Joshua Ayelazuno

I am a PhD student in the interdisciplinary porgram in Genetics. I grew up in a small countryside Mirigu, West Africa - Ghana. My research aims at answering some of the relevant questions in the field, i. e., what are the genetic factors underpinning the independent evolution of pathogenicity and virulence among budding yeast? Our approach is based on understanding stress response and specifically a phenomenon called acquired stress resistance (ASR), which immunizes organisms to prepare them for the ensuing environmental changes after encountering an initial stressor stimulus. By dissecting the poorly understood genetic basis of ASR, we hope to gain significant insight into how gene regulatory networks evolved and their influence on disease phenotypes among commensal yeasts. I employe transposing mutagenesis followed by sequencing (Tn-seq) as a genetic screening method coupled with flow cytometry, computational and functional studies to identify these upstream regulators of ASR. Understanding the molecular players will uncover how the signaling network can be rewired to allow organisms to respond to novel environmental stimuli using existing networks, and potentially reveal actionable candidate genes implicated in the evolution of pathogenicity and virulence in budding yeast.

Outside the lab, I enjoy outdoor activities, including playing and watching soccer, hiking, car enthusiast, fitness, etc