2020 Convocation: New Graduate Student Bios

Elshaimaa Ali, while a Fulbright scholar from Egypt, earned a master’s degree in
applied genomics at University of Connecticut and has a bachelor’s degree in molecular
biology from Alexandria University, Egypt. She most recently worked in a research lab
in the University of Connecticut’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences where they
in vivo and in vitro molecular epigenetics
studies. Elshaimaa is interested in epigenetics and how histone marks are important
not only for DNA folding, but also for how chromatin remodelers work. Her career
goals are to be a highly educated professor and researcher in the lab. In her free time,
to Arabic and English, she knows a little German, Spanish, French and Korean.
Lauren Duimstra earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of
Michigan and is excited to continue her academic journey. As part of her studies, she
participated in industry-sponsored, student-led research in materials science. This
research, though immensely educational, was not the research in which Lauren was
interested. For that reason, she changed course and decided to pursue the biomedical
sciences. This led her to Van Andel Institute, where she had the opportunity to intern
in the laboratory of Dr. Russell Jones. This opportunity was critical in narrowing down
Lauren’s research interests and led her to tailor her academic path. In pursuing a
graduate degree, she hopes to participate in the research that enhances the already
cleverly designed immunogenic and metabolic properties of the body to resolve health
issues related to both genetic and infectious illnesses.
Ellen Griggs most recently worked at VAI in the lab of Dr. Heidi Lempradl as a senior
research technician/lab manager. Ellen graduated from the University of Michigan in
2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree and has since been working in various research
environments. Before joining VAI, she had primarily been involved with large animal
projects; however, within the past year she has been re-introduced to the wet lab
setting. She recently led a project investigating genes associated with autism spectrum
disorder.
Lauren Harmon is a self-declared bioinformatics nerd! She earned a bachelor’s
degree in bioinformatics from Brigham Young University. Lauren has a passion for
research and participated in mentored research for all four years at BYU. Her research
bias to phylogenetics systematics. She also worked as a research intern for two
summers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. Lauren collaborated with
other researchers to analyze candidate genes that are involved in root microbiome
recruitment. She is excited to begin her studies at VAI in the fall and plans to study
neurodegenerative diseases using bioinformatics and statistics techniques. Her
long-term goal is to continue bioinformatics research in academia. When Lauren is not
doing research, she is most likely playing racquetball, hiking or experimenting with a
new recipe.