Dr. Doucet-O’Hare received her Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences with a minor in Spanish from Clemson University in 2010. She then attended the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD) and earned a Ph.D. in Human Genetics in 2016 before beginning her first post-doctoral research position at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health in the lab of Avindra Nath, M.D. (Bethesda, MD). In 2021, Dr. Doucet-O’Hare started as a Research Fellow at the National Cancer Institute in the lab of Dr. Zhengping Zhuang. She then joined Clemson University as an assistant professor in August of 2024 in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry.
Dr. Fierro received both his BS and his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. During his Ph.D. he was in the lab of Dr. Vasant Muralidharan to study cellular signaling within the context of malaria parasites. He then joined the lab of Dr. Josh Beck at Iowa State University to master genetic manipulation of these parasites. During his tenure as a post doctoal fellow, he developed several molecular tools to perform functional genetic studies to characterize essential protein trafficking machinery and further expand our understanding of protein export recognition. Dr. Fierro officially joins the department in October 2024 as an assistant professor.
Dr. Jezewski will join us in January 2025 as an assistant professor. He is a molecular microbiologist and biochemist studying pathogenic eukaryotes. His graduate work at Washington University focused on metabolism, mechanisms of drug resistance, and host targeted drug-development. He comes to us from Damian Krysan’s Lab in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa as postdoctoral scholar.
Dr. Mercer comes to us as a lecturer with 25 years of experience as a research scientist at Emory University, five years as a public health scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and three years as a lecturer of biology and course coordinator of biology labs at Kennesaw State University. She is passionate about teaching and mentoring students and is excited to continue her teaching career here at Clemson. Dr. Mercer began teaching this fall semester.
Dr. Mukhtar earned his Ph.D. from the Max-Planck Institute in Cologne in 2005, working under the supervision of Imre Somssich and Paul Schulze-Lefert. In 2006, he joined Jeff Dangl’s lab at UNC-Chapel Hill for his postdoctoral research, and part of his work was done at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. In 2010, he became a faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he was awarded tenure and earned the rank of full professor. After 14 years at UAB, Dr. Mukhtar joined Clemson University in July 2024.
Dr. Jamie L. Wood received her B.S. in biochemistry and M.S. in genetics both from Clemson University and her Ph.D. in biology from The University of Mississippi. She is currently an Assistant Professor of the Practice of Medical Education with Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Wood loves teaching students about the wonders of the cellular and molecular world and looks forward to engaging undergraduate students on these topics. She also has an interest in scientific misinformation and teaching students how to be effective science communicators. She will join the department as a lecturer in January 2025.
Ashley was born and raised just around the corner in Pickens, SC and graduated from Pickens High School in 2001. She has spent years fostering children. Ashley has many years of accounting experience and recently left Blue Ridge Electric in the Customer Service Department after 11 years of service. As our accounts payable and receivable accountant, Ashely handles all purchasing, invoicing and reimbursement needs. She is the go-to person for all Concur, Buyways and day-to-day accounting needs.
Crystal, originally from Brooklyn, NY, has lived in the Upstate for most of her life. She graduated from Lander University in 2022 with a degree in Business Administration and received her MBA in Digital Brand Communications from Clemson University in August 2024. As our Graduate Program Coordinator, Crystal provides administrative support in planning, designing,and implementing Ph.D. degree program in the department.
