While 2020 started like any normal year, we got exposed to a global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (COVID-19), which has affected the entire world. Our university largely shut down all lab research from mid-March until early August. Fortunately, everyone stayed healthy (and somewhat sane 😊).

Starla successfully defended her PhD in November and is staying in the lab for a year as a postdoc. Our spaceflight experiment successfully launched on Space X21 on Dec 6, 2020 and returned on Jan 14, 2021.

We congratulate two former undergraduate students, Chloe Troupe and Luke Alsbrooks on their graduation and welcomed two new undergraduates (Lily Crowns and Ashtin Hardin) to the lab along with Erin Brown who is continuing.

Finally, we are thrilled to learn that Shelbie gained admission to medical school and will be finishing her MS thesis in the spring and start medical school this summer. As well, Erin just got accepted to a highly competitive 2021 summer undergraduate research program at the McGovern Medical School (UT-Houston)