Timme-Laragy, Ph.D., Associate Professor, UMASS Amherst
- Matthew J. Jenny, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Alabama
- Neel Aluru, Ph.D., Associate Scientist, WHOI
- Larissa M. Williams, Ph.D. , Associate Professor, Bates College
- Rachel (Harbeitner) Clark, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, RealSeq Biosciences
- Kristina Deak, Ph.D., Senior Environmental Scientist at Southwest Florida Water Management District
- Wade Powell, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Kenyon College
- Connie Hart, Ph.D., Health Canada, Ottawa
- Sue Bello, Ph.D., Bioinformaticist, The Jackson Labs
- Eli Hesterman, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Health, Science, and Technology at Concordia University Chicago
- Brenda Jensen, Ph.D., Dean, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Hawai'i Pacific University
- Eun-Young Kim, Ph.D., Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
- Brad Evans, Ph.D., Mount Sinai School of Medicine
- Rebeka Merson, Ph.D., Professor, Biology Dept., Rhode Island College
- Ann Tarrant, Ph.D., Senior Scientist and Associate Dean, WHOI
- Maria Hansson, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Lund University, Sweden
- Joy Lapseritis, Ph.D. (U.S. Navy)
- Eric Montie, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of South Carolina Beaufort
- Kristen Whalen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Haverford College