Emmitt R. Jolly, Ph.D
Associate Professor of Biology
Dr. Emmitt Jolly received a Bachelors of Science in Biology from Tuskegee University in 1996 where he was a Presidential Scholar and was honored as one of USA Today’s Top Forty National Scholars. In 2004 he received a Ph.D in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he was trained under the late Dr. Ira Herskowitz. He completed the last year of his thesis work with microbiologist, Dr. Carol Gross. During his tenure as a graduate student, he was a Ford Foundation Fellow, a UNCF/Merck Dissertation Fellow, and was awarded the UCSF’s Chancellors Martin Luther King Jr. Award. His postdoctoral training at UCSF under parasitologist Dr. James McKerrow focused on gene expression patterns in the parasitic schistosome worms.
Dr. Emmitt Jolly received a Bachelors of Science in Biology from Tuskegee University where he was a Presidential Scholar and was honored as one of USA Today’s Top Forty National Scholars. He received a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he was trained under MacArthur Award recipient and National Academy of Sciences (NAS) member, Dr. Ira Herskowitz. He completed the last year of his thesis work with microbiologist and NAS member, Dr. Carol Gross. During his tenure as a graduate student, he was a Ford Foundation Fellow, a UNCF/Merck Dissertation Fellow, and was awarded the UCSF Chancellor’s Martin Luther King Jr. Award. His postdoctoral training at UCSF under parasitologist Dr. James McKerrow focused on gene expression patterns in parasitic schistosome worms.
As a postdoc Dr. Jolly was a Genentech Scholar, received the prestigious UNCF/Merck Postdoctoral Fellowship and was supported by a Ruth L Kirstein NIH Award. He is past-president and cofounder of the Association of Underrepresented Fellows. Dr. Jolly is very interested in science education, and community outreach and development. His leadership has led to an awarded Proclamation from the Governor of Alabama in 1991, an award of leadership from the California State Senate in 2008, and an award in 2008 from the Asiya Shriners of San Mateo, CA.
Currently, Dr. Jolly is an Associate professor with tenure in the Department of Biology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, and holds an adjunct position in the Center for Global Health and Disease in the CWRU School of Medicine. He was recognized in Kaleidoscope Magazine’s Forty under Forty, Who’s Who in Black Cleveland, and was awarded the Nsorama Award for Science from the National Technical Association in Cleveland, OH. His NIH funded research focuses on understanding gene expression, gene regulation, and host invasion of parasitic schistosome worm, the causative agent of schistosomiasis, which infects over 240 million people worldwide.
OK. Really. Outside the lab, Dr Jolly likes to snowboard, play basketball, volleyball, dance, tell stories, occasionally sew, and to joke (often on people- to them).
Stephanie Wood
PhD Student Former Lab Research Assistant
Stephanie graduated from Case Western with a B.A. in Biology in 2014. She joined the lab in the Fall of 2014 as a Research Assistant. After three years in the laboratory as an RA, she joined the lab as a Biology PhD student. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, and playing video games.
Hyung-Chul Kim
Ph.D. Student
Hyung Chul, originally from South Korea, worked in the Jolly lab as a senior student at Case. Afterwards, it was exciting to have him join the Jolly lab as a PhD student. His interests include molecular biology and parasitology. In his spare time, he likes to cook and binge watch Netflix.
James Hagerty
Ph.D. Student
James joined the lab as a Ph.D student in the Fall of 2014, after being an undergraduate in the lab for a year. His research interests include genetics and RNA, and his future goals are teaching and consulting. When he is not focusing on lab work, he enjoys building computers and riding BMX.
Graduated Students
Melissa Varrecchia, Ph.D.
Melissa received her B.A. in Biology from Hiram College in 2002. She is a graduate student working on her Ph.D. Her research interests include molecular biology, genetics, and parasitology. She is currently working on developing a project. Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, movies, fishing, and camping. Melissa graduated in 2017 and is currently a postdoc at the Cleveland Clinic.
Kenji Ishida
, Ph.D.
After graduating from Case Western with a BS in Biology and working briefly as a Research Assistant in our lab, Kenji once again joined our ranks as a Ph.D. student in the Fall of 2011. Able to leap lab benches in a single bound and develop film with his X-Ray vision, the lab was glad to have him back on our side. He graduated with his Ph.D. from the lab in 2017 and is currently a postdoc at the Biomedical Research Institute.
Spring 2016
Ashwarya Kumar, Undergraduate
Alex Zhang, Undergraduate
Spring 2015
Shuang Liang, Ph.D
Rick Hsu, Undergraduate
Aviva Aguilar, Undergraduate
Spring 2014
Janay Jones, MS
Ifeyinwa Nwankwu, Undergraduate
Alyssa Prior, Undergraduate
James Hagerty, Undergraduate
Nesreen Jawhari, Undergraduate
Spring 2013
Janay Jones, MS
Spring 2012
Shikha Tandon, MS
Jinny Ye, Undergraduate
Anna Droz, Undergraduate
Connie Huang, Undergraduate
Fall 2012
Amanda Timson, Undergraduate
Spring 2011
Katherine Taylor, Undergraduate
Tanvi Khot, Undergraduate
Stephanie Chinchen, Undergraduate
Spring 2010
Anna Lukic, MS
Shahdi Malakooti, MS
Kenji Ishida, Undergraduate