MEMBERS
Mostafa Rahnama, PhD
Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor
Dr. Rahnama is a molecular and computational biologist with a background primarily in microbial genetics and mycology. He joined Tennessee Tech University as a tenure track Assistant Professor in 2022.
Educational Background
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Kentucky, 2022
Postdoctoral Fellow, U.K. College of Medicine, 2019
Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology, University of Auckland
M.S. in Biotechnology, Isfahan University of Technology
B.S. in Biology, Shiraz University
Teaching
Fundamentals of Bioinformatics (BIOL 4993/5993)
Microbial Evolution (BIOL 4110/5110)
Health Science Microbiology (BIOL 3230)
Mycology (BIOL 4993/6980)
In addition to his research and teaching duties, he serves as an editorial board member of Scientific Reports and Bio-Protocols journals.
Email Address: mrahnama@tntech.edu
Phone/Fax number: +1 (931) 372-3648
Current Graduate Students
Sahar Salimi
PHD STUDENT
Sahar is a Ph.D. candidate with a master's in mathematics and computational biology.
She has a background in programming languages such as Python, R, and Bash and is passionate to apply computer sciences to understand complex biological systems. In her thesis, she works on Magnaporthe oryzae and Fusarium sp. genome evolution and structure.
Brandon Hein
M.S. STUDENT
Brandon is a master's student in biology sciences and has been working with the Rahnama lab since May 2024.
In his project, he is focusing on various aspects of the Fusarium species genome, particularly on histone modifications.
Foad Abdi
M.S. STUDENT
Foad is a master's student in computer sciences and has been working with the Rahnama lab since August 2022.
He has a data science and machine learning background and is a professional programmer in languages like Python, R, and bash script.
In his project, he is developing software and programs to simplify complicated bioinformatics pipelines for biologists.
Current Under Graduate Students
Justin King
B.S. STUDENT
Justin is a senior student in microbiology and has been working in the Rahnama lab since Oct 2023 under a CISE fellowship.
In his project, he applied functional genomics approaches to analyze the Magnaporthe oryzae genome.
Aidan Thornton
B.S. STUDENT
Aidan is a junior student in biology and has been working in the Rahnama lab since March 2023.
In his project, he is investigating the sexual reproduction of Magnaporthe oryzae.
Kathryn Rowe
B.S. STUDENT
Ryn is a junior student in biology and has been working in the Rahnama lab since Agust 2023.
In his project, he is investigating the genome stability mechanisms of Magnaporthe oryzae.