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The Escorcia Laboratory

Associated Lab Members

EXTERNAL ASSOCIATES

Martin Vo

Current Affiliation: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie (LECOM)

Degree path: Completing a D.O. in pediatric medicine

Class: 2026

Xavier & Lab Alumn:  Class of 2022

Lab Publication(s):

  • Contributing author in Early-Life Caffeine Exposure Induces Morphological Changes and Altered Physiology in Caenorhabditis elegans (2023). Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 
  • First author of Photo Phenosizer, a rapid machine learning-based method to measure cell dimensions in fission yeast (2022). microPublication Biology. 
  • Contributing author in Comprehensive Genetic Analysis of DGAT2 Mutations and Gene Expression Patterns in Human Cancers (2021). Biology.

Scientific Meeting Presentation(s)

CURRENT PROJECTS AT LECOM/XAVIER:

Lab Project(s):

  1. Development of an automated genotyper for fission yeast strain construction using an iPhone photo-based app (computer science, genetics)
  2. Analysis on the effect of driver and pathogenic mutations in cancer (bioinformatics, genetics, genomics, statistics)
  3. Application of an automated, cell-segmenting program in detecting morphology changes linked to cell cycle disruptions (computer science, genetics, microscopy)
  4. Development of a comptutational framework to screen for driver mutations in lipid-regulating pathways associated with accelerated ageing and premature-onsert cancers (medicine, genomics, genetics, bioinformatics, computer science) 

LEGACY PROJECTS AT XAVIER:

Lab Project(s):

  1. Automated cell segmentation to measure S. pombe cell dimensions (bioinformatics, genetics, microscopy)
  2. Contribution of ribosome stalling to early cancer onset (bioinformatics)
  3. Examination of cancer mutations in medically-relevant liver enzymes (bioinformatics)
  4. Genetic analysis of DGAT2 mutations in human cancers (bioinformatics)

Senior Thesis Title: 

  • A rapid machine learning-based method to analyze cell dimensions in fission yeast microscope images

 

INTERNAL ASSOCIATES

 

Mauricio Dominguez

Co-Mentor(s): Hanna Wetzel, Ph.D.

Major: B.S. in Biological Sciences for Business 

Class Level: Junior (2025)

Career Goal: Ph.D. in Chemistry

Lab Publication(s):

  • Contributing author in Early-Life Caffeine Exposure Induces Morphological Changes and Altered Physiology in Caenorhabditis elegans (2023). Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 
  • Contributing author in Photo Phenosizer, a rapid machine learning-based method to measure cell dimensions in fission yeast (2022). microPublication Biology. 

Scientific Meeting Presentation(s)

Lab Project(s):

  1. Automated cell segmentation to measure S. pombe cell dimensions (bioinformatics, genetics, microscopy)
  2. Role of the fission yeast lipid regulators Sre1, Dga1, and Cut6 in response to DNA damage (bioinformatics, genetics, molecular biology, microscopy)
  3. Automated examination of cell dimension changes in a Hip1 mutant following DNA damage (bioinformatics, genetics, molecular biology, microscopy)
  4. Contribution of ribosome stalling to early cancer onset (bioinformatics)
  5. Generation of a quantitative method to validate micropad quality in live-cell microscopy experimental routines (microscopy, mathematical biology)
  6. The role of DNA damage in lipid level deregulation in fission yeast (genetics, molecular biology, microscopy)

  

 

Lance Kuo-Esser

Co-mentors: Hanna Wetzel, Ph.D., Rick Mullins, Ph.D. 

Major: B.S. in Chemical Sciences 

Class Level: Sophomore (2025)

Career Goal: M.D., Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry

Lab Publication(s):

  • First author of Early-Life Caffeine Exposure Induces Morphological Changes and Altered Physiology in Caenorhabditis elegans (2023). Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 
  • Contributing author in Photo Phenosizer, a rapid machine learning-based method to measure cell dimensions in fission yeast (2022). microPublication Biology. 

Scientific Meeting Presentation(s)

Lab Project(s):

  1. Automated cell segmentation to measure S. pombe cell dimensions (bioinformatics, genetics, microscopy)
  2. Contribution of ribosome stalling to early cancer onset (bioinformatics)
  3. Role of creatine HCl in C. elegans animal size and locomotion (genetics, molecular biology, microscopy)
  4. Identification by HPLC-UV of lipid species associated with the response to genotoxicity (chemical biology)
  5. Generation of a quantitative method to validate micropad quality in live-cell microscopy experimental routines (microscopy, mathematical biology) 

 

Julia Driggers

Co-mentors: Hanna Wetzel, Ph.D., Rick Mullins, Ph.D.

Major: B.S. in Chemical Sciences 

Class Level: Junior (2024)

Career Goal: Ph.D. in Biochemistry

Scientific Meeting Presentation(s)

Lab Project(s):

  1. Role of the fission yeast lipid regulators Sre1, Dga1, and Cut6 in response to DNA damage (bioinformatics, genetics, molecular biology, microscopy)
  2. Contribution of ribosome stalling to early cancer onset (bioinformatics)
  3. Examination of mutational disruptions in cancer of two CYP450-related enzymes important for metabolizing anti-pain, anti-depression, and anti-Covid drugs (bioinformatics/pharmacology)
  4. Generation of a quantitative method to validate micropad quality in live-cell microscopy experimental routines (microscopy, mathematical biology)

 

Ronnie Cole

Co-Mentors: Nathan Sommer, Ph.D. 

Major: B.S. in Computer Science

Class Level: Senior (2023)

Career Goal: Ph.D. in Computer Science

Lab Project(s): 

  1. Development of an image-based app to genotype yeast strains based on colony phenotypes (computer science, genetics, microbiology)
  2. Adaptation and use optimization in budding yeast of a machine-learning pipeline employed to automate cell segmentation and measuring of fission yeast (computer science, genetics, microbiology, and microscopy)

 

Photo Credit

Kate Plas

Co-Mentors: Nathan Sommer, Ph.D. 

Major: B.S. in Computer Science 

Class Level: Senior (2023)

Career Goal: Ph.D. in Computer Science 

 

Lab Project(s): 

  1. Adaptation and use optimization in budding yeast of a machine-learning pipeline employed to automate cell segmentation and measuring of fission yeast (computer science, genetics, microbiology, and microscopy)
  2. Development of an image-based app to genotype yeast strains based on colony phenotypes (computer science, genetics, microbiology)