Michael Christopher
I received my B.S. in Biochemistry from North Carolina State University in 2021. At NCSU, I was a part of Dr. Erin Baker’s lab where we conducted research in ion mobility-mass spectrometry of lipids. I also had the opportunity to discover my passion for metabolomics while interning at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (“Berkeley Lab”) for a semester during my undergraduate degree. I joined the Garrett group in collaboration with the Prentice group in the fall of 2021.
Email: m.christopher@ufl.edu
Adbulkarim Alfaez
In 2012, I received my bachelor’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. Then, I earned an MS in CLS from Long Island University Post in 2020. In Fall 2021, I joined the Biomedical Science (immunology and microbiology) Ph.D. program at the University of Florida College of Medicine, where I had the opportunity to join Dr. Garrett’s Lab. Currently, in collaboration with Dr. Papp’s Lab, the scope of my research is to identify and characterize Kaposi’s Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) factors manipulating the host cells and their Metabolism by utilizing High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), which is a powerful analytical approach.
Email: krmmohmmad@ufl.edu
Lizzi Flammer
I received my B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Food Science from the University of Florida in 2022. As an undergraduate, I performed research under Dr. Garrett and worked as a laboratory technician for the Southeast Center for Integrated Metabolomics. In Fall 2022, I continued my work with Dr. Garrett and my current research interests include LC-MS, metabolomics, bioinformatics, and Type 1 Diabetes.
Email: elizabethflammer@chem.ufl.edu
Esa Powers
I attended Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI where I received my B.S. in Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences. At Grand Valley, I performed physical chemistry research with Dr. George McBane and Dr. Stephanie Schaertel. During my undergraduate, I also attended an REU at Vanderbilt University where I performed electrochemical research under the direction of Dr. David Cliffel. In the fall of 2023, I joined Dr. Tim Garrett’s lab at the University of Florida to pursue a PhD in analytical chemistry. My research interests encompass metabolomics, lipidomics, and proteomics, utilizing both LC-MS and IM-MS techniques. I work with a diverse range of samples, including microcystins and hemoglobin.
Email: powers.e@ufl.edu
Gracie Thornhill
I received my B.S. in Biochemistry, minor in Biology from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2023. There I did research in the lab of Dr. Odutayo Odunuga on protein-protein interactions. During that time I also interned in Texas State University’s CheMIE REU program in the lab of Dr. Ryan Peterson researching treatments for the oomycete Saprolegnia parasitica. After my bachelor’s degree, I worked as a post bachelor’s student intern in Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Biochemistry and Biotechnology group, specifically with the Mass Spectrometry Center for Integrated Omics. In the fall of 2025, I started to pursue a PhD in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Florida, where I joined the Garrett group in collaboration with the Prentice group.