Our Team
Fall 2022 in Newark's Miliatry Park
L to R: Zee, Isaiah, Jack, Kris, Neha, Saisanjana, Neel, Shakila
Missing were: Pranati, Prithvi, Dana
Kristen Severi, Ph.D.
Kristen joined the department at NJIT in January 2018 as an Assistant Professor. She did her postdoctoral work in Paris, France, with Dr. Claire Wyart and her PhD work jointly between Harvard University in Cambridge, MA with Dr. Florian Engert and Northeastern University with Dr. Donald O'Malley in Boston, MA.
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Please contact Kris via email regarding openings for:
Graduate Students (MS or PhD)
Undergraduate researchers from NJIT/Rutgers
Zainab Tanvir, M.S.
Zainab (Zee) is a Ph.D. candidate in the joint Rutgers University Newark - NJIT Biology program in the Neuro track. She used to work on plants and was kind enough to explain to Kris who Cardi B is. She is also a member of the Haspel lab. Zainab's work in 2022-2023 is supported by the Rutgers University Dean's Dissertation Fellowship. Zainab has been a recipient of multiple awards and fellowships to support her research.
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Contact email: zt64 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Prithvi Rajbabu
Prithvi is a Biology major at NJIT and has been an undergraduate researcher since 2021. His Summer 2022 work is supported by an NJIT Provost Fellowship.
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Contact email: pr28 at njit.edu
Joseph Cudia
Jack has been an undergraduate researcher since 2022 and graduated Spring '23! He graduated with a Biology Major and an Applied Mathematics Minor. He continues to work on projects with the team while pursuing his post-bac career.
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Contact email: jac289 at njit.edu
Isaiah Ellis
Isaiah has been an undergraduate researcher since 2022.
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Contact email: ime2 at njit.edu
Shakila Behzadi, B.S., A.A.
Shakila is a post-bac researcher and lab manager who's been with us since June 2022. She earned her B.S. in Biology and A.A. in Psychology from NJIT and BCC, respectively. Currently, Shakila is teaming up with our resident Ph.D. candidate, Zee, to delve into the intriguing world of Maunter cell development and synaptic connection in dark-raised Zebrafish. Shakila is eager to enhance her bench work skills by working on various fields and gaining hands-on experience. Her ultimate goal is to work as a scientist and contribute to important discoveries in her field ˙ᵕ˙.
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Contact email: sb983 at njit.edu
Nilasha Chakrabarty, MSc
Nilasha (Neel) is a PhD student in the department since Fall 2022 in the Neuro track. She is currently rotating in the Fortune lab. Neel recently graduated with an MSc in Biotechnology and worked on Drosophila social behaviour pertaining to Autism Spectrum Disorders. She has always loved animals and if she wasn't doing science and studying behaviour she would have loved to be an animal shearer or a zookeeper. She's an intermediate level metalhead, art, miniatures, and spicy ramen enthusiast!
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Contact email: nc463 at njit.edu
William Botta, M.S.
William Botta is PhD student in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Evolution. He got his B.S. in Marine Biology at the University of Rhode Island and his Master's in Marine Science at the University of New England studying aggression behavior in the European Green Crab. He is currently studying mass panic behavior in zebrafish in the Swarm lab and the Severi Lab. His main research interests are in intraspecies and interspecies behavior and in community ecology, with special interests in manta rays, coral reefs, and the deep sea.
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Contact email: wjb at njit.edu
Summer students
Due to COVID-19, summer 2021 featured research by students via the remote OSU Math Biology Institute REU program co-supervised by Dr. Enkeleida Lushi (NJIT Math Dept).
Jane Siwek (MBI, William & Mary Math Undergrad)
Jacob Stump (MBI, U. of Cincinnati Math Undergrad)
Summer 2020
Due to COVID-19, summer 2020 featured research by students via the OSU Math Biology Institute REU program and NJIT 's Research@Home remote research summer program.
Kate Wall (MBI, BYU Math Undergrad)
Nathaniel Netznik (MBI, Penn State Math Undergrad)
Haider Zaki (Research @Home, lab member and NJIT Biology undergrad)
Hassan Elsaid (Research @Home, NJIT Biology undergrad)
Summer 2019
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Undergraduate researcher Mahathi Mohan Gowda was supported with an NJIT Provost URI.
