Lab Members

Brandon Bastien completed his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in the Hart lab in February 2024, where he worked on the defining the roles of multiple conserved synaptic adhesion genes in circuits known to mediate foraging behaviors in C. elegans. After completing a short post doc in the Hart lab, he joined the Thyme lab as a postdoc in November 2024 and is interested in investigating how conserved genes with links to human conditions with intellectual disability alter the brain and behavior. Outside of work, Brandon enjoys music, tv shows, football, and traveling.

Mary Shay Capps is a graduate of the UAB Genetics and Genomic Sciences BS program. Following her undergraduate degree, she joined the MS Program in Multidisciplinary Biomedical Science (MBS), working in the Thyme lab, and graduated in December 2021. She then joined the Thyme lab as a Researcher III and is now a graduate student in the lab as part of the GSBS program.

Ji Cheng received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in December 2023. He is fascinated by how gene regulatory networks (of various cell types) are affected in such disease states. Thus, he is developing tools to interrogate the genetic elements of zebrafish, which also benefit finding the cure for the diseases. After work, he enjoys cooking and baking. He also has expertise in skiing and weight-lifting.

Jessica Chrabasz graduated from Central Connecticut State University in May 2021 with a B.S. in Biomolecular Sciences. During her time at CCSU, she worked as an independent researcher in Dr. Daniel Chase’s laboratory studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms of dopamine signaling. Jessica started at UMass Chan in September 2021 as a Research Associate in Dr. Peter Pryciak’s laboratory studying the molecular mechanisms of signal transduction and cell cycle progression for three years before joining Dr. Summer Thyme’s laboratory in August 2024 as Research Associate II. In her free time, Jessica enjoys spending time with her cat, Jasper, and being outside in nature.

Learn more about Jessica in her department feature!

Cam graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2024 with a B.S. in Robotics Engineering. Their prior research in computer vision and swarm behaviors informs their work at the Thyme lab. Currently, they're developing a tracking software to evaluate zebrafish working memory. When not in the lab, they enjoy hiking, going to concerts, and trying to stay on top of their always growing list of books to read.

Graduate Student; GBS Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics Theme

B.S.: Missouri University of Science and Technology; Chemistry and Bioinformatics Minors

I joined the Thyme Lab in March, 2020. For my thesis project, I have developed a drug discovery algorithm to the Rosetta protein modeling suite and am working to validate the predictive accuracy of the algorithm. I have a mixed background in prior work, ranging from detecting environmental DNA from Missouri streams, writing algorithms to detect structural variants, and care and husbandry for dozens of arthropod species. 

Dylan earned is BSc in Genetics, with a minor in Mathematics, followed by an MSc in Genetics from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. For his Master's research, he explored how the protein complex cohesin influences cell fate determination, using zebrafish as a model system. His scientific interests lie in developmental biology and evolutionary genetics. When he's not in the lab, Dylan enjoyes playing sports, swimming in lakes and rivers, and exploring Massachusetts.

Jaqueline graduated in December 2022 with a B.S. in Neuroscience from UAB. Jaqueline is currently a graduate student in the lab as part of the GSBS program. She is interested in neurology and invertebrates and hopes to combine them in the future. She enjoys reading and going to spin classes and spends most of her time hanging with her two cats.

Ph.D.: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Roger Reeves’ lab
B.S., M.S.: The University of Alabama

Anna Moyer graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in September 2021. She is interested in gene-dosage effects in aneuploidy with a focus on how overexpression of chromosome 21 genes contributes to abnormal neurodevelopment in people with Down syndrome. She joined the Thyme lab in February 2022 and is currently exploring how misexpression of chromatin regulators affects Sonic hedgehog signaling. Her research interests are inspired by her brother Sam, who has Down syndrome, and she also maintains a website of visual recipes to teach basic cooking skills to people with intellectual disabilities. In her free time, you can find Anna knitting, drinking tea, and watching the Food Network with her cats, Matilda and Pierogi.