Meet the Team
Ronald Chandler, Ph.D.--Associate Professor
Dr. Chandler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and adjunct Assistant Professor at the Van Andel Research Institute. He received his Ph.D from Vanderbilt University. He is passionate about training the next generation of scientists and clinicians and works hard to ensure their future successes. Dr. Chandler still works in the lab and spends his free time working on his hobby farm.
Publications
Shannon Harkins—Graduate Student
Shannon Harkins is a graduate student in the Genetics and Genome Sciences program at Michigan State University. Shannon completed a Master’s of Science in Translational Medical Research specializing in Molecular Oncology at the University of Heidelberg. Prior to starting at MSU, Shannon was working at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital on the molecular characterization and in vivo modeling of human B-cell lymphoid neoplasms. Shannon is interested in combining her passion for cancer research with her desire to contribute to the betterment of women’s health. Pre-pandemic, Shannon was an avid traveler who enjoyed exploring new countries and cultures.
Hilary Skalski—Graduate Student
Hilary Skalski is a graduate student in the Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology program at Michigan State University. Hilary completed a Master’s of Health Science at Grand Valley State University. At GVSU, her thesis investigated if obesity induced in a male mouse by altered leptin signaling (ob/ob and db/db) affected the epididymis’ immune system profile, as these models show reduced epididymal fertility parameters. Before starting at MSU, Hilary worked at University of Michigan Health-West as a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. Also, during this time, Hilary taught multiple biomedical and health science classes at Grand Valley State University. For her PhD, Hilary would like to continue investigating the relationship between obesity and reproductive health, but now in regards to the female reproductive tract.
Nina Cuthrell--Undergraduate Researcher
Nina Cuthrell is a pre-medicine student at Hope College. She has done a few semesters of psychology research at Hope College, but was intrigued by Dr. Chandler’s endometriosis research and decided to reach out to him. After being diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 14, studying gynecological diseases became Nina's life project. She hopes to become a pediatric gynecologist to help young women who are going through what she went through. When not in classes or research, you can find Nina playing with her dog, watching movies, or drinking coffee with friends.
Amelia Arendt--Undergraduate Researcher
Amelia Arendt is a senior undergraduate student at Hope College She is studying Biology and Classical History.
Former Lab Members
Jeanne Holladay—Research Technician
Jeanne received her M.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology (with an emphasis on Biotechnology) from Grand Valley State University. Prior to joining the Chandler lab, Jeanne did her internship at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality where she tested water samples for microbiological contaminates. Jeanne’s Master’s degree and hands-on experiences in the Chandler lab provided her with training and a research perspective that she hopes will improve her abilities as high school/middle school science teacher, a career path she plans to pursue.
Subechhya Neupane--Research Technician
Subechhya completed her undergrad degree in Microbiology in her home country of Nepal. She moved to the US to complete her Master's degree in Professional Science Masters in Cell and Molecular Biology (Biotechnology emphasis) at Grand Valley State University. First as an intern and then as a research technician, Subechhya pursued a project to create a mouse model of gynecologic cancer using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing approach in vivo. Subechhya now work at the University of Pennsylvania in the lab of Dr. Dana Graves.
Cristina Perez—MSU medical student
Cristina received her B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience from the University of Michigan. Cristina was a MSU medical student. She has been apart of clinical and lab research in the past, which includes spending the summer of 2018 working in a research lab at Stanford University in California studying Nemo-like Kinase in various cancers. Aside from school and research, Cristina enjoys running and training for marathons, traveling, and keeping up with the latest food scene.
Julie Ngo—MSU medical student
Julie received her B.S. in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior from the University of California, Davis, and a Post-Baccalaureate in Health Professions at the University of California, Berkeley. Julie is currently an MSU medical student, class of 2022. Julie came to our lab with previous research experience in the labs of Karen Bales and Lisa Miller at UC Davis, as well as Antibody Solutions Inc.
Publications
Jake J. Reske—Graduate Student
Jake Reske received his Ph.D. from the Genetics & Genome Sciences program at Michigan State University in 2020. Jake utilized functional genomics to make key discoveries on the regulatory roles of ARID1A in the endometrium, which culminated in several first-author publications. Jake is a competent bench scientist and bioinformatician and was able to utilize genomics data from wet-lab experiments to develop new data analysis pipelines, including best-practices approaches for ATAC-seq normalization. After graduating, Jake pursued his dream of a job in industry. Currently, Jake works as a Scientist in the Genetics and Bioinformatics Group at Zoetis in Kalamazoo, MI. Outside of the lab, Jake enjoys life in beautiful Grand Rapids.
Publications
Mike R. Wilson, Ph.D.—Postdoctoral Fellow
Mike received his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Wayne State University. Mike was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Cancer Society in 2018, and K99/R00 award from the National Cancer Institute in 2021. As a postdoc, Mike published several first-author publications in the lab. He went on to pursue his dream of a faculty career in academia in his hometown of Detroit, MI. Currently, Mike is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at Wayne State University and Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit, MI. He is interested in obesity, endoplasmic reticulum stress and endometrial cancer.
