Meet the Hoppins Lab
Suzanne Hoppins, PhD (she/her)
Associate professor
B.S. University of Alberta
PhD University of Alberta
Postdoc, University of California Davis
I grew up on a dairy farm in central Alberta, Canada and I am a first-gen college graduate. I love learning every day by reading papers, looking at cells on the microscope, bands on a Western blot, or protein activity in a 96-well plate. I have studied mitochondrial biology throughout my education and career because I am fascinated by these amazing organelles.
Jennifer Bocanegra (she/they)
Jenny is using the powerful model organism C. elegans to find genetic interactors with mitofusin.
Amy Bounds (she/her)
Amy is from Raleigh, North Carolina and received her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry in 2020 from Salem College. Her PhD thesis is focused on understanding the role of a cytosolic protein, MSTO1. Amy is also interested in using different forms of communication to share exciting and important science discoveries with non-specialists. Outside of the lab, Amy enjoys racing triathlons, playing soccer, and shooting film photography.
Sophie Hurwitz (they/them)
Sophie studies the structure and function of the mitofusin paralogs in mitochondrial fusion and is collaborating with the Gordon lab to investigate the proteins’ conformational dynamics. Sophie developed their love of research at Union College where they studied both Biochemistry and Theater. In their free time, they love to attend a modern dance class, see plays or bake a new recipe.
Chloe Higuchi (she/her)
Chloe is a research technician using S. cerevisiae and human cells to understand the role of MSTO1 in regulating mitochondrial fusion. Chloe is a recent graduate from the University of Washington where she received her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry with minors in Data Science and Chemistry. Chloe is originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, and her favorite color is yellow.
Lab Alumni
Stephanie Sloat PhD.
Emily Engelhart PhD.
Nyssa Samanas PhD.
Brittany Whitley PhD.
Nidhi Mereddy – Undergraduate Researcher
Armon Doss – Undergraduate Researcher
Ben Hager – Research Technician
Dan Vail – Undergraduate Researcher
Cindy Wei – Research Technician
Hannah Winter – Undergraduate Researcher
Carly Horn – Undergraduate Researcher