Meet the team.

The Adikes lab is powered by the next generation of Scientists and Physicians!  

Established in 2021

The Adikes lab began unpacking boxes in the Fall of 2021, by the Spring of 2022 we were able to  successfully maintain C.elegans and started our RNAi based screen during the Summer of 2022.
During the semester we will continue the screen and begin to follow up on promising hits!
​
We celebrate the small victories!​

Our Goal

The Adikes lab trains the next generation of scientific thinkers using a broad range of techniques from large scale RNAi screens to advanced imaging modalities to unravel the mechanisms of cell migration during development.

Our Team

Becca Adikes, PhD
Assistant Professor
Dr. A began her research career working in the Quintero Lab at Mount Holyoke College, obtained her PhD from UNC Chapel Hill and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stony Brook University. She joined Siena College in the Fall of 2021 and is a Leading Edge New Faculty Fellow. Dr. A is  interested in understanding the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics,
​from the atomic to organismal level. 

Terri McKnight
Research Assistant - Biology Major

Terri is a rising senior Biology Major and Psychology Minor with the goal of going to medical school to become an Ob/Gyn. Terri is the President & Founder of the Minority Association of Pre-Med Students at Siena College, Secretary of the Black Student Union and member of @BlackinCancer mentoring program. Terri is working to quantify membrane and actin dynamics during SM cell migration.

Sana Shehzad 
Research Assistant - Biology Major

Sana is  biology major at Siena College with the goal of going to Medical School. Her ultimate goal is to be a well-rounded physician-scientist. In the Adikes lab she uses RNAi to deplete genes involved in actin organization, Ras signal transduction, GEF activity, and the dyanactin complex to study the impact on cell migration. 
Mishal Razi
Research Assistant - Biology Major
Mishal is a junior at Siena College and is pursuing a BS in Biology. Her ultimate goal is to work as a healthcare professional. She has previous research experience using mouse models to examine neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease. She's excited to join Dr. Adikes' lab and observe the impacts of depleted genes on sex myoblast migration.
Maria Fitian
Research Assistant - Biochemistry Major

Maria is a junior working towards a BS in Biochemistry and a BA in English. Though not exactly certain of what the future holds, she's passionate about science and hopes to continue in the field. Her previous research experience is in physical chemistry, studying f-block metal catalysts, and biochemistry, studying protein structure in the process of autophagy. She's excited to be stepping into the biology field looking at cell migration and the cytoskeleton in the Adikes Lab. 
Rebekkah Clauson
Research Assistant - Data Science Major

Bekkah is a sophomore at Siena College and is pursuing a BS in Data Science as well as minors in Biology and Environmental Science. Her ultimate goal is to obtain her PhD in Data Science, but currently she is unsure of what her future plans hold. She’s excited to join Adikes Lab and to further explore the biology field.

Want to join the team or collaborate with us!
Email radikes@siena.edu