principle investigator

DR. ElizaBeth Duncan

Beth graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in English literature. She then worked as a research assistant in the laboratory of Jan Breslow, MD (The Rockefeller University) where she studied the genetic basis of cholesterol absorption.

​After enrolling in The Rockefeller University graduate program, Beth earned a Ph.D. in Chromatin Biology & Epigenetics with C. David Allis, Ph.D. She was a Damon Runyon postdoctoral fellow with Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, Ph.D at the University of Utah and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. Beth is now an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Kentucky.

graduate students

Pallob Barai

Pallob has a very curious mind and he is fascinated in the field of biological research. He is from Khulna, Bangladesh. He graduated from Khulna University majoring in Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering. He also worked there as a research assistant in field of microbiology. Because of his interest in field of regenerative biology, he is now in Dr. Duncan’s lab.

He is a master’s student here at University of Kentucky and doing research on planarian regeneration at Dr. Duncan’s lab. He is studying the planarian epidermis regeneration and stem cell variations as well as their roles in planarian epidermis regeneration.

Prince Verma

Bio coming soon!

research assistants

makayla dean

Hailing from small-town Ohio, Makayla received her B.S. in Biology this past December from the University of Kentucky. She's worn many different hats in several labs across campus, studying topics from museum specimen preparation to crayfish limb autotomy and regeneration. When she grows up, Makayla would love to end up in a profession that lets her work closely with animals and gives her an excuse to get her hands dirty every once in a while.

Her work in the Duncan lab focuses on maintaining the worms and creating new aquarium setups to optimize their care. In her free time, she enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons, hiking and camping, and not reading as much as she should. She is also a mom to a beautiful disaster of a cat and a curator of her own mini museum of natural history.

katya lundberg

Katya has a passion for learning. After receiving a BA in Math (Colby ‘08) and working in insurance and hospitality, she decided to feed her intellectual curiosity and take a plethora of science coursework. This led her to join the lab of Dr. Duncan. Her research interests include the mechanisms of epigenetic control on stem cell differentiation as well as the effects of chemotherapeutic agents on stem cells.

On the personal side, woodworking, piano, park walks with her dog Frank, cooking (eating!), reading and maintaining an overly extensive plant collection for apartment life occupy her in her free time.

undergraduates

Julia D'Orazio - Regenerative differences between S. mediterranea and G. guanajuatiensis
Andrea Frickman - The role of cilia in congenital heart disease and cardiac defects
Cody Roberts - Regenerative capacities of G. guanajuatiensis

Lab Alumni

Undergraduate Researchers:

Whitney Combs
Zach Baker