Past Members

AnneMargaret Braham

Research Specialist
AnneMargaret Braham worked as a Research Specialist in the CTG program. She retired from the lab in September of 2021.

Chet (Chester) Buell

IT / Website Design
Chet departed from the CTG program in December of 2021.

Yannick Favre

Research Associate / Tissue Culture Specialist
Yannick joined the CTG team after a twelve year career in the biotech industry followed by two years working as a farmer in rural North Carolina. In the CTG labs he was the tissue culture specialist and working on developing a protocol for Fraser Fir micropropagation and engineering. Yannick also focused on other conifer species such as Sugar Pine, doing cryopreservation of embryos for long term storage. He received a technological diploma from the Claude Bernard University of Lyon in France in the field of Agronomy and Genetic Engineering. Yannick also received a B.Sc. in Biology from NCSU. Yannick departed from the CTG lab to join MICROREP as a technician in November of 2024.

Priya Rajarapu

Research Associate / Entomologist
Priya’s research focused on understanding the physiological basis of insect adaptation to unique niches. Her interest was dissecting the molecular mechanisms of insect-plant coevolution using cutting molecular biology and biochemistry techniques. She has studied physiological adaptation strategies of herbivorous insects to overcome host plant defenses, recalcitrant diets, and virus infection. Outcomes of her research address broad ecological and evolutionary concepts such as invasion biology, nutritional ecology and insect-plant-virus interactions. She is well recognized for working with challenging and least studied insect systems. Priya departed from the CTG lab to join Oregon State University as an Assistant Professor in December of 2024.

William Andrew Whittier

CAMCORE-Cooperative Research Associate
Andy was a research forester with the Camcore group at NCSU since 2003. In 2015 he relocated to the Asheville, NC area to be closer to some of his research involving tree species in the Appalachian Mountains. While located in Western NC, the Christmas Tree Genetics Program began to utilize his expertise in managing and measuring their numerous Fraser fir plantings throughout the region. Andy departed from the CTG lab to continue work at CAMCORE in December of 2022.

Will Baldwin

Masters Student
Will was a masters student in the Christmas Tree Genetics Program studying Fraser Fir terpene variability and climate adaptation. Will received a B.S. in Horticultural Science and a B.A. in History from NC State in 2021. Will departed from the CTG lab in November of 2024 to join Arborgen.

Caleb Cothron

Masters Student
Caleb began working as a research assistant with CTG in the fall of 2022. His Masters research involved studying Phytophthora root rot disease and its distribution in the mountains of North Carolina. Caleb received his B.S. degree in forest management from NC State University in the Fall of 2019. After graduating, Caleb moved to Virginia to work as a consulting forester for two years and then moved back to work for the NC Forest Service collecting Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data for a few months before joining CTG, where he completed his Masters of Science in Forestry with a minor in Plant Pathology. Caleb departed from the CTG lab in May 2025 to join Pennsylvania Dept. of Military and Veteran Affairs as a Forester.

Megh Dedhia

Masters Student
Megh was a Computer Science grad student. He began working with CTG in late Fall 2023 and worked on updating content on the CTG website and building a robust database–ROOTS–that aims to serve as the single access point for all genotype data that the lab works on. He recieved a B.Tech in Computer Engineering from Mumbai University and specialized in secure large-scale systems and efficient deep learning while at NCSU. Megh departed from the CTG lab in August of 2024.

Grace Fuller

PhD Student
Grace departed from the CTG lab in January of 2023 to continue her PhD studies with the Barrangou CRISPR Lab at NC State University.

Shaifali Sethi

Summer Intern / Masters Student
Shaifali was a Khorana Scholar and worked at the CTG lab as a Summer intern. The Khorana Program for Scholars is a prestigious internship, providing opportunities to students in India to undertake research at U.S. based universities for a period of 10-12 weeks. The program selects 75 students annually, Khorana Scholars among the top 1.5% of students across India. She is pursuing a Masters in Botany at the University of Delhi, India. While at the CTG lab, she worked on EHS (Elongate Hemlock Scale) counting, separation of EHS nymphs and adults from Fraser fir needles and recording EHS weight data. She also worked on the tissue culture of Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana). Shaifali departed form the CTG lab in October of 2025 to continue her degree at the University of Delhi in India.

