People

Meet the team

Dr Mike Cowley
Associate Professor

Mike obtained his PhD in Developmental Genetics from the University of Bath, UK, and studied epigenetic mechanisms regulating gene transcription as a postdoc at King's College London, UK. He was the recipient of The London Law Trust Medal Fellowship in 2012 and established his group at NC State University in 2014.

Mark Simmers
PhD Student (Toxicology Program)

Mark completed his BS in Human Biology at NC State University and joined the Cowley Lab in 2017. He is studying the epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms that lead to impaired placental function in response to developmental cadmium exposure.

Sierra Moorefield
PhD Student (Toxicology Program)

Sierra obtained her BS in Biology and BA in Chemistry at Meredith College. Since joining the Cowley Lab in 2018, she has been studying the role of imprinted genes in driving non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as a consequence of developmental exposure to cadmium.

Cassie Starnes
Undergraduate Research Student (Zoology and Animal Science)

Cassie joined the team in 2019. She is working in collaboration with Sierra to investigate the mechanisms that program non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in response to developmental cadmium exposure.

Find out what our alumni did next!

Postdoctoral research scholars

Dr Marine Baptissart (2015-2020)

Winner of Best Poster Award at the UNC CGIBD Annual Symposium
Co-investigator on an NIDDK-sponsored pilot project
Current position: Research Fellow, Male Reproduction and RNA Biology Group, NIEHS

Graduate students

Dr Katie Hudson (PhD, Genetics Program; graduated May 2019)

Winner of two Provost Research Awards ($10,000 each)
Current position: NIH IRTA Postdoctoral Fellow, Mechanisms of Genome Dynamics Group, NIEHS

Undergraduate students

Brie Jones (BS, Biological Sciences - Integrative Physiology and Neurobiology concentration; graduated May 2020)

Recipient of an Office of Undergraduate Research Grant
Current position: Medical Assistant, Raleigh, NC

Sanya Mehta (BS, Nutrition Science; graduated May 2019)

Current position: Postbac IRTA, Immunity, Inflammation and Disease Group, NIEHS

Jesse Tehrani (BS, Biological Sciences - Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology concentration; graduated May 2018)

Recipient of an Office of Undergraduate Research Grant, and winner of an Outstanding Presentation Award at the Undergraduate Research Symposium
Current position: PhD in Genetics & Molecular Biology, Emory University

Evan Walsh (BS, Biological Sciences - Human Biology concentration; graduated May 2018)

Recipient of an Office of Undergraduate Research Grant, and winner of an Outstanding Presentation Award at the Undergraduate Research Symposium
Current position: PhD in Bioinformatics, NC State