Team
Who we are.
For past lab members, see our Alumni page.
Carrie Nardella | Senior Administrative Assistant
Carrie worked in the Medical School from 1990 to 2000. She returned to Yale in 2016 in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Business Office as a Senior Administrative Assistant II. In her free time, she enjoys living on the shore and spending time with her family and friends.
Chin Yuan Ong (CY) | Graduate Student
Graduate Program in Physics, Program in Physics, Engineering and Biology
CY is a Physics PhD student interested in how bacteria with different motility patterns use distinct strategies to navigate complex environments, which he studies through simulations and experiments. When he’s not in the lab, you’ll probably find him cooking, taking photographs, playing music, or planning his next trip outdoors.
Ethan Dintzner | Graduate Student
Graduate Program in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Program in Physics, Engineering and Biology
Ethan is a graduate student interested in the exciting mechanisms of V. cholera chemotaxis signaling and adaptation. He studied math and biology during his undergraduate at UChicago and enjoys seeing the connections between math, biochemistry, and chemotaxis. In his free time, he likes reading, eating New Haven pizza, and playing games with his brothers.
Fotis Avgidis | Postdoc
Fotis is broadly interested in how living organisms process information and how information processing shapes behavior. He completed his PhD with Tom Shimizu at AMOLF in the Netherlands, where he studied the origins of sensory diversity in bacteria and the dynamics of the bacterial chemotaxis system near criticality. Before developing a fascination for biology, he dabbled in quantum computing and particle accelerators. Outside of science, he enjoys reading, traveling, visiting art museums, and taking photos.
Gustavo Madeira Santana | Graduate Student
Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Program in Physics, Engineering and Biology
Gustavo completed his undergraduate in Computer Engineering at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, where he studied the ontogeny of vocal communication in mice. He is currently interested in understanding how flies explore spatiotemporal features of odor plumes for optimal navigation. In his free time, he spends too much money going to concerts, and enjoys playing guitar.
Josh Chen | Undergraduate Student
Josh is an undergraduate at Yale studying neuroscience and is interested in understanding temporal integration of odor stimuli in Drosophila and how this can be translated into behavior. Before his interest in neuroscience, he studied cutting-edge methods in medical imaging including photon-counting detector CT scanners and medical 3D printing. Outside of the lab, Josh has a passion for art and design, and hopes to one day combine his scientific background with his artistic interests in the field of medicine.
Kevin Chen | Postdoc
Kevin is interested in animal behavior, biophysical models, and network dynamics. He completed his PhD with Andy Leifer and Jonathan Pillow at Princeton, where he studied worm chemotaxis through biophysical experiments and statistical modeling. Working with the Emonet and Clark labs, Kevin hopes to characterize how seemingly simple systems, like fruit flies, can produce complex behaviors and sophisticated computations during sensory navigation. Outside of the lab, Kevin enjoys jogging, reading, origami, music, and bubble tea.
Lam Vo | Graduate Student
Graduate Program in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Program in Physics, Engineering and Biology
Lam studied chemotaxis in Azosprillium brasilense at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville during his undergraduate years under Dr. Gladys Alexandre. He is interested in studying spatial sorting in chemotaxis waves and the connection between virulence and chemotaxis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. When he is not working, he loves watching random Youtube video, listening to music, and exercise. He’s looking forward to going to the beach, exploring local boutique shop, and hunting for good restaurants.
Michael Abbott | Postdoc
Michael is a postdoc working on ideas about optimal learning from data, and on biologically plausible ways to understand symmetries in the world. Before joining the group, he was in mathematical physics, but decided that figuring out how to calculate the first approximation is more exciting than the 2000th term. Outside of science, Michael likes mountains, books and travelling.
Thierry Emonet | Principal Investigator
Thierry is the Lewis B. Cullman Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and Professor of Physics, at Yale University. His research combines mathematical modeling and quantitative experiments to understand the biological computations that enable organisms to sense and navigate their chemical environments. As model systems, his lab uses bacterial chemotaxis and fly olfaction, in which they can make multi-scale measurements and compare to quantitative mathematical models. Navigation requires performing many non-trivial computations and can be quantified precisely. The Emonet lab exploits this quantitative framework for discovering how biological systems compute, and how computations are implemented in molecular and cellular mechanisms. Before coming to Yale in 2007, Thierry studied physics at the ETH Zürich. He received his PhD (cum laude) in theoretical astrophysics from the University of La Laguna (Spain) in 1998, before doing postdocs at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO and The University of Chicago, discovering key mechanisms that enable magnetic field to float to the surface of the Sun to create Sunspots. During his postdoc Thierry became fascinated with the question of where individuality comes from and what is its functional role in life and he switched to biology. His work is supported by NIH, NSF, the Paul G Allen Family Foundation (Distinguished Allen Investigator), the Whitehall Foundation, the James S. McDonnell Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Outside of science, Thierry’s main interest is art. He grew up at the intersection of science and art and he is married to renowned sculptor Susan Clinard.
Yuanchi Ha | Postdoc
Yuanchi is broadly interested in how various behaviors adapt to changing environments. She completed her PhD with Lingchong You at Duke University, where she studied the temporal dynamics of mobile genetic elements in microbial communities under changing environments, using ordinary differential equation models and experiments. She is currently investigating the emergence of new spatial configurations of chemotaxis phenotypes when populations encounter novel environments. Outside of the lab, Yuanchi enjoys photography, watching old movies, and learning about art and history.
