People

CURRENT LAB MEMBERS

Jonathan R. Hall, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor – jrhall@ncsu.edu

Dr. Jonathan Hall graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. in biochemistry. He then completed his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of North Carolina under Dr. Jean Cook where his dissertation title was “The Role of Protein Degradation in Maintaining Genome Stability Through the Regulation of Origin Licensing”. Dr. Hall began his work at NCSU in 2008 when he completed a post-doc in the cell signaling and cancer group under Dr. Robert Smart. Following his post-doc in 2013 Dr. Hall joined NCSU as a Research Assistant Professor, and in the time since he has become a member of the Center for Human Health and the Environment, the Toxicology Graduate Program, the Comparative Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Genetics Graduate Program, and the Genetics and Genomics Academy. In 2021, Dr. Hall became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Hobbies: spending time with his family, cooking, drinking wine, and watching his oldest son play soccer

 

Jack Ellis

Ph.D. Student – Comparative Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program

From Spartanburg, SC, Jack received his B.S in biology from Wofford College. After graduating he investigated endocrine resistant, estrogen receptor positive breast cancer in the lab of Myles Brown at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. After two years at DFCI, Jack joined the Comparative Biomedical Sciences PhD program in the fall of 2023 and shortly after, joined the Hall lab. His main research focus is examining the mechanisms of C/EBPβ regulation and how C/EBPβ alters the epigenome after UVB DNA damage.

Hobbies: brewing beer, running, golf, cooking and trivia

 

Megan Welch

Ph.D. Student- Toxicology Graduate Program and Genetic and Genomic Scholar

Originally from Williamsburg, Virginia, Megan moved to Raleigh to attend NC State. She earned her B.S. degree in Biochemistry with a minor in Biotechnology, during which she conducted research on endosymbionts within whiteflies under the guidance of Dr. Trino Ascencio-Ibáñez. After graduating in 2021, Megan worked in RTP at a biotechnology company focusing on engineering bacteriophages for use as an alternative to antibiotics. Megan returned to NC State as a Genetic and Genomic Scholar in 2023, where she joined the Hall Lab. She is currently researching how C/EBPβ regulates activation of the keratinocyte  innate immune response.

Hobbies: swimming, baking, hiking, and traveling.

 

John G. Witherspoon

Ph.D. Student- Toxicology Graduate Program and Genetic and Genomic Scholar

Born and raised in Charlotte, NC, John attended NC State and worked in Dr. Robert Smart’s lab as an undergraduate research assistant. John graduated in 2021 with a B.S. in Biochemistry, a B.S. in Biological Sciences, and a B.A. in Chemistry and continued to work in the Smart lab as a research technician after graduating. While a technician, John worked to investigate a mutant NRF2’s effect on mouse skin chemical carcinogenesis and helped to characterize a long non-coding RNA involved in apoptotic signaling. John started his Ph.D. studies in the fall of 2024 in the Genetics and Genomics Scholars program before joining Dr. Jonathan Hall’s lab and the Toxicology program in January 2025. John is currently examining C/EBPβ’s role in mouse skin tumorigenesis and cell cycle progression.

Hobbies: reading, camping, going to art museums, and looking at birds

 

Alex Blackmon

Undergraduate Student

Alex grew up in Garner, North Carolina and began attending NC State University in 2023. She is pursuing a B.S. in Human Biology and a minor in Dance Performance and Choreography. She joined the Hall lab in 2025 and currently works with graduate student John Witherspoon examining C/EBPβ’s role in tumorigenesis. Since 2022, Alex works as a dance teacher and choreographer.

Hobbies:  Dancing, reading, backpacking, and spending time with her cat

LAB ALUMNI

Undergraduate Students

  • Tobi Olasunkanmi (2026) — Tobi graduated from NCSU in 2026 with a degree in Integrative Physiology and Neurobiology and minoring in Psychology and Microbiology.
  • Maddie Montgomery (2025) — Maddie graduated from NCSU in 2025 with a degree in Human Biology. Maddie is currently preparing to apply to medical school.
  • Sydney Preston (2024-2025) — Sydney graduated from NCSU in 2025 with a degree in Human Biology and minoring in Genetics and Psychology. Sydney is currently preparing to apply to medical school.
  • Allison Rubio-Malo (2024-2025) — Allison graduated from NCSU in 2025 with a degree in Microbiology with a Microbial Health Science concentration and minoring in Health, Medicine and Human Values.
  • Sammy Kros (2024) — Sammy graduated from NCSU in 2024 with a degree in Integrative Physiology and Neurobiology. She is currently attending PA school at Campbell University.
  • Alyssa Pederson (2023) — Alyssa graduated from NCSU in 2023 with a degree in Integrative Physiology and Neurobiology. She is now pursuing her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University.
  • Ayushma Sharma (2022-2023) — Ayushma graduated from NCSU in 2023 with a degree in Human Biology. She is attending a special masters program at Georgetown University with plans to attend medical school.
  • Sophia Gray (2021-2023) — Sophia graduated from NCSU in 2023 with a degree in Molecular Biology. She also received her M.S. in analytics at NCSU.

Highschool Students

  • Keshav Patel (Summer 2023)- Keshav is attending Georgetown University.