Meet the Team
The Genomic Diversity Facility
Dr. Sharon E. Mitchell, Director
Sharon E. Mitchell, Ph.D. is Director of the Genomic Diversity Facility at the Cornell University Institute of Biotechnology. She received a Bachelor of Science from Florida State University, a Master of Science in Medical Entomology from the University of Florida and later completed a PhD in Insect Genetics (minor in biochemistry). Dr. Mitchell’s career began as a Research Entomologist with the USDA/ARS, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology (Gainesville, FL) where she developed molecular probes for identifying cryptic species of Anopheles mosquitoes that spread malaria throughout tropical regions of the world. Later, Dr. Mitchell worked at the USDA/ARS Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit, a plant germplasm repository (seed bank) located just south of Atlanta, GA. Here, she worked on developing low-cost, high-throughput genotyping methodologies for characterizing plant genetic diversity, both in the germplasm collection and in natural populations (i.e., wild relatives). In 1998, Dr. Mitchell was employed by Cornell University. Before moving to her current position, she managed the laboratory program for the Institute for Genomic Diversity, an endowed institute devoted to research and training in genetic diversity, plant genomics, biodiversity conservation, and solving problems affecting global food security.
To find out why Sharon became a scientist and learn more about her education, please visit this page: http://www.panzea.org/#!sharon-mitchell/c137s
Jing Wu, Lab Manager
Jing’s formal training is in chemistry and biophysics. She obtained a Bachelor of Science at Peking University and a Master of Science at Free University of Berlin. She has worked at the Chinese Academy of Science (China), Max-Planck Institute (Germany), University of Michigan, and Cornell University. Since she joined the Genomic Diversity Facility in April 2014, she has really enjoyed working on cutting-edge techniques and learning new things, together with very smart and diverse people in a pleasant environment.
Wenyan Zhu, Technician
Wenyan received her Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Shanghai University, and then worked at Tonji University. After moving to the United States, she worked in the Mclafferty group in Cornell’s chemistry department. Following this job, she worked at Nutrimed Biotech, then for Ruth Collin at Cornell’s Vet School. She now works here at the Genomic Diversity Facility.
Jennifer Hagadone, Technician
Jennifer graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She enjoys spending time with her kids and is the leader of her daughter’s girl scout troop in Newfield, NY. She also likes to ride horses in her free time.
Xiaoyun Wang, Technician
Xiaoyun received her Bachelor’s degree from Nanjing University School of Forestry in 1982. She came to Ithaca with her family in 1993 and started to work at the Cornell Institute for Genomic Diversity (now the Genomic Diversity Facility, Institute of Biotechnology) as a technician in 1999. Over the past 16 years she has worked at several molecular biology and genetic labs as a research technician at Cornell, North Dakota State University and USDA/ARS in Fargo, North Dakota. In 2014, Xiaoyun happily rejoined the Cornell Genomic Diversity Facility. Outside of work, Xiaoyun enjoys gardening, reading, and traveling with her family.
Asha Jain, Technician and Analyst
Asha received her Bachelors degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Psychology from Tulane University in 2011. In the past she worked in a Neural Science group investigating the effects of stress on protein expression in the Amygdala. As an interdisciplinary member of the facility, provides technical support to researchers early in the submission process by troubleshooting issues related to DNA extraction, sample preparation, and analyzing sequencing data. If she is not hiking with her two dogs, she can be found at a board-gaming table at the local gaming shop.