Education

2023 - Present    Ph.D. Student in Computational & Systems Biology. Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.

2017 - 2021    B.A. in Biology: Microbiology. Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.

Research Experience

2021 - 2023    Laboratory Technician. PI: Dr. Lucia Strader. Department of Biology. Duke University. Durham, NC.

  • Cloned 70,000 Arabidopsis thaliana transcription factor fragments into inducible expression constructs to characterize activation domain sequences and structural motifs.

  • Built the Arabidopsis thaliana Activation Domain (ATAD) CLI Tool, allowing users to query a database of activation scores for nearly 1,900 Arabidopsis thaliana transcription factors.

  • Built the Arabidopsis thaliana Activation Domain (ATAD) Viewer, as a web app alternative to the ATAD CLI Tool.

2020-2021    Laboratory Technician. PI: Dr. Rebecca Bart. Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. St. Louis, MO.

  • Cloned host eIF4E susceptibility factors into inducible expression constructs to aid in the characterization of their roles in Cassava brown streak disease.

2020-2021    Undergraduate Research Fellow. PI: Dr. Chris Shaffer. Department of Biology. Washington University in St. Louis. St. Louis, MO.

  • Utilized the gene annotation workflow tool PECAAN to annotate the genome of Streptomyces phage Targaryen. Submitted to NCBI GenBank.

2019-2020    Undergraduate Research Fellow. PI: Dr. Ian Duncan. Department of Biology. Washington University in St. Louis. St. Louis, MO.

  • Cloned enhancer elements into inducible expression constructs to assess their potential modulation of E93 expression in Drosophila.

2018-2019    Undergraduate Research Fellow. PI: Dr. Sarah C. R. Elgin. Department of Biology. Washington University in St. Louis. St. Louis, MO.

  • Annotated Drosophila D and F element genes to utilize phylogenetic footprinting to search for gene regulatory motifs specific to heterochromatic F element genes.

  • Facilitated a large genetic screen identifying genes required for repeat-induced heterochromatin formation in Drosophila melanogaster.

2017-2018    Undergraduate Student. PI: Dr. Chris Shaffer. BIO 191 & 192. Department of Biology. Washington University in St. Louis. St. Louis, MO.

  • Isolated and purified the novel Streptomyces phage Circinus from St. Louis soil samples. Utilized the gene annotation workflow tool PECAAN to annotate its genome. Submitted to NCBI GenBank.

Authored Submissions

Streptomyces Phage Circinus, complete genome. Kwan, A., Miller, C., Herrmann, A., Tang, B.L., Shaffer, C.D., Weston-Hafer, K.A., Russell, D.A., Pope, W.H., Jacobs-Sera, D., Hendrix, R.W. and Hatfull, G.F.

Streptomyces Phage Targaryen, complete genome. Miller, C., Curnutt, N., McDermut, M., Hartigan, K.A., Mousa, M., Shaffer, C.D., Weston-Hafer, K.A., Garlena, R.A., Russell, D.A., Jacobs-Sera, D. and Hatfull, G.F.

Publications

Nicholas Morffy, Lisa Van den Broeck, Caelan Miller, Ryan Emenecker, John Bryant, Saloni Mahatma, R Wright, Alex Holehouse, Max Staller, Rosangela Sozzani. June 26 2023. Plant Activation Domain Identification. (Manuscript Submitted For Publication)

Poster Presentations

“Comparative Annotations of Transcription Start Sites on the Drosophila D and F Elements.” Alice Herrmann, Ariel Feng, Amy Kwan, Caelan Miller, Wilson Leung, Sarah C. R. Elgin. Presented at Fall 2018 Washington University in St. Louis Undergraduate Research Symposium

“Reconciliation and Analysis of Gene Models from the Drosophila eugracilis and Drosophila takahashii Muller D and F Elements.” Caelan Miller, Ariel Feng, Alice Herrmann, Amy Kwan, Muhammad Mousa, Mitchell Grinwald, Wilson Leung, Sarah C. R. Elgin. Presented at Fall 2018 Washington University in St. Louis Research Symposium

“Searching for Genes Responsible for Gene Silencing in Drosophila melanogaster.” Amy Kwan, Ariel Feng, Alice Herrmann, Caelan Miller, Gary Huang, Elena Gracheva, Sarah C. R. Elgin. Presented at Fall 2018 Washington University in St. Louis Undergraduate Research Symposium

“Isolation and Genome Characterization of Streptomyces Phage Circinus.” Alice Herrmann, Amy Kwan, Caelan Miller, Brandon Tang. Presented at Spring 2018 Washington University in St. Louis Undergraduate Research Symposium

Teaching Experience

Spring 2020    Teaching Assistant, BIO 192: Ampersand: Phage Hunters II, Washington University in St. Louis

Spring 2019    Teaching Assistant, BIO 2961: Collaborative Phage Bioinformatics, Washington University in St. Louis

Outreach & Service

2020-2021    Volunteer, Washington University in St. Louis Olin School of Business Annual Diversity & Inclusion Summit

2019-2020    Treasurer, Washington University in St. Louis Olin School of Business Annual Diversity & Inclusion Summit

2019-2020    Diversity & Inclusion Chair, Phi Gamma Nu (PGN), Professional Business Fraternity

2019-2020    Senior Board Member, The Minority Network, Washington University in St. Louis Student Union

2018-2020    Volunteer, StriveForCollege