Brent Allman

 

Hi, my name is Brent Allman. I grew up in San Diego, California and attended the University of San Diego where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics with a minor in Biology.

I have always been one to ask questions. Growing up I was fascinated with the natural world and I began to develop interests in biology, recognizing the plethora of unanswered questions for study.

During my freshman year I immediately began working in a lab. I found the research process both fun and rewarding. Continuing research in the same lab for four years solidified in me the idea that scientific research allows one to contribute to the world’s collective body of knowledge.

At the beginning of my undergraduate career, I quickly realized I had an affinity for mathematics. As my intellectual interests matured, I discovered that mathematics is used as a powerful tool to study biological systems. For this reason, I want to pursue graduate training in quantitative biology so I can master tools in computational biology and bioinformatics.

Once I obtain a PhD, I will pursue post-doctoral training in industry or academia to continue developing myself as a successful independent researcher. My ultimate career goal is to become a professor a university that will allow me to both develop coursework and mentor students through research so they may be prepared for an interdisciplinary career path.

I decided to join a PREP program because I did not have the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary research in my fields of interest during my undergraduate career. Before pursuing quantitative biology at the graduate level, I wanted more concrete experience in the field.

PREP@UGA is affiliated with many faculty members that have developed strong interdisciplinary research environments, particularly in quantitative biology.

While at UGA, I will be spending the majority of my time doing research while taking graduate courses and actively participating in seminars and journal clubs. I plan to develop both my wet and dry lab skills so I can be equipped for a variety of laboratory environments in graduate school.

My primary faculty mentor is Dr. Jessica Kissinger, and my secondary faculty mentor is Dr. Juan Gutierrez.

My project focuses on the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Until recently, Toxoplasma gondii was believed to exhibit an almost exclusively clonal population structure. However, Dr. Kissinger and her colleagues analyzed genomes of 62 T. gondii strains and they suggest that their population structure involves more sex across evolutionary time than previously thought.

I will be creating a mathematical model to quantify how sexual recombination has played a role in the population structure and evolutionary history of the parasite. To do this I will be using genomic data of the 62 Toxoplasma strains to determine regions of the genome that may provide insights to their evolutionary past.

My name is Brent Allman and I am a PREP@UGA scholar.