principle investigator

DR. ElizaBeth Duncan
elizabeth.duncan @uky.edu

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

Prince Verma - PhD Student
pve232 @uky.edu

Prince is from India and he has a B.Sc. in Biotechnology (Hons.) and a Masters in Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering from Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. After completing his Masters, he worked as a Junior Research Fellow at PGIMER, Chandigarh which is one of the most reputed hospitals in Northern India. Prince’s research interests include cancer biology, regeneration, and the role of signaling pathways in these processes.

Outside the lab, Prince loves to play any sport, particularly basketball, listen to music, watch movies, and try new food places.

Pallob Barai - Masters Student
pallob.barai @uky.edu

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.

research assistants

makayla dean - Lab Manager
mrde229 @uky.edu - CV

Hailing from small-town Ohio, Makayla received their B.S. in Biology with a minor in Creative Writing in December 2018 from the University of Kentucky. They've worn many different hats in several labs across campus, studying topics from museum specimen preparation to crayfish limb autotomy and regeneration. As the lab manager, Makayla's work in the lab focuses on growing and maintaining a healthy culture of worms, devising new tools and techniques to test the limits of the worms' regenerative capabilities, and ensuring the lab runs as smoothly as possible.

In their free time, Makayla enjoys book binding, crocheting tiny animals, and caring for their ever growing collection of tropical plants. They are also a mom to two chaotic cats and a curator of their own mini museum of natural history.

Courtney Waterbury - Bioinformatician
ckwa224 @uky.edu - CV

Courtney has a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Biophysics from Western Kentucky University, and an M.S. in Biology from the University of Kentucky. Courtney’s previous research experience includes landscape/population genetics in amphibians from her undergrad, and genome evolution/structure in lampreys from grad school. Courtney is a computational biologist and analyzes bioinformatic data for the lab. Courtney’s research interests are in understanding how genomes differ from species to species and the effects these differences can have on biological processes such as regeneration. 

Courtney enjoys UK basketball, playing soccer, dog park trips with their dog Hans, painting, and the Cleveland Browns.

undergraduates

Zach Baker
Andrea Frickman
Cameron McHargue
​Julia D'Orazio (summer student, Vassar College)

Lab Alumni

Research Assistants:
Katya Lundberg (currently pursuing a MS in Physician Assistant Studies at the University of Kentucky)

Undergraduate Researchers:
Whitney Combs
Cody Roberts