05/31/2023
Excited to welcome Mr. Eric Larsen from Brigham Young University – Idaho as part of a NIH REU program to our lab this Summer!
05/17/23
Excited to have received funding from URF and ASCEND to support Ms. Trinity Rose Shultz, Ms. Breanna Ceesay and Mr. Joseph Martin with paid research internships for Summer 2023!
05/15/23
Congratulations to Ms. Angela Jo and the other Spring 2023 graduates!!
05/11/2022
Our lab was well-represented at the annual BCMB Awards. Proud of all the awesome accomplishments of our lab members!
![](https://krishnanlab.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MicrosoftTeams-image-edited.jpg)
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Mr. Logan Dunn, James and Dora Wright Fellowship for demonstrated leadership and excellence in scholarship and research.
Ms. Trinity Rose Shultz, J. Gordon and Elizabeth S. Carlson Undergraduate Scholarship for outstanding BCMB majors exhibiting academic excellence and research productivity.
Ms. Ally McBryar, The Nancy Ruth Creery Memorial Scholarship for successful academic performance in the Pre-Med curriculum.
Dr. Keerthi Krishnan, BCMB Junior Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award
05/02/23
EURECA 2023 Awards: Ally, Joseph, Angela and Benjamin received EURECA awards in the Natural Sciences Division, for excellent poster presentations and content. Wonderful to see everyone shine through! A special event where we got to meet Rep. Gloria Johnson!!
![](https://krishnanlab.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MicrosoftTeams-image-5-1024x768.jpg)
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04/27/23
Congratulations to Mr. Mike Mykins on his Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Graduate Student Medal of Excellence nomination in the Natural Sciences Division.
![](https://krishnanlab.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MicrosoftTeams-image-8-edited.jpg)
04/25/23
EURECA 2023: So proud of the hard work and dedication that 6 undergraduates and their mentors put into preparing 3 research posters. Rose and Breanna presented on DataVyu analysis of tactile interactions in female mouse model for Rett syndrome, under Mike’s guidance. Ally and Joseph presented on perineuronal net degradation and whole brain mapping data, under Billy’s guidance. Angela and Benjamin presented new work on DeepLabCut analysis of fine motor reaching and grasping in female mouse model for Rett syndrome, under Mike’s guidance.
![](https://krishnanlab.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MicrosoftTeams-image-6-950x1024.jpg)
04/04/23
Honored to be recognized as an Outstanding Graduate Research Mentor by the Graduate Student Senate. Thanks to Mike Mykins for the nomination.
![](https://krishnanlab.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MicrosoftTeams-image-9-edited.jpg)
04/04/23
Honored to be recognized at the Academic Honors Banquet Awards as Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year!
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03/02/23
Mr. Logan Dunn was selected to present the lab’s overview and his research at the BCMB Graduate Recruitment Event, while Mr. Mike Mykins and Mr. Jacob Elrod presented posters on their research to prospective graduate students.
![](https://krishnanlab.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/MicrosoftTeams-image-10-1-edited.jpg)
05/21/2022
Congratulations to Ms. Beyza Kartal and the other Spring 2022 graduates!!
05/12/2022
Benjamin Bridges was awarded the Carolyn W. Fite Scholarship! This scholarship recognizes an outstanding BCMB major who demonstrates professional promise through an excellent academic record and interest in research and scholarship. Your high achievements as an undergraduate student are a tribute to your commitment to learning and attainment of your goals. Congratulations, Benjamin!
05/01/2022
Six students presented four posters at EUReCA this Spring. Congratulations to Sarah Perez, Miranda Blevins, Sami Isaac, Alexandra McBryar, Beyza Kartal and Benjamin Bridges for their strong showing! Alexandra McBryar and Beyza Kartal won Awards of Excellence for their beautiful posters and clear presentations of their work.
04/25/2022
Sarah Perez and Alexandra McBryar are authors on a manuscript, submitted to the bioRxiv preprint and in submission to peer-reviewed journal currently. Congratulations, Sarah Perez and Alexandra McBryar!
04/16/2021
Hannah Lee is a Goldwater Scholar! She has been working on a fun collaborative project for the past 2 years with our perineuronal net data with Professor Cary Staples, College of Architecture and Design. Thanks to SURGE fellowship from Undergraduate Research and Fellowships that started it all. Congrats, Hannah!
12/01/2021
Benjamin Bridges is awarded the Faculty Research Assistant Funding for Spring 2022 from Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships! He will receive $1500 for working on his project, under the guidance of Michael Mykins, graduate student in the Krishnan Lab.
09/09/21
Benjamin Bridges is awarded the Faculty Research Assistant Funding for Fall 2021 from Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships! He will receive $1500 for working on his project, under the guidance of Michael Mykins, graduate student in the Krishnan Lab.
06/15/21
Collaborative paper with Dr. Joe Lonstein‘s lab at Michigan State University was accepted at Psychoneuroendocrinology!! Mahircan Yagan, who graduated in Spring 2020, is a co-author on this paper, along with Drs. Billy Lau and Keerthi Krishnan. Other undergraduates Daniel Kim, Hannah Lee, Shahin Ahmadi, Sarah Perez and Simone Li helped with data analysis.
