Lab Members
Brian W. Parks
Assistant Professor
PhD, Microbiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
BS, Biology, The University of Virginia's College at Wise
brian.w.parks@wisc.edu
Brian is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional
Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He grew up in Virginia and
completed his undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Virginia's
College at Wise. After working for a year in biotechnology industry he pursued
doctoral studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He conducted his
dissertation work in the laboratory of Janusz Kabarowski were he studied
inflammation, atherosclerosis, and lipoprotein metabolism. He performed
postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Jake Lusis at UCLA. During his
postdoctoral fellowship he worked on developing a systems genetics approach
in the mouse to understand how diet and genetics interact to contribute to
obesity and diabetes. Outside of the lab Brian enjoys spending time with his
family, cooking, and woodworking.
Zhonggang (John) Li
Postdoc Fellow
PhD, Human Genetics, University of Utah
zli769@wisc.edu
John is working as a postdoc fellow in the Parks lab. He got his
Ph.D. from University of Utah in 2016. In the Parks Lab, John works in bioinformatic field.
He applies computational network approach to identify a novel cholesterol regulator gene, sestrin1 (SESN1). He studies how dietary
cholesterol modulates SESN1 expression and investigates the mechanism by which SESN1 maintains lipid homeostasis. John also works on the epistasis
interaction detection pipeline for gene-gene interaction discovery. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time
with his family and watching his favorite sport basketball.
Fernanda Leyva Jaimes
Research Specialist
Certified Veterinary Technician
fleyvajaimes@wisc.edu
Fernanda is a research specialist in the Parks Lab. She is in
charge of the growing mouse colony and oversees all mouse studies and crosses.
Fernanda is originally from Mexico and moved to Madison when she was in grade
school. She grew up in Madison and is a Certified Veterinary Technician. When she
is not busy keeping track of the mouse colony, she enjoys spending time with her
family and her pet rabbit.
Samantha St. Clair
Graduate Student
BS, Nutrition Science, Indiana University Bloomington
sstclair2@wisc.edu
Sam is a graduate student in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At the intersection of lipid metabolism, obesity,
and type II diabetes, Sam’s research regards in vivo characterization of the gene Agpat5.
Agpat5 encodes an acyltransferase, which, through a systems genetics approach, was determined
to be associated with insulin sensitivity. Sam conducted her undergraduate research at
Indiana University Bloomington in the lab of Dr. Jason Tennessen, where she studied the
influence of lysine metabolism on adipose development. Sam holds a Bachelor’s Degree in
Nutrition Science. In her spare time Sam enjoys swing dancing and photography.
James A. Votava
Graduate Student
BS, Biology, UW-Madison
jvotava@wisc.edu
James is a PhD candidate in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In the lab, James is interested in the interaction between genetics and diet.
He is following up on the lab’s recent work in prioritizing human GWAS data using mouse liver network data to further
understand how human genetics can affect serum lipid phenotypes. He is currently focused on understanding the genetic
connection between carbohydrate and cholesterol metabolism via the gene Aldoc. Outside of the lab James enjoys spending
time with his dog Podrick, baking, drinking beer and enjoying the outdoors (when the temperature is over 60 degrees F).
Sydney C. Bruggeman
Undergraduate Student
BS, Nutritional Sciences, UW-Madison (Anticipated 2020)
sbruggeman@wisc.edu
Shuyang Chen
Graduate Student
MS, Statistics, UW-Madison (Anticipated 2020)
schen662@wisc.edu