Leadership

Ana Alonso headshot
Ana Alonso
Interim BDI Director
(940) 369-5229
Bio details
Mauricio Antunes
Mauricio Antunes
Interim Assistant BDI Director
940-369-5457
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Researchers

Ana Alonso headshot
Ana Alonso
Interim BDI Director
(940) 369-5229
Bio details
Mauricio Antunes
Mauricio Antunes
Interim Assistant BDI Director
940-369-5457
Bio details
UNT Eagle
Brian Ayre
Professor
940-565-2975
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Rajeev Azad
Rajeev Azad
Professor
940-369-5078
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Diana Berman
Diana Berman
Associate Professor - Materials Science & Engineering
940-891-6778
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Serdar Bozdag
Serdar Bozdag
Associate Professor
940-369-7581
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Clement Chan
Clement Chan
Assistant Professor
940-565-2154
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Kent Chapman
Kent Chapman
Regents Professor Biochemistry
940-565-2969
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Rebecca Dickstein
Rebecca Dickstein
Professor Emerita
940-565-3359
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Calvin Henard
Calvin Henard
Assistant Professor
940-565-3280
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Patrick Horn
Patrick Horn
Assistant Professor
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Lee Hughes
Lee Hughes
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies
940-565-2015
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UNT EagleAntonella Longo
Antonella Longo
Research Scientist II
940-369-7621
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Nan Lu photo
Nan Lu
Research Assistant Professor
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Roisin McGarry
Roisin McGarry
Research Associate Professor
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Brian Meckes
Brian Meckes
Assistant Professor
940-369-7223
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Jyoti Shah
Jyoti Shah
Chair - Department of Biological Science
940-565-3535
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Xiaoqiang Wang
Xiaoqiang Wang
Research Associate Professor
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Administrative Staff

Crystal Garrett-McEwen
Crystal Garrett-McEwen
Laboratory Facility Manager
940-565-2389
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Shelley Schaffer
Shelley Schaffer
Administrative Coordinator
940-565-2491
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Martha Frantz
Martha Frantz
Sr. Research Analyst/Budgets
940-565-2301
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Sam Cahill photo
Samara (Sam) Cahill
Proposal Manager
940-565-3469
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Facility Managers

Christophe Cocuron
Christophe Cocuron
Head of Bio-Analytical Facility
940-369-5233
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Gail Shadle
Gail Shadle
Greenhouse Manager
940-565-4598
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UNT Eagle
Minh Vu
Genomics Center Manager
9405652901
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Post Doctorals/Research Assistants/Visiting Researchers
Name
Title
Office
Email
LAB
Gaelle Antoine Postdoc LIFE B313 gaelleemilie.antoine@unt.edu Chapman
Nikita Bhatnagar Postdoc LIFE B426 nikita.bhatnagar@unt.edu Horn
Yingqi Cai Research Assistant Professor LIFE B428 yingqi.cai@unt.edu Chapman
Charlene Case Research Scientist/Lab Manager LIFE B425 charlene.case@unt.edu Chapman
Anil Girija Postdoc LIFE B423 anil.girija@unt.edu Shah
Athanas Guzha Postdoc LIFE B411 athanas.guzha@unt.edu Chapman
Chan Man Ha Postdoc LIFE B428 chanman.ha@unt.edu Chapman
Jessica Henard Research Assistant SRB 142 jessica.henard@unt.edu Henard
Emily Herrell Scientific Lab Technician LIFE B425 emily.herrell@unt.edu Chapman
Ashraful Islam  Postdoc LIFE B423 ashraful.ilam@unt.edu Shah
Rahul Kumar Postdoc DISC K160 rahul.kumar@unt.edu Chan
Ying Li Research Assistant SRB 105-A ying.li@unt.edu Chapman
Salim Makni Postdoc SRB 125 salim.makni@unt.edu Alonso
Nhu Nguyen Scientific Lab Technician DISC K160 nhu.nguyen@unt.edu Chan
Cagri Ozdemir Postdoc DISC F296 cagri.ozdemir@unt.edu Bozdag
Sanjeevan Rajendran Postdoc SRB 121 sanjeevan.rajendran@unt.edu Chapman
Abdul Rawoof Postdoc SRB 123 abdul.rawoof@unt.edu Alonso
Julius Ver Sagun Postdoc SRB 125 juliusver.sagun@unt.edu Alonso
Shamnukh Salimath Research Scientist I LIFE B413 shanmukh.salimath@unt.edu Chapman
Reena Sharma Postdoc LSC B326 reena.sharma@unt.edu Ayre
Elena Shulaev Research Coordinator LIFE B426 elena.shulaev@unt.edu Shah
Muhammed Talo Postdoc DISC F296 muhammed.talo@unt.edu Bozdag
Catherine White Research Assistant LIFE B313 catherine.white@unt.edu Wang
Yao Chuan Yu Postdoc SRB 132 yaochuan.yu@unt.edu Henard