06/03/21
We welcome undergraduates in the lab for the Summer. Most are supported through the SURGE, SURIP and NSF REU programs.
Hannah Lee (SURIP), Nthabeleng MacDonald (NSF REU), Trinity Rose Shultz, Benjamin Bridges, Ally McBryar, Miranda Blevins, Breanna Ceesay, Francesca Size, Olivia Fleenor (SURGE), Sarah Perez, Sami Isaac, Jessica Appleton and Mustafa Salim.
![](https://krishnanlab.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Summer-2021-1024x809.jpg)
05/21/21
Parker‘s paper is accepted at European Journal of Neuroscience!
05/08/21
Congratulations to the Spring 2020 graduates!! Recent lab members James Buchanan, Matthew Everett and Parker Stevenson, and previous lab members, Kristopher Reynolds, Josephine Walker, Deema Mansour, Sarah-Anne Bowyer and Raymond Senu!
04/27/21
Matthew Everett and Parker Stevenson presented their Chancellors Honors thesis work at the Developmental Biology Journal Club. They were the first undergraduates to present their work in this venue, usually meant for graduate students and professors to discuss their work. They did a great job! So proud!
04/23/21
Hannah Lee, James Buchanan, Parker Stevenson and Matthew Everett present their projects at EUReCA online. Hannah Lee receives an Award of Excellence for her collaborative Science/Art work with Cary Staples, Professor of Design. Congratulations to Hannah and all students for participating in this online format, after a hard semester of Zooms and virtual learning!
01/31/21
Update on new lab members:
We welcome Trinity Rose Shultz (Sophomore, Biological Sciences and Anthropology) through the ASPIRE program in mid-Fall, 2020. Our newest Spring 2021 lab members are Juniors in BCMB, Beyza Kartel, Benjamin Bridges, Lainey Hobbes, and Freshmen, Ally McBryar.
12/20/20
Parker Stevenson is the first undergrad in our lab to be a co-first author on a manuscript, submitted to the bioRxiv preprint and in submission to peer-reviewed journal currently. Congratulations, Parker!!
10/01/20
Matthew Everett was featured in the Fall 2020 BCMB Newsletter. Read about Matthew’s research accomplishments and arguments for experiential learning here. Congrats, Matthew!
08/26/20
Our students presented their Summer research on 3 posters at Discovery Day. Due to COVID19, it was a virtual symposium. Students presented their talks live and answered questions and/or submitted video recordings for asynchronous viewing.
Lee H, Staples C, Krishnan K. “Creative processing of mouse brain slices: In search of the PNN gestalt”, Discovery Day Meeting, UTK, August 2020
Buchanan J, Waller J, Hunter T, Kim D, Lee H, Krishnan K. “”Finding Nemo” but with ultrasonic vocalizations and no fish”, Discovery Day Meeting, UTK, August 2020:
Hernandez I, Houston A, Mansour D, Noyes A, Perez S, Layo D, Krishnan K. “Perineuronal net expression in primary somatosensory cortex changes after maternal experience in an age-dependent manner”, Discovery Day Meeting, UTK, August 2020
06/25/20
Brett Emery was accepted into a DIGS-BB Visitor’s Internship in the group of Dr. Hayder Amin at the Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e.V. (DZNE). She will start in his group in September 2020. Congratulations and best wishes, Brett!!
06/01/20
We welcome 6 new students from the SURGE and SMART research experiences to the Krishnan Lab for Summer 2020. Though COVID 19 has changed our plans, we will be working remotely on 3 different projects.
- Deema Mansour, Neuroscience
- Ansley Houston, Neuroscience
- Itzanami Sotelo Hernandez, Neuroscience & Psychology
- Abrielle Noyes, BCMB
- Travis Hunter, Kinesiology
- Venkata Shravan Pinni, Computer Science
05/25/20, BCMB Awards!
Parker Stevenson was awarded the 2020 Nancy Ruth Creery Memorial Scholarship.
Matthew Everett was awarded the 2020 Carolyn W. Fite Scholarship.
Congratulations to Parker and Matthew!
05/14/20
Congratulations to our graduating seniors! – Brett Emery, Sami Ahmed, Mahircan Yagan, Daniel Kim, Wilson Skinner, Carter Sanders.
05/01/20
Congratulations to the following lab members for Summer research fellowships! These paid fellowships will allow these students to continue their lab work this Summer.
James Buchanan and Hannah Lee are recipients of SURGE fellowships.
Josephine Waller received Summer research internship from ORE UTK
Matthew Everett received Summer Enrichment Grant from the Honors & Scholars Program
04/13/20
EuRECA, 2020
Brett Emery, Matthew Everett, Shahin Ahmadi, Wilson Skinner, Mahircan Yagan, Hannah Lee and Daniel Kim participated in our first remote EuRECA poster presentation and judging.
Brett Emery and Matthew Everett won Office of Undergraduate Research Silver Award. Wilson Skinner and Shahin Ahmadi won Award of Excellence. So proud of you all!!
