Natalie G. Farny, PhD

Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor of Biology and Biotechnology

Dr. Natalie Farny earned a B.S. in Biology and Philosophy from Boston College in 2000. She earned a PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology in 2009 from Harvard University in Dr. Pamela Silver’s lab, where she studied mRNA nuclear export pathways. From there, Dr. Farny completed her postdoctoral work (2009 – 2013) in Dr. Joel Richter’s lab at UMass Chan Medical School, where she studied mRNA metabolism in the brain. Natalie then moved to WPI as a teaching faculty member, and taught courses and led undergraduate research initiatives from 2013 – 2019. She served as the Associate Director of the Morgan Teaching and Learning Center from 2017 – 2019. She first became engaged with synthetic biology as an iGEM team mentor, then went on to be a judge, and served as co-chair of the iGEM Measurement Committee from 2017 – 2019. Dr. Farny is currently an Assistant Professor of Biology and Biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she has been a PI since 2019. Her lab studies the relationship between cells and their environments in many contexts. She is particularly interested in the effects of soil and water contaminants on cells, and on the application of synthetic biology to understanding and remediating environmental contaminants. She is the recipient of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Early Career Award, and the WPI Board of Trustees Award for Outstanding Teaching. Her lab is funded by the NIH, NSF, EPA, DARPA, and ARL.   Natalie lives in Natick, MA with her husband, her two sons, a dog and a cat. When she’s not in the lab, Natalie enjoys gardening, hiking, swimming, and quilting.

Lauren Abraham, Undergraduate Researcher, Biology and Biotechnology

Lauren is a senior Biology and Biotechnology major at WPI graduating in May 2024. Lauren hopes to continue at WPI as a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Biotechnology. She started at the Farny Lab in January 2022 using PCR and 16S sequencing to identify the isolated strains of the soil microbe Pseudomonas putida. Her research has expanded to include testing inducible synthetic genetic circuits and utilizing P. putida as a biosensor to detect heavy metals in soil. In her free time, Lauren enjoys creating costumes, hiking, cooking, and taking walks in search of cool plants and mushrooms.
 
 

Afreen Anwar, PhD Candidate and Research Technician

Afreen is a Laboratory Technician in the Biology and Biotechnology Department here at WPI since May 2022 in Farny Lab. She has been working in development of onsite and rapid aptamer-based biosensor for food, water, and environmental monitoring. Before joining WPI, Afreen was working as DST Women Scientist-B at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. Outside of the lab, Afreen enjoys exploring new things, long drives, shopping, and cooking.
 

Erik Breiling, Undergraduate Researcher, Biology and Biotechnology, Biochemistry

Gabrielle Cabebe, PhD Student, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Gabrielle is a graduate student in the Bioinformatics & Computational Biology department. They obtained their B.S. in Biochemistry in 2019. They were originally on the pre-health route, working as an Emergency Medical Technician and then as a Medical Technician doing testing and blood drawing on COVID-19 patients. They began their graduate studies at WPI in Fall 2021 and joined the Farny lab that October. Gabrielle has been focusing on computationally analyzing the transcriptome of Pseudomonas putida and uncovering more about its gene regulation in varying environments. On their free time, Gabrielle enjoys indoor climbing, swimming, and piano.

Alexandra Cabral, PhD Candidate, Biology and Biotechnology

Ally is a graduate student in the biology and biotechnology department here at WPI, where she is pursuing her Ph.D. She earned her B.A. in biotechnology and molecular biology at Assumption College in 2020 and then began her graduate studies here in the Fall of 2020. Ally joined the Farny lab in October of 2020 and has since been focused on investigating the relationship between oxidative stress and protein aggregation, using stress granules as a model. Outside of the lab, Ally enjoys going for long road trips, long walks and playing with her dogs!

Genesis Nicole Carpio Paucar, PhD Student, Biology and Biotechnology

Danielle Costello, PhD Candidate, Biology and Biotechnology

Danielle is a graduate student in the biology and biotechnology department here at WPI, where she is pursuing her Ph.D. She earned her B.S. in Secondary Science Education – Biology in 2012. She started out teaching K-12 science in the Hudson Public School District and then spent time working for Siemens Healthineers, where she managed immunoassay scale up projects. She began her graduate studies at WPI in the Fall of 2021and joined the Farny lab in October of 2021. Since joining, Danielle has been focused on investigating the relationship between Ultraviolet Radiation and protein aggregation, using stress granules as a model. Outside of the lab, Danielle spends her time raising her two wonderful babies with her husband. She enjoys being outside in her garden, taking care of her chickens and beach days!

Gabriella Guzman-Jerry, Undergraduate Researcher, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Siqin Li, PhD Student, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Yizhe Ma, PhD Candidate, Biology and Biotechnology

Yizhe is a graduate student in the biology and biotechnology department at WPI. She earned her B.S. in Biology and Chemistry at Brandeis University in 2021 and then began her graduate studies in the fall of 2021. She joined the Farny lab in January of 2022 and has been focusing her research on identification of genetic suppressors of RNA Granules. Outside of the lab, Yizhe enjoys traveling and hiking!

William Miller, Undergraduate Researcher, Biology and Biotechnology

Abigail O’Connor, M.S. Student, Biology and Biotechnology

Stephanie Reis, Undergraduate Researcher, Biology and Biotechnology

Steph is an undergraduate student in the Biology and Biotechnology department here at WPI. She joined the Farny Lab in August of 2022 where she has been studying the negative effects of heavy metals and restorative effects of DNA-based aptamers on model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Outside of the lab, Steph enjoys baking, gardening, hiking, and spending time with her dog, Ruby!

Stokley Voltmer, B.S. ’22, M.S. Student,  Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Hayley Wigren, Undergraduate Researcher, Biology and Biotechnology

Katie Stratton, MQP student, B.S. ’23 Biology and Biotechnology

Hope Hutchinson, MQP student, B.S. ’23, Biology and Biotechnology

John Gabelmann, MQP student, B.S. ’23 Biochemistry

Natalie Kay, Undergraduate researcher, B.S. ’23 Biology and Biotechnology

Amelia Sadlon, Undergraduate Researcher, B.S. ’23 Biology and Biotechnology

Zijian Guan, Undergraduate Researcher, B.S. ’23 Computer Science

Kylie Hoar, Undergraduate researcher, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology ’25

Dr. Andres Felipe Carrillo Rincon, postdoctoral researcher 2019 – 2022

Matthew Bruno, M.S. 2022, Biology and Biotechnology (B.S. Biomedical Engineering 2020)

Solimar Ramis De Ayreflor Reyes, M.S. 2022 (B.S. Biology and Biotechnology 2019)

Michaela Sorrento, MQP student, B.S. ’22 Biology and Biotechnology

Sarah Jones, MQP student and research assistant, B.S. ’22 Biology and Biotechnology

Alexis Rock, Research Assistant, MQP student, and technician, B.S. ’21 Biology and Biotechnology

Edina David, summer research exchange student, 2022

Furkan Atahan, MQP student, B.S. ’21 Biology and Biotechnology

Enyonam Edoh, MQP student, B.S. ’21 Biochemistry

Vivian Nguyen, MQP student, B.S. ’21 Biology and Biotechnology

Thien-Kim Nguyen, Undergraduate Researcher, B.S. ’21 Biology and Biotechnology

Claire Dickson-Burke, Research Technician, B.S. ’19 Biology and Biotechnology