This fall, the Duke Department of Biochemistry welcomes a talented cohort of first-year PhD students. With a variety of backgrounds and research experiences, they bring curiosity, creativity, and drive to the community. Get to know the newest members of our program — and join us in celebrating the start of their Duke journey.
Brycen Aldrich is from Pennsylvania and majored in biochemistry and molecular biology at Pennsylvania State University. As an undergraduate, he performed research on the nucleosome core particle and chromatin structure/function in the Song Tan Laboratory. He was also a technician at Penn State Hershey, facilitating research on the dysregulation of macrophage-mediated RSV clearance by surfactant protein variants. Duke was always his top choice for PhD studies. “As someone interested in structural biology, I was amazed by Duke’s breadth of cutting-edge research that utilized a structural approach,” he said. He aims to become a research scientist in the biotech industry.
Louie Ballard, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, graduated from Wake Forest University with a dual major in biochemistry and computer science. While there, he developed high-throughput genome analysis software with James Pease. While earning a master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at Georgetown University, he worked with neuroscientists Charbel Moussa and Xiaoguang Liu to explore the role of inflammation in neurodegenerative disease progression. He later joined the lab of Cynthia Simbulan-Rosenthal and Dean Rosenthal as a cell culture specialist, helping develop physiologically accurate artificial skin for therapeutic screening. Ballard was attracted to Duke Biochemistry because of its prestige and rigor, and his visit to campus won him over. “The enthusiasm of the faculty and cohort made the program feel much more welcoming than others that I had seen,” he said. He enjoys cooking as well as homebrewing cider and beer, finding these tasks to be “creative outlets for a biochemistry skillset.” He hopes to pursue a career in translational research and drug development.
Allie Marcin is from Indian Hills, Colorado, and earned a undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. After conducting organic chemistry research as a sophomore, her interest switched to biochemistry, and she focused her research on actin binding proteins, specifically the protein IQGAP1. After graduation she spent two years at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda studying the structural and mechanistic underpinnings of the enzyme ASAP1, a GTPase activating protein responsible for regulating the small GTPase Arf. Duke Biochemistry’s research aligns well with her specific interests. “I want to be in the lab as much as possible, and the Duke graduate program will allow me to do that,” she said. Falling in love with the campus and Durham sealed the deal. Marcin enjoys hiking, running, cooking, and trying new restaurants. She is exploring career choices, but aims to be an active part of academia, possibly running her own lab.
Sergio Moreira-Antepara grew up in Horseheads, New York. He earned a bachelor’s in biochemistry at Cornell University, where he worked in Kelly Liu's worm lab. There, he used genetic approaches to study the regulation of body size and BMP signaling in C. elegans. Duke was always his top choice for PhD programs. “I was extremely impressed with its work on dissecting the structure-function relationship of the molecules of life,” he said. “This made it clear that I should pursue my interests here!” Outside of school, he likes writing, biking, and playing in symphonic bands. After obtaining a doctoral degree, he aims to work in industry at a pharmaceutical company.
Travis Horton Richard majored in biochemistry at Texas A&M University. Interested in a stable, long-term research career, he considered many graduate programs, including Cornell, but ultimately chose Duke Biochemistry. He aims to pursue an industry career in drug discovery, but at this early stage he is exploring other options as well.
Megha Seri was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in Hyderabad, India. She majored in biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. There she conducted research with Annabelle Singer, examining immune cell interactions in Alzheimer’s disease models and the impact on these interactions with gamma frequencies of sound and light. Serving on the school’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Board and a co-op at Moderna in Boston were other highlights of her undergraduate career. Duke Biochemistry was one of her top choices for a PhD program because of its emphasis on the value of research. “I was very excited to get accepted to the program!” she said. Seri loves travel and road trips, as well as hiking. She has visited 23 out of the 60 national parks in the United States. Her career interests lie in translational research and therapeutic development, whether in academia or industry.