Dr. Elena Shpak
Principal investigator
Dr. Shpak is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her fascination with plants began in high school and has grown into a lifelong curiosity about how living systems develop and grow. She received her M.S. degree in Plant Physiology from Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia) and her Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from Ohio University (Athens, OH). During her postdoctoral training at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA), she became interested in receptor kinase signaling pathways and their role in regulating plant development. She established her laboratory at UTK in 2006.
Outside the lab, Dr. Shpak enjoys hiking, traveling, and reading—especially books about biology, evolution, and the history of agriculture.
Sophia Garcia
Bri HERRON
BCMB Graduate Student
Bertie Hopkins
Arthita Bhattacharjee
BCMB Graduate Student
Bertie Hopkins
Fahmid Bhuiyan
GST Student
SHPAK LAB 2026
Undergraduate students: Aubrey Powell, Megan Foody, Rylee Colleary, Addison Dodson, McKenzie Scherer. (Not in the picture: Lucinda Illg and Layla Wilhelmi)
Lab alumni
Past Graduate Students
- Daniel DeGennaro (PhD, 2021) Technical sales representative (BioRad)
- Liang Zhang (PhD, 2019) Postdoctoral fellow (University of Georgia, Athens)
- Pawel Kosentka (PhD, 2018) Postdoctoral Researcher, Bayer Crop Science
- Mark Bundy (M.S, 2012) Scientist (REGENXBIO Inc.)
- Alex Overholt (PhD, 2024) Postdoctoral fellow, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Past Postdocs
Past Undergraduate Students
Spencer Willet, Lihan Deng, Patrick Ailey, Nathan Fusman, Lindsey Tarbox, Jincheng Du, Mark Bundy, Brandon Chase, William Howell, Jennifer Porter, Alaina Willet, Elizabeth Zoeller, Kyle Zanath, Jing Ma, Brandon Kee, Clark Sealy, Dino Francescutti, Marshall Collins, Jeremy Willhoite, Tyler Jackson, Kristen Vaugh, Mary McGuire, Olivia Thompson, Juwan Hamilton, William Carmack, Colton Norton, Binita Satpathy, Solange Perez, Yonas Simon, Kaylee Kotwis, Samantha Jones, Alexander Pope, Erica Moore, Richard Maradiaga, Emily Miller, Olivia Seay, Matthew Smith, Timothy Herman, Alisha Woodman, Omar Mitoubsi, Jameson Sorrels, Miguel Rodriguez, Josphat Kinyua, Doina Musat, Alex Overholt, Ronald Tran, Christal Lane, Neil Patel, Rachael DeBoe, Gabriel Parish, Elizabeth Baker, Heather Richards, Landon Carrel, Trey Klaas, Alexis Anthony, Isabella Dianconescu, Said Briseno, Cason Buehler, Erik Cazares, Kate Checuga, Bethany Lunsford, Mckenzie Reynolds, Griffin Rich, Andrew Alford, Paige Reymann, Katelyn Vanzant, Josephine Nyarko, Jack Kupfner, Leah Hubbard, Steven Studdard, Christina Pierce, Cody Griffin, Adam Alexander, Ashlei Williams, Calen Paleologos, Natalie Aldrich, Jenifer Sanchez