Livingston High School students Karina Malhotra (right) and Emily Zhang (left) learning to solder wires during their 2019 summer project. Thanks to the Fortune lab for letting us borrow your setup and showing them all the tricks.
Summer 2023
Three students are supported for summer research by the NJIT Provost Summer URI and the NJIT Albert Dorman Honors College Honors Summer Research Institute.
Evan Correa (Provost and HSRI)
Saad Mohammed (Provost)
Dhanya Sureshbabu (HSRI with Daphne Soares lab)
Summer 2022
Undergraduate Prithvi Rajbabu was supported by the NJIT Provost Summer URI for summer research.
Summer 2021
Two students were supported for summer research by the NJIT Provost Summer URI and the NJIT Albert Dorman Honors College Honors Summer Research Institute.
Pranati Ambati (Provost)
Nikitha Pappachen (HSRI)
Lab Alumni
Pranati Ambati, Biology
Pranati was in the lab from 2021-2023, is a graduate of the NJIT Class of 2022 and continued her work in the lab as a post-bac. Her Summer 2021 work was supported by an NJIT Provost Fellowship. She went on to Medical school at Rowan University.
Nehal Patel, Biology
Neha was in the lab from 2022-2023, is a graduate of the NJIT Class of 2022 and continued her work in the lab as a post-bac. Her 2022-2023 work was supported by an NJIT Faculty Seed Grant. She went on to Medical school at New Jersey Medical School.
Saisanjana Vellampalli, Biology
Saisanjana was in the lab from 2021-2023, is a graduate of the NJIT Class of 2023 She went on to Medical school at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Beatrice Rejouis, Biology
Beatrice was in the lab from 2019-2022 as an undergraduate researcher, NJIT Class of 2021, apost-bac researcher, and fish whisperer extraordinaire. Her first authors manuscript is in preparation. She went on to Veterinary school at St. George's.
Nikitha Pappachen, Biology
Nikitha was in the lab from 2020-2022 as an undergraduate researcher, and graduated in the NJIT class of 2022. She went on to medical school at Rowan University.
Haider Zaki, Biology
Haider was in the lab from 2019-2021 as an undergraduate researcher, was the author of publication from the lab, and went on to Medical school at New Jersey Medical School.
Aryan Mahajan, Biology
Aryan was in the lab from 2020-2021 as an undergraduate researcher.
Dr. Kevin Christie, Ph.D.
Kevin was in the lab from 2020-2021 as a Postdoctoral researcher and moved on to a postdoc at University of Delaware at the Shao lab.
Alfred Amendolara, M.S. Biology
Alfred was in the lab from 2020-2021 as a researcher and went on to medical school at Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Ilona Cazorla-Morales, B.A. Biology
Ilona was in the lab from 2020-2021 as an Post-Bac researcher and technician who went on to medical school at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.
Mahathi Mohan Gowda, B.S. Forensic Science
Mahathi was in the lab from 2018-2021 as an undergraduate researcher is currently pursuing a career in forensics and medicine.
Pratik Sinha, B.A., Biology
Pratik was in the lab from 2018-2020 as an undergraduate researcher and went on to medical school at Rowan University.
Sarah Morgan, B.S., Biology
Sarah was in the lab from 2018-2020 as an undergraduate researcher and went on to a DPT program in Physical Therapy at Hunter College.
Amany Emam, B.A., Biology
Amany was in the lab from 2018-2019 as a Post-Bac went on to a Master's degree at NYU.
Lab Mascots
Onyx is one of the unofficial official Severi Lab Mascots. Zainab's black cat Onyx keeps it cool and as you can see from the photo is very studious!
Benedict is one of the unofficial official Severi Lab Mascots and is Neel's bunny! This good boy is 2.5 years old and was adopted when he was 8 months of age from a breeder who wasn't keeping him or his siblings in a good condition :( He is super fussy eater and hogs on basil and coriander. Additionally, he has a decent appetite for all kinds of wires and headphones (maybe that's his secret to strong teeth) and really enjoys napping in the AC.
Kate was one of the unofficial official Severi Lab Mascots. Ilona's dog Kate has charmed her way through the lab via Zoom meetings and cheers everyone on from the comfort of her own home. You can always catch her eating snacks and basking in the sun!
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