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Cell Biology News

Semi-Annual Notable News

Spring 2025

Faculty Promotions

Drs. Timothy Sampson and Matthew Rowan were promoted to Associate Professors of Cell Biology in the Emory School of Medicine effective September 1, 2025.

Matthew Rowan, PhD

The Rowan Lab is interested in cellular and molecular mechanisms in neurons which allow these incredibly diverse cells to perform the wide variety of signaling functions necessary for learning and cognition in mammals. We employ a multifaceted approach, including 2 photon optical imaging, molecular, electrophysiological, optogenetic, surgical, and modeling techniques.

Timothy Sampson, PhD

The Sampson Lab is broadly interested in understanding how indigenous gut bacteria impact neurological outcomes across health and disease. Their diverse group of researchers use gnotobiotic mouse models and molecular neuroscience to tease apart microbe- and gene- specific interactions that can modulate neurodegeneration (such as in models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases) and neurological recovery (such as following spinal cord injury). The Sampson lab is working to identify the cellular and physiological pathways in the gastrointestinal tract that microbes impact to generate beneficial and pathological signals in the brain. In addition, the lab team has a growing interest in better understanding why certain microbiome compositions arise in individuals with neurological disease. They are exploring how environmental toxicants, linked to numerous neurodegenerative diseases, interact with the microbiome to shift its composition and metabolic output in ways that may contribute to disease.

By harnessing dietary and probiotic approaches, the Sampson lab seeks to elucidate both molecular understanding of disease etiology initiating in the gut and identify new paradigms for the prevention and/or treatment of neurological illness.

Timothy Sampson

Honors and Awards

2025 Educator Appreciation Day

In celebration of Educator Appreciation Day, the Recognitions Committee at Emory School of Medicine sent out a call for nominations for educators across the school who go above and beyond the call of duty as teachers and mentors. Emory educators were nominated by their peers and colleagues for their passion and skills to educate, encourage and support scholars and learners across the university.

Edward Pettus, PhD Assistant Professor, Cell Biology

For over 15 years, Dr. Edward Pettus has provided outstanding leadership in education as Course Director of Human Anatomy in the Physician Assistant Program of Emory University School of Medicine. In this capacity, Dr. Pettus gives over ten lectures per year and over 70 contact hours of laboratory instruction.

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Maureen Powers, PhD Associate Professor, Cell Biology

Dr. Maureen Powers has served for ten years as Director, Discovery Phase of Emory School of Medicine Medical Curriculum. In this capacity, Dr. Powers has played a pivotal role in leadership and mentorship to medical students engaged in scholarly research.

Maureen Powers, PhD

Research Updates

Michael Deans, PhD

New Faculty Member

We are pleased to welcome Michael Deans, PhD, who joined us January 2025 as an Associate Professor of Cell Biology. Dr. Deans was previously an Associate Professor in Otolaryngology at the University of Utah. His new lab, located on the 5th floor of WBRB, will investigate developmental mechanisms guiding planar cell polarity, cellular morphogenesis and innervation essential for auditory and vestibular function.


Timothy Sampson

Sampson Lab

Dr. Timothy Sampson, Associate Professor in Cell Biology, was featured in Nature for his research that links gut bacteria to Parkinson’s Disease. The story discusses how growing evidence suggests a link between the debilitating neurological illness and the microbes that live in our intestines.

Nature article


three headshots, 2 male, one female

Emory URC Grant Recipients

Three faculty in Cell Biology have received Emory University Research Committee (URC) grants for 2025: Francisco (Paco) Alvarez, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair; Jie (Jay) Jiang, PhD, Associate Professor;  and Marie-Claude Perreault, PhD, Associate Professor.


Shashank Shekar

Shekhar Lab

Shashank Shekhar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Physics, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry at Emory University, published a paper in Nature Physics titled, “Cooperative hydrodynamics accompany multicellular-like colonial organization in the unicellular ciliate Stentor”. Their work uncovers novel insights into how physical forces shape the evolution of multicellularity and was featured in New York Times.

Dr. Shekhar was also named “Cell Scientist to Watch” by the Journal of Cell Science. The journal conducted an in-depth interview with Dr. Shekhar, highlighting his academic journey and his lab’s latest research.

Read Interview at Journal of Cell Science


Sandra Garraway

Garraway Lab

Sandra Garraway, PhD, Associate Professor of Cell Biology, and her lab published a paper, "TrkB Agonist (7,8-DHF)-Induced Responses in Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons Are Decreased after Spinal Cord Injury: Implication for Peripheral Pain Mechanisms," in eNeuro. 

Events

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Z. Josh Huang, PhD

Kun Lin Memorial Lecture 2025

Cell Biology hosted its fourth Kun Lin Memorial Lecture. Dr. Z. Josh Huang, Professor, Duke School of Medicine Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience, gave this year's talk on "Genetic Dissection of Cortical Neuron Type Trajectories: From Developmental Origin to Behavioral Function". Dr. Huang's lecture was hosted by the Bassell and Jiang labs.

Cell Biology began the Kun Lin Memorial Lecture in 2022 honoring the late graduate student Kun Lin.

Read More About Kun Lin




Trainees and Fellows

Nikki Boon and another female athlete with award 2025

Ward Lab

Nikki Boon
Graduate Student/PhD candidate - Neuroscience (NS) Program
Ward Lab

National Champion: Nikki Boon in the Ward Lab Made NCAA Division III History

Graduate student Nikki Boon from the Ward Lab made history on March 15, 2025 as she became the first-ever national champion in the indoor pentathlon in Emory University history as the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships got underway at the Golisano Fieldhouse in Rochester, New York.

Boon set a Division III national record as well as a championship meet record as she became the first woman ever at the Division III level to reach 4,000 points in the indoor pentathlon. Boon also became the second-ever Emory student-athlete to win an indoor national championship, joining Annika Urban who won the mile crown in 2023.


Temitope Adebambo, PhD

Lerit Lab

Temitope Adebambo, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Lerit Lab, was featured in The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News, for his work advancing neurodevelopmental research.


collage image of swimmer and Emory University logo and NCAA logo

Katz Lab

Liyang Sun, undergraduate researcher in the Katz Lab, headlined the final night of the NCAA Championships for the Emory University men's swimming and diving winning the third national title for the Eagles at the national meet in the 200-yard Breaststroke, March 2025.


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Graduate student Monica Reeves in the Katz lab received an F31 NRSA predoctoral fellowship from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and won Best Talk in Genomics and Gene Regulation at Emory's Division Student Advisory Council (DSAC) Research Symposium, March 2025.​