Meet the Team
Gunther Hollopeter did his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, and began his research career there with Richard Palmiter, studying the neuronal basis of appetite control in mice. For his graduate work, he entered the neuroscience program at the University of California, San Francisco and joined the lab of David Julius, where he isolated the target of the clot-busting drug Plavix. For his postdoctoral training, Gunther moved to the University of Utah to learn the awesome power of C. elegans in the lab of Erik Jorgensen and later to the Stowers Institute, where he initiated projects to study basic cell biology in vivo. In 2015, Gunther joined the Molecular Medicine faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2022.
Kayleigh Morrison is a graduate student in the Biomedical and Biological Sciences (BBS) program. She grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and received her B.S. in Biology from The College of William and Mary. Her undergraduate research focused on the transcriptional regulation of spermatogenesis in C. elegans. She also completed an REU fellowship at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, where she studied P granules and germ cell pluripotency. As an undergraduate she was awarded the James Monroe Scholarship from William and Mary, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. During her first year at Cornell, she was awarded an NSF GRFP fellowship. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her cat, going to local concerts, crocheting, and hiking around Ithaca.
Cyrus Habas is a graduate student in the Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology program. He grew up in Hulmeville, PA where he received his B.S in both Biochemistry and Philosophy from Beloit College. He completed an REU fellowship at Cornell University in the lab of Toshi Kawate studying the regulation Pannexin 1. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, going to the gym, and DJs whenever he can.
Jostin Armada is a graduate student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department. He grew up in Miami, Florida and attended the University of Florida (UF) where he obtained his B.S. in Chemical Engineering. His undergraduate research focused on optimizing silk fabrication methods from the domestic silk moth, Bombyx mori, and characterizing silk-based particles as a delivery vehicle for the development of an oxygen delivery system via hemoglobin encapsulation. As an undergraduate, he was awarded the John P. O’Connell Scholarship for his contributions to the chemical engineering field at UF. Upon entering Cornell University, he was awarded an NSF GRFP fellowship and the Cornell Engineering Colman fellowship to fund his graduate studies. Outside the lab, he enjoys drinking Cuban cafecitos, building LEGO sets, and spending time with his wife.
Jared Lenn is a research technician in the Hollopeter Lab. He grew up in NYC and received his B.S in Biological Chemistry from The University of Chicago. As an undergraduate, Jared studied the role of purinergic signalling during wound healing and developed an assay to track collective cell migration in the model hydrozoan jellyfish Clytia hemisphaerica. For this work, he was awarded Honors in Biological Chemistry and named a BSD Genetics and Genomics Scholar. Jared joined the Hollopeter lab in 2025 and is currently Worshipping at the Altar of Jowls to structurally and functionally characterize the Inversin complex. Outside of the lab, he enjoys cooking, playing Magic the Gathering and trying to beat Silksong.
David Liu is an undergraduate student majoring in Biology with a concentration of Genetics, Genomes, and Development at Cornell. He’s currently a junior and will graduate by May 2027. He grew up in Long Island, NY. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, watching sports, and playing video games.
Lab Alumni
Grad students
Gwen Beacham 2015-2022, currently Jane Coffin Childs postdoc with Elliott Hagedorn at Boston University.
Ed Partlow 2015-2022, currently postdoc with Tijana Ivanovic at the NIH.
Erika Beyrent 2018-2024, currently NINDS F32 postdoc with Patrick Drew at Penn State.
Derek Wei 2019-2025, currently postdoc with Nathan Ennist at NC State.
Undergrads
Aarooran Durairaj 2016-2019, currently Research Assistant/Lab Manager with Xinnan Wang at Stanford University.
Katie Gingrich 2018-2019, currently DVM student at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.
Eric Shen 2017-2020, currently Material Sciences PhD student with Simon Billinge at Columbia University.
Jimmy Mo 2019 exchange student from Hong Kong University and Science and Technology (HKUST), currently Molecular Cell Biology PhD student at Washington University in St. Louis.
Mari Camacho 2019-2022, currently MD student at University of Hawaii's John A. Burns Medical School.
Jian Zheng 2020-2022, currently Weill Cornell BMCB PhD student with Xiaolan Zhao at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Maria Henriquez 2020-2022, currently Study Coordinator at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.