Following the presentations, students were joined by their thesis advisors, who presented them with their Stowers lab coats. As each advisor introduced their new student, they offered words of encouragement and insight into the discoveries awaiting them. The annual event underscores the Graduate School's commitment to curiosity, critical thinking, and scientific rigor — principles that guide students as they begin their research journeys at the Institute.

Over the next few years, this new cohort of students will pursue questions that span several research areas, expanding their knowledge, and developing new skills in the process.

Read more about the students’ research and what they hope to accomplish in their new labs, below:

Yamiles Paredes Chiquini, Li Lab

Paredes Chiguini will study how the intestine maintains and repairs itself, asking whether different populations of intestinal stem cells play distinct roles in normal tissue upkeep and in regeneration after injury.

"There are resources and people willing to help at every step, which has been especially helpful for me as an international student adjusting to a new place and a new program.,".”

Jenny Duong, Pillai Lab

Jenny Duong is drawn to a more fundamental puzzle: how proteins evolve into the specific functions they perform, and what hidden rules govern how life reshapes molecules over time.

"How does a protein know how to fold? What pressures or criteria are required for a protein to change?"

Madison Mitchell, Zanders Lab

Madison Mitchell s investigating cytoplasmic, linear DNA elements — DNA found outside its usual home in the cell nucleus, where it can drive inflammation linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and aging.

"In the Zanders Lab, creativity and independence were fostered from the very beginning. I was encouraged to think outside of the box experimentally while still having access to help whenever I needed it."

Matt Gilley, Pillai Lab

Matt Gilley is exploring what happens when evolution takes a bigger risk than usual: building an entirely new protein from scratch rather than tinkering with one that already exists. He studies how this process unfolds in coronaviruses, which he described as unusually adept at inventing new proteins this way.

"This is the stage of the program where we begin to pursue our own questions and lead with curiosity."

Pritam Pathak, Kostova Lab

Pritam Pathak is investigating how cells detect and manage damaged ribosomes — the cell's protein-making machinery — and what goes wrong when those protective mechanisms fail. His interest took root during his master's work on post-transcriptional regulation, where he came to see the ribosome as the common thread linking transcription and translation.

"I hope to master not only the sophisticated techniques our lab offers, but also the human values that perhaps define a great scientist — rigor, ethics, rationality, resilience, and compassion."

Zixuan Ding, Sauka-Spengler Lab

Zixuan Ding studies how zebrafish embryo genes, long considered to be simple "activators," can also act as repressors. His thesis will trace how genes switch between those two roles and how that balance shapes the regulatory networks guiding a single cell into a complex organism.

"Tatjana as a mentor is also an important reason I chose this lab. She taught me everything and treated me as an early career scientist, always telling me, 'We can do anything you want.'"

These students were joined by classmates Catalina Diaz Ramirez (Zanders Lab), Erica Lin (Stern Lab), Grishma Mehta (Sauka-Spengler Lab), Laura Sancho Salazar (Kostova Lab), and Nino Zhuzhunadze (Pillai Lab), rounding out a cohort of eleven new Ph.D. students now settling into their thesis labs at the Institute.

The 2025–2026 Stowers Graduate School Class

• Catalina Diaz Ramirez, Zanders Lab
• Zixuan Ding, Sauka-Spengler Lab
• Jenny Duong, Pillai Lab
• Matthew Gilley, Pillai Lab
• Erica Lin, Stern Lab
• Grishma Mehta, Sauka-Spengler Lab
• Madison Mitchell, Zanders Lab
• Yamiles Paredes Chiquini, L. Li Lab
• Pritam Pathak, Kostova Lab
• Laura Sancho Salazar, Kostova Lab
• Nino Zhuzhunadze, Pillai Lab