03/30/20
Kristopher Reynolds is one of five UT Goldwater Scholarship winners. Congrats, Kris!!
02/03/20
Congratulations to Brett Emery and James Buchanan for applying and receiving the Global Catalyst Student International Travel Grants. https://globalgrants.utk.edu/stutravel-grant/
The funds will be used to travel and present our research at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) conference at Glasgow, UK in July 2020. It will be the 1st international conference for our lab!
01/25/20
Brett Emery is a semi finalist for the Fulbright Program! So proud of you. It has been a pleasure to witness your journey these 2 years. Congratulations, Brett!!
01/24/20
Kristopher Reynolds, an undergraduate student who was previously in the lab, has won the UT nomination for the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship!! Congrats Kris! We are so happy for you. Well deserved!!
01/15/20, Spring 2020
Congrats to Mahircan Yağan on his Spring Semester Research Assistant Award in the lab from ORE at UTK!
12/19/19:
Excited to announce that we will receive Summer Undergraduate Research Group Experience (SURGE) program funding from UTK ORE to continue our maternal behavior work next Summer with undergraduate students!
NeuroNET Retreat, Nov. 2019
Parker Stevenson, James Buchanan and Shahin Ahmadi presented data from 4 different projects at the annual NeuroNET retreat. They did a great job with 2-minute platform presentations and poster sessions afterward! So proud of all the trainees!!
10/01/2019
Parker Stevenson was featured in the Fall 2019 BCMB Newsletter. Please read about her thoughts on undergraduate research here. Congrats, Parker!
Fall, 2019
In addition to 13 returning undergraduate students, we welcomed 7 new students this year making our undergraduate student population total to 20 students! We also welcome Mike Mykins, a 2nd year graduate student in BCMB to the lab.
Our new members are:
- Mahircan Yagan, Senior in BCMB
- Sami Ahmed, Senior in BCMB
- Daniel Kim, Senior in Neuroscience
- Simone Li, Sophomore in BCMB
- Hannah Lee, Freshman in Biology
- Sarah Perez, Freshman in Biology
- Shahin Ahmed, Research Assistant
Graduation, Spring 2019:
Anushree Kumar, Simran Dayal and Kendra Phillips will be graduating this May. Congratulations to all of you on your achievements here at UTK! Stay in touch with us.
05/07/19
We have had a productive and exciting Spring semester! I am very proud of ALL the lab members who contributed to our research mission with hard work and dedication this Spring.
Summer Internships:
Parker Stevenson, a recipient of the Office of Research Engagement at UTK Summer Assistantships, will be in the Krishnan lab.
Brett Emery, a recipient of the Medical Explorations Program, will be visiting labs in Germany and The Netherlands, for a month. She also received the Office of Research Engagement at UTK Summer Assistantship, will spend rest of the Summer in the Krishnan lab.
Radha Awasthi will be in the lab of Dr. Sergei Kalinin, Director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Institute for Functional Imaging of Materials.
Matthew Everett will be at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC neuroSURF fellowship program at Virginia Tech Carillion School of Medicine.
James Buchanan will be at a medical internship program at University of Alabama, Birmingham, as part of the SHEP Summer Program.
Josephine Waller will be interning at the New York Presbyterian Hospital in NYC.
Kristopher Reynolds will be in Dr. George Whitesides lab in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University. His internship is administered through the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Awards/Honors:
Brett Emery and Matthew Everett received an Award of Excellence for their EuRECA poster presentation from the College of Arts and Sciences at UTK.
Parker Stevenson won an Office of Research and Engagement Silver Award for her EuRECA poster presentation.
Kristopher Reynolds won the Carolyn W. Fite Scholarship recognizing outstanding BCMB undergraduate major who demonstrates professional promise through an excellent academic record and interest in research and scholarship.
Spring, 2019
The Krishnan lab has some new members to start the Spring semester. Welcome new and returning members! We are now 15 members strong. Can’t wait to see what we all discover and learn as a team.
New members:
- Andrew Cherosky, Sophomore, Biology
- Josephine Waller, Sophomore, BCMB
- David Skinner, Junior, BCMB
- Carter Sanders, Senior, BCMB
- Kendra Philips, Senior, BCMB
October 25, 2018
Matthew Everett was awarded a research grant in the amount of $2500 from the Chancellor’s Honors Program. Congratulations, Matthew!!
He will utilizing these funds to study behavior and neural circuitry of a mouse model of CDKL5 disorder, a neurodevelopmental disorder with some similarities to Rett Syndrome.
Fall, 2018
We have our new lab members! So excited to see what we get done this semester. Welcome!
- Simran Dayal, Bioengineering major, Senior
- Joseph Zakaria, BCMB major, Sophomore
- Sarah-Anne Bowyer, BCMB major, Sophomore
- James Buchanan, Chemical Engineering major, Sophomore
- Cat Trieu, Neuroscience major, Sophomore
- Kristopher Reynolds, Biology major, Sophomore
- Raymond Senu, BCMB major, Sophomore
- Radha Awasthi, Freshman
- Sehee Hwang, Freshman