Publications
Dr. Chandler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and adjunct Assistant Professor at the Van Andel Research Institute. He received his Ph.D from Vanderbilt University. He is passionate about training the next generation of scientists and clinicians and works hard to ensure their future successes. Dr. Chandler still works in the lab and spends his free time working on his hobby farm.
Publications
Shannon Harkins—Graduate Student
Shannon Harkins is a graduate student in the Genetics and Genome Sciences program at Michigan State University. Shannon completed a Master’s of Science in Translational Medical Research specializing in Molecular Oncology at the University of Heidelberg. Prior to starting at MSU, Shannon was working at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital on the molecular characterization and in vivo modeling of human B-cell lymphoid neoplasms. Shannon is interested in combining her passion for cancer research with her desire to contribute to the betterment of women’s health. Pre-pandemic, Shannon was an avid traveler who enjoyed exploring new countries and cultures.
Hilary Skalski—Graduate Student
Hilary Skalski is a graduate student in the Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology program at Michigan State University. Hilary completed a Master’s of Health Science at Grand Valley State University. At GVSU, her thesis investigated if obesity induced in a male mouse by altered leptin signaling (ob/ob and db/db) affected the epididymis’ immune system profile, as these models show reduced epididymal fertility parameters. Before starting at MSU, Hilary worked at University of Michigan Health-West as a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. Also, during this time, Hilary taught multiple biomedical and health science classes at Grand Valley State University. For her PhD, Hilary would like to continue investigating the relationship between obesity and reproductive health, but now in regards to the female reproductive tract.
Nina Cuthrell--Undergraduate Researcher
Nina Cuthrell is a pre-medicine student at Hope College. She has done a few semesters of psychology research at Hope College, but was intrigued by Dr. Chandler’s endometriosis research and decided to reach out to him. After being diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 14, studying gynecological diseases became Nina's life project. She hopes to become a pediatric gynecologist to help young women who are going through what she went through. When not in classes or research, you can find Nina playing with her dog, watching movies, or drinking coffee with friends.
Amelia Arendt--Undergraduate Researcher
Amelia Arendt is a senior undergraduate student at Hope College She is studying Biology and Classical History.
Former Lab Members
Jeanne Holladay—Research Technician
Jeanne received her M.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology (with an emphasis on Biotechnology) from Grand Valley State University. Prior to joining the Chandler lab, Jeanne did her internship at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality where she tested water samples for microbiological contaminates. Jeanne’s Master’s degree and hands-on experiences in the Chandler lab provided her with training and a research perspective that she hopes will improve her abilities as high school/middle school science teacher, a career path she plans to pursue.
Subechhya Neupane--Research Technician
Subechhya completed her undergrad degree in Microbiology in her home country of Nepal. She moved to the US to complete her Master's degree in Professional Science Masters in Cell and Molecular Biology (Biotechnology emphasis) at Grand Valley State University. First as an intern and then as a research technician, Subechhya pursued a project to create a mouse model of gynecologic cancer using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing approach in vivo. Subechhya now work at the University of Pennsylvania in the lab of Dr. Dana Graves.
Cristina Perez—MSU medical student
Cristina received her B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience from the University of Michigan. Cristina was a MSU medical student. She has been apart of clinical and lab research in the past, which includes spending the summer of 2018 working in a research lab at Stanford University in California studying Nemo-like Kinase in various cancers. Aside from school and research, Cristina enjoys running and training for marathons, traveling, and keeping up with the latest food scene.
Julie Ngo—MSU medical student
Julie received her B.S. in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior from the University of California, Davis, and a Post-Baccalaureate in Health Professions at the University of California, Berkeley. Julie is currently an MSU medical student, class of 2022. Julie came to our lab with previous research experience in the labs of Karen Bales and Lisa Miller at UC Davis, as well as Antibody Solutions Inc.
Publications
Jake J. Reske—Graduate Student
Jake Reske received his Ph.D. from the Genetics & Genome Sciences program at Michigan State University in 2020. Jake utilized functional genomics to make key discoveries on the regulatory roles of ARID1A in the endometrium, which culminated in several first-author publications. Jake is a competent bench scientist and bioinformatician and was able to utilize genomics data from wet-lab experiments to develop new data analysis pipelines, including best-practices approaches for ATAC-seq normalization. After graduating, Jake pursued his dream of a job in industry. Currently, Jake works as a Scientist in the Genetics and Bioinformatics Group at Zoetis in Kalamazoo, MI. Outside of the lab, Jake enjoys life in beautiful Grand Rapids.
Publications
Mike R. Wilson, Ph.D.—Postdoctoral Fellow
Mike received his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Wayne State University. Mike was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Cancer Society in 2018, and K99/R00 award from the National Cancer Institute in 2021. As a postdoc, Mike published several first-author publications in the lab. He went on to pursue his dream of a faculty career in academia in his hometown of Detroit, MI. Currently, Mike is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology at Wayne State University and Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit, MI. He is interested in obesity, endoplasmic reticulum stress and endometrial cancer.
Publications