 

 

Graduate Students
Name
Lab
Office
Email
Mohammad Al Olaimat Bozdag SRB 170 MohammadAlOlaimat@my.unt.edu
Mohammed Alatoum Shah LIFE B430 MohammadAlatoum@my.unt.edu
Lani Archer Shah LIFE B430 LaniArcher@my.unt.edu
Neha Goud Baddam Bozdag SRB 170 NehaGoudBaddam@my.unt.edu
Ahmad Bereimipour Azad LIFE A363 Ahmad.Bereimipour@my.unt.edu
Swapna Bodampati Antunes/Alonso   SwapnaBodampati@my.unt.edu
Carlos Bucio Horn LIFE B430 CarlosBucio@my.unt.edu
Anjita Budhathoki Chan DISC K160 AnijitaBudhathoki@my.unt.edu
Noah Cone  Hughes LIFE A224 NoahCone@my.unt.edu 
Tallon Coxe Azad LIFE A356 TallonCoxe@my.unt.edu
Layla Dale Henard SRB 142 layladale@my.unt.edu
Brandon Deeb  Horn LIFE B430 BrandonDeeb@my.unt.edu
Mani Dhakal Azad GAB 441 ManiDhakal@my.unt.edu
Jamie Dixson Azad LIFE A363 JamieDixson@my.unt.edu
Mohammad Eskandari Berman DISC E155 MohammadEskandari@my.unt.edu
Francis Eze Chapman SRB 170 Francis.Eze@unt.edu
Matthew Feragne Ayre LIFE B330 MatthewFeragne@my.unt.edu
Daniel Grinffiel Henard SRB 142 DanielGrinffiel@my.unt.edu
Adrian Heckart Alonso SRB 142 AdrianHeckart@my.unt.edu
Jesseca Hemminger Antunes SRB 142 Jesseca.Hemminger@unt.edu
Sameera Jayasundara Chapman SRB 170 Sameera.Jayasundara@unt.edu
Vincenzo Kennedy Chan DISC K160 Vincenzo.Kennedy@my.unt.edu
Md Amit Khan Bozdag DISC F296B MdAmitKhan@my.unt.edu
Jamie Kimbrell Horn LIFE B430 JamieKimbrell@my.unt.edu
Jordan King Horn LIFE B430 CodyKing3@my.unt.edu
Sahaj Kinshuk Chan DISC K160 Sahaj.Kinshuk@unt.edu
Ambarish Kumar Azad LIFE A363 AmbarishKumar@my.unt.edu
Jordan LaChance Alonso SRB 142 JordanLachance@my.unt.edu
Spencer Lee Henard SRB 143 SpencerLee@my.unt.edu
Drew Lessert Chan DISC K160 DrewLessert@my.unt.edu
Yen Tung Lin McGarry LIFE B330 Yen-TungLin@my.unt.edu
Ali Zayaan Macknojia Berman DISC E155 AliZayaanMacknojia@my.unt.edu
Jubair ibn Malik Bozdag SRB 170 JubairIbnMalikRifat@my.unt.edu
Nicholas Mercado   Hughes LIFE A224 NicholasMercado@my.unt.edu
Isha Mittal Shah LIFE B430 IshaMittal@my.unt.edu
Yusuf Mustapha Ayre LIFE B330 YusufMustapha@my.unt.edu
Sreemoye Nath Hughes LIFE A224 SreemoyeNath@my.unt.edu
Jasmine Nguyen Chan DISC K160 Jasmine.Nguyen@unt.edu
Sheikh Arafat Islam Nihad Shah LIFE B430 SheikhNihad@my.unt.edu
Khalil Omotosho Berman DISC E155 KhalilDolapoOmotosho@my.unt.edu
Suman Pandey Bozdag DISC F296 Suman.Pandey@unt.edu
Pijani Alipour Pijani Bozdag DISC F296 PijaniAlipourPijani@my.unt.edu
Most Tahmina Rahman Bozdag DISC F296 MostTahminaRahman@my.unt.edu
Amira Rasoul Alonso SRB 142 AmiraRasoul@my.unt.edu
Sydney Schoellhorn Henard SRB 170 SydneySchoellhorn@my.unt.edu
Danyang Shao Azad LIFE A363 DanyangShao@my.unt.edu
Md Shoyeb Antunes SRB 142 Md.Shoyeb@unt.edu
Sujan Shrestha Azad LIFE A357 SujanShrestha@my.unt.edu
Ahmad Sulaiman  Hughes LIFE A224 AhmadSulaiman@my.unt.edu
Zachary VanSaders Horn LIFE B430 ZachVansaders@my.unt.edu
Yashu Vashishath Bozdag SRB 170 YashuVashishath@my.unt.edu
Payton Whitehead Chapman LIFE B430 PaytonWhitehead@my.unt.edu

