Journal Club Panelists

The PNAS Journal Club blog features short news stories about recently published journal articles. Journal Club Panelists, who are postdocs and graduate students affiliated with the labs of National Academy of Sciences members, scan the literature and recommend important, timely articles from their respective fields. These early-career scientists hail from an array of fields and institutions. PNAS appreciates their time and their contributions. See more about their affiliations and areas of study below.

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Reid Alderson

Banting Postdoctoral Fellow in Lewis Kay’s laboratory at the University of Toronto.

Reid studies protein structure and dynamics by NMR spectroscopy.

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Marco Burger

Senior Research Associate at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, in the lab of Joanne Chory.

Marco studies the structural basis of strigolactone perception in plants.

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Giullia Elli

Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan, working in Susan Gelman's lab.

Giullia studies concepts and language in children and adults.

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Laura Elsler

Research consultant in the lab of Mary Wisz for the World Maritime University, a specialized agency of the United Nations, and postdoc with SES-Link Lab at the Stockholm Resilience Centre in the lab of Maja Schlüter.

Laura uses social–ecological models to advance insights on sustainability in the Anthropocene.

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Tom Gartner

Postdoc in the Chemistry in Solution and at Interfaces Center in the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University, working with Pablo Debenedetti and Athanassios Panagiotopoulos.

Tom uses advanced molecular simulation techniques to better understand the properties of water.

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Rowan Karwas

Postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis, working in the lab of Thor Theunissen.

Rowan studies a model of the human placenta derived from stem cells.

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Paul Kirchberger

Postdoctoral researcher at University of Texas at Austin, Howard Ochman Lab.

Paul studies the biology of microviruses.

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Morgan Linney

Graduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, working in the lab of David Karl.

Morgan studies the microbial sources and dynamics of exocellular "free" DNA in the open ocean and the implications for dissolved organic matter cycling and export.

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Jennifer McKey

Postdoc in the lab of Blanche Capel, in the department of cell biology at Duke University Medical Center.

Jennifer focuses on the fetal morphogenesis of the mammalian ovary and the establishment of adult female fertility.

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Kaedan O'Brien

Second-year PhD student at the University of Utah working in the lab of J. Tyler Faith.

Kaedan studies migration and paleoecology of Quaternary mammals in Kenya.

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Matthew Phillips

PhD candidate at the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh.

Matthew studies NMDA receptor physiology in the laboratory of Jon Johnson, focusing primarily on NMDA receptor channel block and gating.

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Laura Pritschet

Graduate student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, working in the lab of Emily Jacobs.

Laura studies the role sex steroid hormones play in shaping human brain function.

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Ryan Raut

Neuroscience PhD student, Washington University in St. Louis, in the lab of Marcus Raichle.

Ryan uses neuroimaging to study the internal dynamics that continuously support global brain function.

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Fernando Santos

Postdoc at Princeton University, working in the lab of Simon Levin.

Fernando studies collective dynamics among humans, artificial agents, and other complex systems.

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Rachel Shahan

Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University in the lab of Philip Benfey.

Rachel uses single cell transcriptomics to study gene regulatory networks underlying cell differentiation in the Arabidopsis root.

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Harini Sooryanarain

Research scientist at Virginia Tech, working in X. J. Meng’s lab.

Harini focuses on the role of innate immune response during Hepatitis E virus infection.

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Fumiya Uchikoshi

PhD student at the Department of Sociology and Office of Population Research, Princeton University.

Fumiya’s primary research interests are in family demography and social stratification.

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Sam Wellington

Postdoc with Pete Greenberg at the University of Washington.

Sam studies communication and cooperation in bacterial communities.

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Susan Wopat

Graduate student working at the lab of Michel Bagnat at Duke University.

Susan investigates mechanisms of notochord and spine development in zebrafish.

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Gül Zerze

Postdoc at Princeton working with Pablo Debenedetti.

Gül studies biologically relevant phenomena via molecular simulations.