Fisher Lab:  Department of Biology, Saint Louis University

Lauren (to the right of Laurine) will start as a med student at the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine in July, 2025, where she'll spread the Spirit of the Billiken. Congrats!

Yusuf Eroglu and Yerin Go are both biology majors on the pre-dental track.  Yusuf will be a senior in 2025-26, and Yerin will be in her junior year.

Stan Andrisse (faculty at Howard University and director of From Prison Cells to PhD, P2P) visited to give a department seminar talk on androgen-induced insulin resistance.

Stan, Jon, and Zenae hang out next to what used to be the lab before the 2017 fire and subsequent gut rehab of the building.  After three years in med school space, we set up again in 2020 down the hall from the original lab.

2024 SLU biology grad Laurine Shoki reps SLU Med and the Billikens at the SLU/Lasalle MBB game 1/22/25.  She sent a pic of the halftime research celebration...

This was a celebration for Rex Sinquefield, a major research donor for SLU.  Folks on the floor are mostly funded by SLU internal grants, but these folks were encouraged to include any of their guests who were SLU researchers.  So, I rode my wife Gretchen Salsich's coattails to end up at center court in SLU Blue.

Here's the whole line-up.  Gretchen's over at the left.  Check pubmed...she's the only Salsich in science!

Allie Carosello (junior health sciences major) joined the team in May, 2024.

Craig (junior biology major) started in June, 2024. He's currently taking Fisher's Exercise Physiology course. Neat!

Levi Keiser (junior health sciences major) jumped onto the crew in June, 2024. He'll TA for Fisher's cell biology course in spring, 2025 (he's currently TAing for biochem)

Kissian Griffin joined the crew in June and July of 2024.  She's a rising junior at Gateway STEM High School, a proud St. Louis City public school.

They're expressing a red fluorescent protein that localizes to the nucleus.

Lauren and Laurine are 2024 "The Spirit of the Billiken" Awardees.  These outstanding seniors excel in academics, leadership, community service, and dedication to living SLU's mission after graduation.

SLU Honors 2024 Spirit of the Billiken Award Recipients : SLU   

from 48 posters @ the 2024 SLU Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium

Lauren Sugiyama  joined up in fall, 2022.  She's a Health Science major.

Zenae Cherry started as an MS student in January, 2022, and has moved up to the PhD program.  She's a SLU neuroscience grad.

Zenae recruited Nick Normandin from her section of introductory biology lab in spring, 2022..  Nick is a sophomore Nutrition & Dietetics student who joined the lab in fall,  2022. He'll graduate in May, 2025.

Yojana Jagadish, a senior biology major, joined up in fall, 2021. She'll graduate in May, 2023.

Zaryn Kamara is also a biology major.  She joined in fall, 2021, and she'll graduate in May, 2023.

In addition to hanging in Macelwane Hall, Yojana and Zaryn frequent the new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering building: Designed for Discovery : SLU 

Laurine Shoki joined the lab in fall, 2022.  She's a junior biology major.  Laurine will be Fisher's TA for Cell Structure & Function in spring, 2023, and Nick will be in the course.  What could be cooler?

update:  Laurine recieved the 2024 Medhoff award for outstanding teaching by an undergraduate.  She TAed fall biochem and spring cell biol two years running.  Congrats, Laurine

The award is named for Judy Medhoff who anchored cell biology and other courses for years at SLU.

Biva Chapagain (Miller lab) and Zenae spoke in grad colloquium in Nov 2022.

Zenae's mom Edra Cherry (right) stopped by lab after taking in  Zenae's colloquium talk.

Madison joined the lab in summer 2023.  She's a neuroscience major (that's half biology, half psychology). Madison will graduate in December, 2023.

Siv Sivaparan joined us in summer, 2023.  He's a biology major who will graduate in  May, 2024.

Zenae received the Cynthia Chapelle Graduate Student Excellence Award at the 2023 Black in STEM celebration.  The award is for a graduate student who understands they are capable and confident that STEM is a place for them. This student is working diligently to overcome barriers and obstacles that the leaky pipeline presents, as they advance further within their respective STEM discipline. 

Cynthia Chapelle is the founder of Black Girls Do STEM

Zenae smiles with her award at the Black in STEM celebration.

Jon's on a stroll on the way to DCA after the June 2023 Human Studies of Diabetes and Obesity (HSDO) study section meeting.