Recent updates from the lab.

The lab attended the Spring 2026 ASM South Carolina Branch meeting, where Steven and Shivani won Best Poster Presentation Awards.

The lab laced up for a festive St. Patrick's Day 5K, decked out in green and good spirits.

Happy 10 Years — celebrating a decade of the Dou Lab at Clemson University.

The lab hit the lanes for a bowling party, and Hayeon Cho took home the championship win.

Undergraduate researcher Hayeon Cho shared her findings at the Fall 2024 American Society for Microbiology South Carolina Branch meeting and received an honorable mention for her outstanding undergraduate poster presentation.

Congratulations to Dr. Melanie Key on successfully defending and graduating with her Ph.D. from Clemson University.

Congratulations to Dr. Brock Thornton on successfully defending and graduating with her Ph.D. from Clemson University.

Heme biosynthesis study published in PLOS Pathogens

We proudly announce that our heme study found its home at PLOS Pathogens. Read the article.

Katherine Floyd and Chiara Micchelli win departmental awards

Katherine Floyd received the Outstanding Senior in Discovery Award and Chiara Micchelli received the Outstanding Junior Award from the Clemson University Department of Biological Sciences.

Brock Thornton advances to Ph.D. candidacy

Brock Thornton successfully completed and passed both her written and oral comprehensives to become an official Ph.D. Candidate at Clemson University.

Welcome Maria Kubaszewska

Maria Kubaszewska, an exchange student from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, joins the lab for the Spring 2020 semester to do undergraduate research.

Welcome Gracie Vaughan

Gracie Vaughan joins the lab for undergraduate research.

NIH R01 awarded to study the digestive vacuole

We are excited to announce a new R01 award from the NIAID to support the study of the regulation of the physiology and function of the digestive vacuole in Toxoplasma gondii. We are also looking for a highly motivated postdoc. Media release.

Chiara Micchelli presents at Cell Biology of Eukaryotic Pathogens

Chiara Micchelli gave an excellent oral presentation on the spatial resolution of the endolysosomal pathway in Toxoplasma gondii at the annual Cell Biology of Eukaryotic Pathogens meeting organized by the Clemson EPIC Center at the Clemson Outdoor Lab.

Preprint on de novo heme metabolism in Toxoplasma

The manuscript characterizing de novo heme metabolism in Toxoplasma gondii, titled “Modulation of de novo heme production in Toxoplasma essentially controls its infection,” is now posted on BioRxiv. Read the preprint.

Welcome Claire Fortman and Sophie Millard

Claire Fortman joins the lab for undergraduate research and Sophie Millard begins her rotation in the lab.

Chiara Micchelli presents Creative Inquiry poster

Chiara Micchelli gave a fantastic poster presentation on her 2019 Summer Creative Inquiry project, titled “The spatial resolution of the endolysosomal pathway in Toxoplasma gondii, a human protozoan pathogen.”

FASEB Microbial Pathogenesis Meeting

Zhicheng attended the FASEB microbial pathogenesis meeting and presented a poster on de novo heme metabolism in Toxoplasma.

15th International Toxoplasmosis Meeting

Zhicheng attended the 15th International Toxoplasmosis Meeting and gave an oral presentation on heme metabolism in Toxoplasma.

Our first publication from the independent research group has been published in PLOS Pathogens and selected by the Editor-in-Chief as a featured research article. Media release.

Lab manager Amy Bergmann gave a fantastic oral presentation on her heme project at the UGA CTEGD annual symposium.

The entire lab attended the ASM South Carolina Branch meeting in Beaufort, SC. Christian and Katherine won 1st and 2nd prize for undergraduate poster presentations, while Brock and Melanie won 1st and 3rd prize for graduate poster presentations.

The group hiked to the top of Table Rock Mountain.

Brock, Christian, and Katherine presented posters at the 6th Cell Biology of Eukaryotic Pathogens Symposium (CBEP), and Melanie delivered a fantastic oral presentation.

Two new graduate students, Lillian Dillard and Melanie Key, have joined the lab.

Katherine Floyd awarded ASM Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Katherine Floyd was selected for the prestigious 2018 ASM Undergraduate Research Fellowship (ASM-URF) Program, which provides a $4,000 stipend and up to $2,000 for travel to the 2019 ASM Microbe Academy for Professional Development and 2019 ASM Microbe Meeting.

Brock was selected to give an oral presentation at the 28th Annual Molecular Parasitology & Vector Biology Symposium organized by the CTEGD of the University of Georgia.

Lab members Brock Thornton, Christian Cochrane, Katherine Floyd, and Amy Bergmann attended the 2018 Spring ASM South Carolina Branch meeting. Brock and Katherine’s posters were selected as 2nd place for graduate students and 1st place for undergraduate students, respectively.

Dou Lab launches at Clemson University

The Dou Lab launched in the Department of Biological Sciences at Clemson University.