 

Advisory Board

The BioDiscovery Institute's Board of Advisors comprises industry leaders and internationally-recognized scholars. The institute works closely with its advisors for guidance in pursuit of research excellence, national funding and industry partnership opportunities. The board meets meet with the institute team on an annual basis, and interacts with individual institute members where possible. Board members, who serve three-year terms, may also participate in future public forums.

Board of Advisors members are:

  • Gregg T. Beckham (2024), Senior research fellow, -Chemical engineering; National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado (Co-Chair)
  • Pete Bowerman (2024), Global Trait Business Partner Manager - Sunflower, Cereals, Lentils; BASF Corporation (Co-Chair)
  • Maud Hinchee (2024), Chief Scientific Officer; Agricen Sciences
  • Sylesh Venkataraman (2024), Research Director; Lipotech USA (division of Lubrizol)
  • David Coorts (2024), Sr. Director of Agricultural Product Development, Integrity BioChem
  • Marilyn Wiley (2024), Dean, College of Business; University of North Texas
  • Maureen McCann (2026), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
  • John Ryals (2025), Founder, Chairman Emeritus and Board Member, Metabolon, Inc.
  • Dean DellaPenna (2026), Foundation and University Distinguished Professor, Michigan State University
  • Joan Wennstrom Bennett (2026), Distinguished Professor in Plant BIology, Rutgers University

Former Board Members:

  • Narendra Dahotre (2022), Center for Agile & Adaptive Additive Manufacturing
  • Toni Kutchan (2022), Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
  • Rob Last (2023), Barnett Rosenberg Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Plant Biology; Michigan State University - East Lansing
  • Jon McCarry, Executive Director (2023), Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation; University of North Texas
  • LeGrande Slaughter (2023), Professor, Chair Department of Chemistry; University of North Texas
  • Vijay Vaidyanathan (2023), Professor and Founding Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering; University of North Texas
  • Ken Keegstra (2023), Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Michigan State University - East Lansing. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences