Among SBRI’s researchers, staff and senior scientists are often regarded as “second in command” in their laboratories, supporting the work of principal investigators and the Institute as a whole. These individuals have completed postdoctoral training and demonstrated their ability to design their own research projects and those of junior research staff.

By providing high-level expertise and leadership, these scientists strengthen an existing research area or help to develop a new one. Staff and senior scientists design and evaluate experiments, develop ideas that promote current research and attend and give seminars. A difference between these two positions is often the career path of the scientist; while some may not be aiming for an independent member-level position, others may ultimately build their own independent research program.

Amy DeRocher, Ph.D.
A Staff Scientist in the lab of Marilyn Parsons, Ph.D., Dr. DeRocher received her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Arizona. Her area of research centers on the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, commonly carried by cats and other animals. She has been at SBRI since 1999.

Nancy L. Ernst, Ph.D.
Dr. Ernst received her Ph.D. in microbiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  She has been at SBRI since 1997, and is presently an associate scientist in the lab of Ken Stuart, Ph.D.  The focus of her research is trypanosomes, with a particular interest in the editing cycle in Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite that causes African Sleeping Sickness.

Sean Gray, Ph.D.
Dr. Gray is a Staff Scientist at SBRI in the laboratory of Leo Stamatatos, Ph.D.  He also serves as the flow cytometry manager for one of four centralized hubs in SBRI's Global Health Biotechnology Center. He received his Ph.D. in microbiology/molecular biology from Washington State University. Before joining Dr. Stamatatos's lab in 2005, Dr. Gray was with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Bryan C. Jensen, Ph.D.
A Staff Scientist in the lab of Marilyn Parsons, Ph.D., Dr. Jensen has been with SBRI since 1998.  He received his B.S. in biology from the University of Oregon and his Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Washington.  Dr. Jensen's research focus is the study of trypanosomes.

Alice Saliba Tarun, Ph.D.
Dr. Tarun received her Ph.D. in Comparative Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. She joined SBRI in 2004 and is a Staff Scientist in the lab of Stefan Kappe, Ph.D. The focus of her research is the functional genomics of the liver stages of the Plasmodium parasite which causes malaria by using microarray and proteomic analysis. She is particularly interested in vaccine and drug development.

Ashley Vaughan, Ph.D.
Dr. Vaughan received his Ph.D. from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is a Staff Scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Stefan Kappe and is interested in the lipid requirements of the developing liver stage malaria parasite. He is currently studying liver state development in both in vivo and in vitro models. He joined SBRI in 2007.