Will Kohlway

Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Will was a Functional Genomics Postdoctoral research scholar working with the Christmas Tree Genetics Program. His research primarily focused on the use of molecular techniques and next-generation sequencing for identifying the underlying genetic basis of important breeding traits, such as Phytophthora root rot resistance in fir species, and its use in developing genetic markers for future breeding programs. Will departed from the CTG lab in September of 2024 to work as an Extension Specialist for NC Cooperative Extension, and is still in close collaboration with the CTG lab.

Nathan Archer

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Nathan departed from the CTG lab in May of 2025.

Helen Dandulakis

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Helen interned with the CTG lab the summer before her junior year at NC State. While at NCSU, she majored in Plant Biology, with minors in Zoology and Music Studies. While at the lab, she worked on Sugar pine seed embryogenesis. Helen departed from the CTG lab in December of 2024.

Alex Gaines

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Alex started as an undergraduate intern in the CTG lab in 2022, and worked at the lab until the completion his degrees in Biochemistry and Environmental Science, with a minor in Biomanufacturing. While at the CTG lab as an intern, Alex worked on maintaining the CTG lab’s clone bank and initiating new somatic embryogenic clusters from conifer seeds. After continuing at the lab as an undergraduate research assistant, Alex worked on developing Fraser fir as a model organism for future experiments. Alex departed from the CTG lab in November of 2024 to work as a technician at Immunoreagents.

Sophie Gay

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Sophie worked as an undergraduate research assistant while studying Plant Biology with a concentration in Physiology and Molecular Biology at NC State. Beginning work for the CTG lab as a junior Spring of 2023, Sophie worked on viability testing for seed lots from the lab’s conifer seed bank, as well as organization and record-keeping for the seed lot data. She worked with conifer seed histology and resin composition profiles as she continued in the lab throughout her undergraduate education. Sophie departed from the CTG lab in May of 2024 to join PDF Electric & Supply Company.

Emma Grabowski

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Emma departed from the CTG lab in May of 2022 to join Labcorp working as a technician.

Gabrielle Hepburn

St. Augustine University Summer Student
Gabrielle worked as an undergraduate research in the CTG lab over the Summer of 2024. She departed from the CTG lab in August of 2024 to return to St. Augustine University to continue her studies.

Savannah Igras

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Savannah joined the CTG lab as an undergraduate research assistant Spring of 2025. She is majored in Environmental Science with a focal area in Renewable Energy Assessment and a minor in Sustainable Materials and Technology. While at the lab, Savannah worked on tissue culture and media preparation. Savannah departed from the CTG lab in December of 2025.

Matthew Moore

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Matthew worked an an undergraduate research assistant at the CTG lab while studying Environmental Technology and Management with a minor in Renewable Energy Assessment through NC State’s Forestry Department. He departed from the CTG lab in May of 2024.

Allison Parrish

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Allison worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the CTG lab while pursuing a degree in Environmental Sciences with a minor in Plant Biology. Allison began working with the Christmas Tree Genetics Program in January of 2021 as an intern. After completing her internship Allison joined the CTG program as a part-time undergraduate research assistant. While a part of the CTG program, Allison gained crucial lab skills and experience. Some of her work included assisting with terpene extraction, somatic embryogenesis initiation and preparation of microscopy samples using a Leica UC7 ultramicrotome. Allison departed from the CTG lab in May 2022 to join Syngenta as a Transient Assay Scientist.

Guniyal Raina

Undergraduate Summer Intern
Guniyal was a Khorana Scholar who worked at the CTG lab as a Summer intern. The Khorana Program for Scholars is a prestigious internship which selects 75 students annually, placing them among the top 1.5% of students across India. She was an undergraduate student during her time at the CTG lab, working towards a degree at Amity University specializing in Biotechnology. During her internship, she worked on amplification of the cytochrome oxidase (COI) gene of Christmas tree pests for improved field diagnostics. Guniyal departed from the CTG lab in August of 2024 to continue her studies at Amity University.

Lauren Stevens

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Lauren departed from the CTG lab in May of 2022 to join Syngenta as a Greenhouse Technician.

Millie Walkenhorst

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Millie is an undergraduate student studying Environmental Sciences at NC State. She departed from the CTG lab in December of 2025.