Team
 | Xinxia Peng, PhD I am a tenured Full Professor of Infectious diseases in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, and a member of NC State Bioinformatics Research Center. I received my PhD in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics from the University of Tennessee – Oak Ridge National Laboratory Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, under Computer Science Professor Dr. Michael Langston. I started as a Bioinformatics Manager at Seattle BioMed (now Center for Global Infectious Disease Research) after graduation. In 2008 I joined the University of Washington Department of Microbiology as a Computational Research Scientist, and was promoted to a Research Assistant Professor in 2012. I moved here at NC State in July 2016 as one of the Dean’s Faculty Excellence cluster hires, in the field of “Translational Genomics of Infectious Diseases,” and to be part of the Bioinformatics Research Center. I was named as one of NC State’s 2025-26 class of University Faculty Scholars in 2026. |
| Visiting Researcher | |
 | Wei Wang, PhD I am currently a Research Scientist in Meta BCR Ads Ranking CoreML Team and a Visiting Researcher in Peng Lab. My research interests include machine learning and its application in ads personalization experience, computational methodologies for efficient, accurate, and highly scalable genomic analysis. Also please visit my personal page. |
| Research Staff | |
 | Alexandra (Lexi) Istishin, Lab Manager and Research Scientist I received my B.S. in Microbiology with a minor in Biomanufacturing from North Carolina State University in 2025. I joined the Peng lab in Fall 2023 as an undergraduate researcher and transitioned to lab manager after graduation. My work includes investigating the functions of long non-coding RNAs in the immune response and using long-read sequencing to characterize complex genomic regions. I also provide support to ongoing collaborations. |
| Postdoctoral Researcher | |
 | Nasif Mahmood, PhD I received my PhD in Fiber and Polymer Science with a minor in Biotechnology. During my PhD, I have developed expertise in creating 3D tissue models, working with mammalian and stem cells, and characterizing biomaterials. As a postdoctoral researcher in Peng lab, my research focuses on advancing immune system studies by developing physiologically relevant tissue models to explore immune responses and interactions at the molecular and genetic levels. I am also interested in learning the applications of genomics and bioinformatics. |
 | Kayleigh Diveley, PhD I received a MS in Microbiology (2016) and a BS in Zoology (2014) from Western Illinois University with minors in Mathematics and Chemistry. At North Carolina State University I entered as part of the PhD Genetics program with interests in Genetics and Immunology. Working with Dr. Li at the University of Pittsburgh, I have set up high-throughput techniques developed by Dr. Li SNP-seq and Reel-seq in the lab to screen for functional genetic variations in human complex immune loci such as Fc receptors. Now I am using long read sequencing, CRISPR/Cas9 based genome editing, and other molecular techniques to investigate the functional mechanisms of human genetic variants identified by the high-throughput screens. |
| Graduate Student | |
 | Tammy Tollison, Comparative Biomedical Sciences I received a MS in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (2011) from Emory University and a BS in Genetics (2007) from Clemson University. Prior to joining the Peng Lab, I worked as an educator for 8 years with most of this time spent as a member of the Natural Sciences department at Wake Tech Community College. I joined the Peng Lab near the end of 2019. I have been developing single-cell-based species-specific immune repertoire profiling assays. I also analyze both human clinical specimens and samples from animal studies provided by our collaborators using both long and short read high-throughput sequencing analysis. |
 | Nicole Adams, Bioinformatics I received a B.S. in Biological Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2020, and I am pursuing a PhD in Bioinformatics. My research interests lie in identifying and understanding genetic predispositions that cause human diseases. Currently I am developing computational pipeline and methods for long read sequencing data to extend our single cell sequencing based studies. |
 | Sangmi Jeong, Bioinformatics I received a MA in Statistics in 2021 from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and I am pursuing a PhD in Bioinformatics at North Carolina State University.I am interested in microbiome research in general. Through the analysis of microbiome deep sequencing data, I aim to identify microbial features that are predictive of disease progression and risk of infection in humans and rhesus macaques. |
 | Ethan Smith, Bioinformatics I received my B.S. in Genetics with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Georgia in 2022. Currently, I am pursuing a PhD in Bioinformatics at North Carolina State University. My research interests include the characterization of non-coding RNA regulatory networks and the use of machine learning to identify conserved non-coding RNA elements across multiple species. |
 | Noor Zamamiri, Genetics & Genomics I received my B.S. in Biology and Neuroscience at Syracuse University in 2024, and I am pursuing a PhD in Genetics & Genomics at NC State University. I am also a member of the Genetics and Genomics (GG) Scholars umbrella program (https://ggscholars.org) My research interests broadly include the genetic basis of disease and immunity, and its application to the discovery of therapeutic targets. I joined the Peng lab to examine the immune consequences of Fc receptor polymorphisms. |
 | Jonathan Caradonna, Bioinformatics I am a Bioinformatics PhD student in the lab and I received my BS in Biochemistry from Stony Brook University with a minor in Computer Science in 2024. I am interested in delving into the topics of single-cell RNA seq and transcriptomics and how they can be used to better infer disease progression, immunology and changes in cell state in tissues through the use of various programming and statistical analysis, differential gene expression analysis, and other computational approaches. |
 | Halle Pearce, Bioinformatics I received a B.S. in Biology and Computer Science with a minor in Hispanic Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2025 and am now pursuing a PhD in Bioinformatics at North Carolina State University. I am broadly interested in human genetics research with applications in the biomedical field. My current work focuses on creating computational pipelines for processing and assembling long-read sequencing data to aid in the study of Fc gamma receptors and other complex immune genes. |
| Rotation Student | |
| Undergraduate researcher | |
 | Yvette Wittenborn, Microbiology I am an undergraduate student majoring in Microbiology with a concentration in Microbial Research and minoring in Global One Health. I am also a member of the Global One Health Scholars program. My interests focus on the pathogenesis and epidemiology of antibiotic-resistant microbes. I am currently helping with several projects in the lab. |
| Lab Alumni | Name, Position / First position |
| Kristen John, PhD in Genetics and Genomics (2025) / Liberty University Jessica (Chao Ye), Postdoctoral Researcher, 2024-2025 / Freelance Bioinformatics Consultant Becca Yeamans, Research Associate, 2024-2025 / North Carolina Department of Labor Ian Huntress, PhD in Bioinformatics (2023) In Memoriam Silvia Shui, Undergraduate (Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology), 2021-2022 / Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Evan Walsh, PhD in Bioinformatics (2022) / Capsida Biotherapeutics Christal Dita, Undergraduate (Zoology), 2022 Summer Hsuan (Tina) Chou, Research Associate, 2019-2021 / Owlstone Medical Hayden Brochu, PhD in Bioinformatics (2021) / Labcorp Aiden Jones, MR in Genetics (2021) / Cell Microsystems Anna Chernikov, Undergraduate (Computer Science & Biology), 2019-2020 / PhD student in Computer Science, University of Arizona Anne Crews, Laboratory Supervisor (part-time), 2019-2020 / Retired Amy Nipper, Research Assistant, 2018-2019 Ashley Kilgore, Visiting student (Biotechnology, Johns Hopkins University), 2019 Spring Ryan Li, Undergraduate (Mathematics), 2016-2018 / PhD student in Statistics, NC State Alexis Johnson, Undergraduate (Microbiology), 2018 Manfred Meng, Research Scientist, 2018 / Duke University Connor Campbell, Graduate Intern (Analytics), 2017-2018 / Fidelity Investments Fang Yang, Research Associate, 2017-2018 / Texas A&M University Erin Harrell, Research Associate, 2016-2018 / NC State David Lemler, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2016-2017 / Medical Writer |