The Bick Lab Team

Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor

Alex earned his MD and PhD in Genetics from Harvard. In the summer of 2020, after completing his residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital with a clinical focus on personalized medicine, he joined the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine faculty. Additionally, he currently works at Vanderbilt University Medical Center within the Department of Genetic Medicine at his lab in the Robinson Research Building.

Lab Manager

Ningning is the Lab Manager of the Bick Lab. She earned her medical degree from the Capital Medical University in China and her masters in molecular biology in the USA. She has worked at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for over 20 years. Before joining the Bick Lab team, she worked in a cardiovascular lab and within the neurology department studying genetic epilepsy.

PhD Student

Jessica is a Research Assistant for the Bick Lab’s Wet Lab. She recently graduated from Cedarville University in 2020 with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She is currently working on a project to biobanking PBMC cells from CHIP patients and a project investigating the effects of a NAMPT inhibitor on common CHIP mutations. Outside of work, Jessica enjoys taking her australian cattle dog puppy, Chip, on hikes and long walks!

Research Analyst 1, Bick Lab All of Us Coordinator

Henry is a Research Analyst for the Bick Lab. He graduated from Lafayette College in 2020 with a BA degree in Engineering Studies and a minor in Art. In the Bick Lab, Henry maintains and operates the cloud analysis portion of the lab’s targeted CHIP variant calling and filtration assay on Terra.bio. Additionally, Henry represents the Bick Lab as a contributor to the NIH’s All of Us Research Project in which he assists with the curation of research resources for the help Desk and is a member of the GWAS Demonstration Project.

Cloud Application Developer

Brian is the lead Cloud Application Developer for the Bick Lab. In 2020, Brian graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a BS degree in Computer Science and a BS degree in Mathematics. Brian’s involvement with Bick Lab encompasses several different projects and their respective pipelines in which he develops, tests, and implements various WDLs and other cloud applications.

PhD Student

Tara is a Human Genetics PhD student in a co-mentorship between the Bick Lab and the Davis Lab. She graduated from Vanderbilt in 2020, with a BA in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a minor in Psychology. Her main project in the lab involves uncovering genetic and environmental factors that influence CHIP growth rate.

Clinical Coordinator

Postdoc, PGY-5 Cardiovascular Fellow

Brett is originally from Atlanta, Georgia and completed his undergraduate studies in Biology at the University of Georgia. He went on to earn his MD and PhD from the Medical College of Georgia before starting internal medicine residency at Vanderbilt. He completed his clinical cardiology fellowship in July of 2021 and has been a member of the Bick Lab since that time. Brett is currently working to understand the mechanisms of cardiovascular injury associated with CHIP using a single cell multiomics approach.

Rotation Student

Kelly is a 3rd year medical student rotating in the Bick Lab. She graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2017 with a BS in biomedical engineering. She started medical school at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 2019.

Clinical Coordinator

Madeline was a Clinical Trials Associate for the Bick Lab. She graduated from Lipscomb University in December of 2019 with a degree in Molecular Biology. Madeline worked with the Bick Lab throughout the spring and summer of 2021. We wish her the best of luck with her future in Memphis!