Dr. Kim Tremblay, PI
A.B. Smith College 1992
Ph.D. University of Pennslvania 1998:
– Trained with Dr. Marisa Bartolomei
PostDoctoral training:
– Elizabeth Robertson’s lab (Harvard University 2001).
– Ken Zaret’s lab (Fox Chase Cancer Center 2004).
.
Lab Members
Ana Clara Viana, PhD Student
Ana received her bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Federal University of Ceará, Brazil and master’s in Veterinary Sciences from State University of Ceará, Brazil. She is a second-year PhD student in the Animal Biotechnology and Molecular Biology program and studies the mechanisms involved in liver development in mice, such as cell populations that contribute to hepatic formation and also the main transcripts associated.
Taylor Guertin, PhD Student
Taylor started in the Tremblay lab as an undergraduate and completed an honors thesis aimed at defining a role for retinoic acid signaling during early liver development. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB) in the spring of 2019 Taylor stayed as a master’s student in the molecular and cellular biology (MCB) program before transitioning into the PhD program at the start of 2022. Taylor has worked on the Knockout Mouse Project and investigated novel organogenesis-lethal knockout mouse lines with a focus on resulting placental defects. Currently as a part of her dissertation, Taylor is assessing the role of FGF signaling in vivo during early liver development and more broadly elucidating the under-appreciated heterogeneity that supports these initial stages of development. As a part of a new adventure, Taylor is eager to use her bachelor’s in BMB to apply biochemical methods and principles to the study of developmental biology as she studies the role of N-linked glycosylation and proper ER homeostasis during placental morphogenesis.
Following the completion of her PhD, Taylor is interested in pursuing a career as an academic researcher studying the placenta to further understand the underlying etiology of severe pregnancy complications such as recurrent miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, and intrauterine growth restriction of the fetus.
When not in the lab, she can usually be found either at the rock climbing gym or outside training for the next half-marathon/ triathlon.
Chip Sisson, Research Assistant / Lab Manager
Chip is a research assistant and lab manager for the Tremblay Lab. He graduated from Smith College in 2016 with a degree in Biological Sciences. Since then he has dabbled in a number of research topics, including tracking seasonal populations of protists belonging to the SAR (Stramenopila, Alveolata, Rhizaria) clade in a Massachusetts vernal pool. Beginning his career at UMass Amherst in 2017, he investigated the relationship between heart disease and circadian rhythms in hamsters that lack the circadian regulatory gene Cryptochrome 1, which shortens the hamsters’ endogenous period and results in a seeming resistance to jet-lag. Most recently, Chip joined the Tremblay Lab to work on the international Knock-out Mouse Project (KOMP), where he hopes to broaden his understanding of developmental biology and genetics.
Emily Pease, Undergraduate Researcher
Emily is a senior biochemistry and molecular biology major and honors student in the Tremblay lab. After transferring to UMass Amherst for her sophomore year, she joined the lab in 2022 to work on the Knock-out Mouse Project (KOMP), studying the role of iron metabolism during embryonic development and adult liver maintenance. Continuing her work from KOMP, Emily’s honors thesis will investigate embryonic-lethal metabolic defects impacting chorioallantoic fusion and the developing circulatory system. After graduation, Emily is interested in pursuing a career in pathology research with a focus on neurological and circulatory inflammation. Outside of lab, she is an active member of the UMass Marching Band and can often be found hiking the Seven Sisters or caring for her many plants.