Savvas
Savvas is a graduate student in the lab. Savvas’s interests lie in evolutionary developmental biology, as such, he is looking into the genetic regulatory networks that govern larval and adult electric organ development from skeletal muscle. Interests in developmental biology have driven Savvas to gene knockdowns/outs and his projects employ various techniques for altering gene expression (CRISPR/Cas9, morpholinos and past RNAi work).
Savvas got a dual bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut (Neuroscience and Biology; 2012) and then attended Central Connecticut State University to get an MA in Biomolecular Science (2014). During and following his master’s, Savvas worked as a research technician under Dr. Terri Williams and gained valuable wetlab experience and authored his first peer reviewed publications (2013-2015).
Savvas works mainly in B. brachyistius (mormyrid) but also is beginning work in B. gauderio (gymnotiform). Check out his website here and feel free to chat about biology anytime!