Lab Members

Jemma Hwang received their BS in Bioengineering and BA in German Studies (2019) from the University of Georgia, where they began their research endeavors in epigenetics to identify mutants in N. crassa that are defective in facultative heterochromatin. In 2017, they obtained an internship at the Perfusion Systems Lab at Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany, to improve existing downstream protein-production processes in industrial settings. In the Summer of 2018, they participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) with the Sackler Institute at New York University, studying the electrophysiology and molecular biology of ATP-sensitive potassium channels. After completing their Bachelor’s, they accepted a position at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute to contribute to the ongoing development of vaccines against HIV-1. They returned to Atlanta in 2022 to begin their lab management journey at Emory University and to be closer to family.

Katie began her scientific journey at Houston Christian University, where she obtained a BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2018). The summer before her final year, she participated in the Baylor College of Medicine National Institute of Tropical Medicine (NSITM) Summer School, where she was introduced to Dr. Murray's research, among other topics in global health. This ignited her passion for public health, and she enrolled in federal service with AmeriCorps Vista. During her service, she was assigned to the City of Austin Public Health Department, where she developed dual-language, evidence-based health promotion programming for students and their families. She was awarded the Segal Educational Award for her service, which she used to fund her post-graduate studies and return to research. Relocating to Yorkshire, England, she pursued an MSc in Infection, Immunity, and Human Disease at the University of Leeds. Her thesis involved the characterization of a bacterial outer-membrane protein and vaccine target from Burkholderia pseudomallei with X-ray crystallography. She continued this project as a guest researcher at the University of Tübingen in Germany under the collaborative ViBrANT Innovative Training Network (ITN) until relocating to Strasbourg, France, in 2021 for her PhD studies. In France, she was part of the IMCBio International PhD Program, where she characterized host-pathogen interactions of the HPV16 oncoprotein, E6, using high-throughput quantitative interactomic methods. Coming full circle, she joined the Murray lab in the spring of 2025, where she aims to integrate her experience in molecular biology with epidemiological investigation.

Kaci McCoy, MPH&TM, brings experience in vector-borne disease research, implementation science, and stakeholder engagement, having managed multi-country studies on malaria, dengue, and other pathogens across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Previously, Kaci served as a Program Officer at the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Communication Programs, a Research Manager at the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute, and a Center Coordinator for the Southeastern Center for Vector-borne Diseases. Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, operational research, and the translation of evidence into practice to strengthen global health systems.

Steph Bellman attended Auburn University for her undergraduate studies, receiving a BS in Molecular Biology and a BS in Animal Sciences (Pre-Vet) with a minor in Psychology. She participated in undergraduate research in the College of Agriculture throughout her time at Auburn, investigating the role of circadian rhythms and clock gene expression in obesity using in vivo (Mangalica pigs) and in vitro (cell culture) models, and was awarded an honors thesis for this work. She started at Emory University in 2017 in the MD/PhD program. Her PhD in the Environmental Health Sciences Program at the Rollins School of Public Health, under the supervision of Dr. Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec and Dr. Anne Piantadosi, focused on Heartland virus, an emerging tick-borne virus, and characterized its ecology and epidemiology in Georgia. Her passion for continuing work in public health, vector-borne diseases, and emerging infectious diseases has led her to join the Murray lab to pursue research and develop skills in these fields. She is also passionate about mentorship, teaching, and public health/research communication with a broad range of audiences. She is currently applying to Clinical Pathology residency programs for her next phase of training and wants to focus her future research on creating new rapid diagnostics for tick-borne diseases. Outside of research, Steph loves playing volleyball, hiking, and trying new restaurants and coffee shops around Atlanta.

Aaren is an Atlanta native raised right around the corner at The Paideia School. Young Aaren's appreciation for science and medicine grew from her recurrent visits to treat her respiratory infection, Croup, at the Emergency Room of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Her journey in biomedical research officially began at the Barnard College in New York City with her studies in Neuroscience & Behavior. As part of the Bauer Lab at Barnard College, Aaren studied the neural mechanisms underlying emotional memory. Her specific projects explored how fear behavior and amygdala activation change across rodent development using classical fear conditioning and immunohistochemistry techniques. Aaren joins the Murray Lab to continue and expand her biomedical research journey into Epidemiology and Environmental Health. She plans to pursue a PhD and maybe even a DVM just like her mentor, Kristy.