National Scholar Elizabeth Caldwell graduated with a degree in genetics in May 2025 and is headed to Yale University for a master’s degree in public health.
Since her freshman year, Caldwell has worked with Michael Sehorn, associate professor of genetics and biochemistry, focusing on DNA damage repair pathways in various disorders, including a rare immunodeficiency disease. Her passion stems from her own underresearched disorder, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Her love for research led her to the highly selective pediatric oncology education program at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the summers of 2023 and 2024, where she researched rare, cancerous mutations related to leukemia. On campus, Caldwell founded the Tigers 4 Accessibility club and volunteered at the Clemson Free Clinic.
Caldwell has been named a Truman Scholar and has received Clemson’s Norris Medal, the Matt Locke Leadership Award, the College of Science Outstanding Senior in Science Award, the Riley Institute’s Upstate Diversity Leadership Award, Dr. William Marcotte Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award and the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry Outstanding Senior in Genetics Award.
At the American Society of Microbiology Joint Branch Meeting of South Caroina (SC ASM) on November 9th, biochemistry and molecular biology master’s student Bryson Woodard received an Honorable Mention for his poster presentation titled, “Construction and Characterization of Transgenic Cell Lines for the Analysis of Glycosome Heterogeneity in Trypanosoma brucei“.
Bryson works in Dr. Meredith Morris’ lab in the Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC). The lab focuses on Trypanosoma brucei (the causative agent of African Sleeping Sickness) as a model organism and seeks to explore and close knowledge gaps within the parasite’s cellular biology.
“We are interested in the diversity of glycosomes, which are essential metabolic organelles within the Trypanosomes; previous research findings suggest that not all glycosomes are the same.”
To assess this diversity, Bryson and his lab mates use an endogenous tagging technique to attach fluorescent protein tags to essential glycosomal membrane proteins. These tagged membrane proteins allow analyzation of glycosomal diversity using fluorescence expansion microscopy and advanced forms of flow cytometry.
“To date, we have successfully attached our first fluorescent tag to our selected membrane proteins, subsequent attachment of additional tags and analysis is to follow.”
Attending the SC ASM fall meeting was an excellent experience for Bryson, where he was able to learn more about microbiological research happening in our state, network with other scientists and faculty and further prepare for his career as a physician.
“I am honored to have received an honorable mention for my poster presentation. I want to thank the conference organizers, my advisor, Dr. Meredith Morris and my lab mates for supporting me in these endeavors.”
Sydney Huiet B.S. ’19, M.S. ’22 remembers being as young as an elementary schooler, visiting friends’ houses and running home to tell her parents that her friend got their nose or eye color from their mom or dad, or what similarities they shared with their siblings.
“I actually knew from a very young age that I was interested in genetics. Even though I didn’t understand what genetics was at that point, I was naturally drawn to it. So, deciding to attend Clemson and study genetics was basically a no-brainer for me!”
Sydney grew up in Summerville, SC and was a genetics major and an animal and veterinary sciences minor, graduating in 2019 with her bachelor’s degree. Starting her sophomore year, Sydney began working in Dr. Leigh Anne Clark‘s Canine Genetics Lab, whose research focuses on identifying and characterizing the genetic underpinnings of complex diseases in dogs.
“Working in Dr. Clark’s lab allowed me to grow my passion for genetics and understand some of the health, emotional, and financial implications of having genetic testing available.”
Sydney completed her undergraduate departmental honors thesis in Dr. Clark’s lab and enjoyed the work so much that she decided to continue her research and stay for graduate school. Sydney worked on a variety of projects, but her undergraduate and master’s theses were both on a dental anomaly in Shetland sheepdogs called lance canine, discovering this condition was associated with having a decreased body size and discovered two linked variants that were causing this size reduction and increased risk for lance canine.
“This work resulted in a cover feature publication in PNAS and the creation of a genetic test for lance canine! This work was extremely rewarding and sparked my desire to go into the field of genetic testing.”
Even though Sydney was confident that working in the genetic testing industry was where she wanted her career to go, she decided to try something a bit different after graduating with her masters in genetics in 2022.
“I figured if I didn’t try something new now, then when would I? So I actually decided to try out working in forensic science at first. I worked at the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory in Hendersonville, NC for nearly two years as a scientist in the forensic biology unit.”
This role involved generating DNA profiles from crime scene evidence, performing statistical analysis to compare any unknown profiles to known standards in the case and testifying to these findings in court when necessary.
“It was rewarding work, but after a few years I knew my passion still lied with genetic testing.”
Sydney’s next move was to her current position at GeneDx, an industry leader in exome and genome testing. GeneDx is a genetic testing company that was founded in 2000 by two scientists from the National Institutes of Health, Sherri Bale and John Compton. GeneDx’s mission is to deliver health insights that inform diagnosis, direct treatment, and improve drug discovery.
Sydney’s is an associate genomic analyst on the Primary Analysis team at GenDx, where she designs PCR primers and send amps to the lab for anything needing confirmation, analyzes the resulting sequencing data and makes calls on whether the variants are real and what the zygosity of each family member is.
“Having accurate and timely results can make a monumental difference in developing a treatment plan for a patient and can save their family much emotional and financial stress. I find this work extremely rewarding, especially as GeneDx is continuing to offer tests with faster and faster turn-around-times for these patients.”
Sydney lives just outside of Charlotte, NC with her high school sweetheart-husband, Evan and works fully remote for GenDx. She is excited about the growing opportunities this field offers.
“There is a lot of growth in this field and at companies like GeneDx, so there are endless opportunities for career advancement, which is exciting! Right now I’m just enjoying newly-ish married life with my husband, Evan, and our three dogs Scout, Obi, and Pippin.”
Jessica Aycock is a second year Ph.D. student in Dr. Stephen Dolan’s lab housed in the Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center (EPIC) at Clemson University. This fall she had the opportunity to intern at IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, AK.
The IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics Internship program is designed to provide a unique opportunity for the next generation of scientists to explore an alternative career option in biomedical research by gaining experience in a national resource and core facility environment. Interns are encouraged to bring proteomics samples related to their project, enabling them to work on their own research while they are interning.
Jessica spent two weeks at IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics gaining a unique hands-on research experience which included managing the entire behind the scenes proteomics workflow – sample prep, mass spectrometry and downstream bioinformatics processing – on her own Ph.D. research samples.
“Not only did I deepen my understanding of my own research, but the experience also broadened my perspective of career opportunities beyond traditional paths.”
In addition, Jessica learned the ins and outs of mass spectrometers including instrumentation, operation and contribution to data acquisition. She also had the chance to explore career options outside of industry and academia, learning how a national core facility functions.
“Learning the intricacies of proteomics through participating in the IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics internship was an amazing, eye-opening experience. Moving forward, I plan to use these insights to advance my research in the Dolan Lab and explore new directions in the field of proteomics!”
IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics provides unmatched and cost-effective access to state-of-the-art quantitative proteomics platforms and education, outreach and training opportunities that will increase the capacity of National Institutes of Health-funded investigators to perform cutting-edge biomedical research.
