About

The EIGC team of experts are here to help you achieve your goals. Please reach out with any questions at any stage in the process.

Core Leadership

Christopher Scharer, PhD

Scientific Director

Dr. Scharer is an expert in gene regulation and epigenetics of the immune system and the impact of the environment, disease, and differentiation leads to changes in the molecular programming of cells.  His lab has led the development and standardization of protocols to profile the transcriptome through RNA-seq and the accessible chromatin landscape through ATAC-seq from ultra-low numbers of cells and using state of the art single-cell techniques.  These techniques are enabling the study rare cell types that were not possible before and the identification of molecular determinants of disease processes and cell states.



Lyra Griffiths, PhD

Core Director

Dr. Griffiths received her PhD from Emory University and spent 9 years doing research at St Jude Children's Research Hospital.  Areas of expertise include RNA and DNA extraction, tumor genomic characterization, ChIPseq, and genome editing.  Her key role at EIGC is to help investigators to plan their projects.



Core Team

Daria Zugic

Technical Director

Daria received her Masters degree from the Biology Faculty at the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Daria moved to Atlanta in order to join the EIGC team in 2019. Although her primary interest is NGS, she also likes genetic counseling.



Oskar Laur

Custom Cloning Director

Oskar is a highly experienced and dedicated cloning and protein expression expert, with 20 years experience in directing and developing a world class custom cloning service. Oskar possesses unique consulting skills with expertise across numerous areas of biosciences.



Alaa Ahmed

Viral Genome Sequencing

Alaa received his PhD in microbiology from the University of Georgia in 2019. He worked as a genomics scientist at UGA’s genomics and bioinformatics core and then as a field application scientist for an oncology-focused genetics testing company. Alaa has experience in next-generation sequencing, scientific writing, and cell culture. He is leading a team dedicated to providing viral genomics services at EIGC.



Jordan Brown

Jordan obtained her BS from Alabama State University and her MS degree in Analytical Genetics from the University of Kentucky. Jordan has experience with DNA and RNA extraction protocols. Her interests are genomics research and DNA analysis related to forensic science.



Weiya He

Weiya has expertise in the areas of molecular biology and molecular population genetics.  He is currently performing CRISPR genome editing at EIGC.



Yao Huang

Yao obtained her BS in food science from Wuxi institute of Light Industry and her MS in computer science from Clark Atlanta University. She has over 20 years of research experience. Yao's areas of expertise at EIGC are DNA and RNA extraction and QC, Nanostring, and 16S library prep.



Keith Kurt

Keith received his Masters in Science in Biology from Georgia Southern University. He has experience isolating DNA and RNA from a wide variety of sample types, qPCR, and ITS/16s library prep. Keith's areas of interests include gene expression and cell biology.