Lab Personel
Jordan Bond
Jordan Bond is a first-generation college graduate who graduated summa cum laude from the University of the District of Columbia. In the summer of 2022, Jordan participated in a UCLA summer internship program in a Polynesian Island, Mo’orea. Through this internship, she became a certified scientific diver and conducted extensive research on algae. In addition to her studies as a biology major, Jordan was as an undergraduate student researcher in the lab of Dr. Mathilde Knight, a renowned researcher in the realm of schistosomiasis. Jordan investigated the molecular interaction between the parasitic trematode, S. mansoni, and its intermediate host snail, B. glabrata. Her research involved studying susceptibility to S. mansoni infection across different strains of B. glabrata. Jordan investigated the expression of heat shock proteins 70 and 90 in the snail, and their role in determining resistance or susceptibility. Jordan’s continued commitment to learning has led her to pursue a doctoral degree in evolutionary biology and ecology at University of California Irvine. She will be joining the lab of Dr. Connor in the fall of 2023. Utilising her background in transcriptomics, proteomics and molecular-parasitology, Jordan is interested in understanding the genomic impact caused by various environmental changes using the mollusk, Mytilus californianus, as a novel model organism.
Jade Betancourt
Helen Hong M.S.
Helen moved from Norway to California in the pursuit of a college degree. After graduating from California Lutheran University with a B.S. in Biology, she spent time working in the Connor Lab as a laboratory assistant. Helen is interested in investigating marine biological systems by integrating physiological, biochemical and molecular approaches. She is currently working on using Co-Expression Network Analysis (CENA) method to investigate the correlation patterns among genes expressed in bivalves. For her PhD, she is interested in understanding stress and aging responses in intertidal species using gene expression.