Higgs Lab


Henry N. Higgs, Ph.D.
THE BOSS
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
John LaPorte Given Professor in Cytology
B.A., Lafayette College, 1987
Ph.D., University of Washington, 1996
Post-Doc, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 2001
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Frieda Kage
RESEARCH SCIENTIST
B.S., University of Bonn, Germany, 2011
M.Sc., University of Bonn, Germany, 2013
Dr. rer. nat. (Ph.D.), Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany, 2017​
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I am finding out new ways in which the actin cytoskeleton influences
organelle dynamics.


Miriam Lee
Sukrut Kamerkar
POST-DOC
POST-DOC
B.S., Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea, 2012
M.Sc., Gwangju Institute of Science & Technology, 2011
Ph.D., Gwangju Institute of Science & Technology, 2017
My research focuses on the functions of INF2-CAAX, as well as acetylated actin in regulating mitochnodrial dynamics.
B.S., Mumbai University, 2012
M.Sc., IISER Pune, India, 2019
Ph.D., IISER Pune, India 2019
My work investigates mitochondrial cristae architecture in humans, with an emphasis on an exciting but poorly understood protein of the mitochondrial intermembrane space-LACTB.

Ziwei She
GRADUATE STUDENT

Berglind Bjarnadóttir
GRADUATE STUDENT
B.S., Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, 2016
M.Sc., Peking University, Beijing, China
I am figuring out how actin polymerization contributes to metabolic switching between oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis in response to mitochondrial damage.
Certificate, Reykjavík College of Music, 2021
B.S., University of Iceland, 2024
I am currently working to identify actin binding proteins using whole cell proteomics which we hope will define the "actinome." I am also working to biochemically characterize actin binding proteins which affect actin polymerization.

Will King
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
B.S., Birmingham-Southern College, 2015, Phi Beta Kappa
M.Sc., Johns Hopkins University, 2023
My work focuses on developing new ways to measure glycolytic capacity in different cancer cell lines and how ADA impacts cancer cell metabolism. My favorite organelle is the mitochondrion!

Rocky
LAB GUARD ROCK

Aiman Jalmukhambetova
Visiting Scholar

Dylan Hendrick
Data Analysis Intern
B.S., Oberlin College, 2026 (anticipated)
With a background in computer science, I am developing new tools for unbiased analysis of microscopy images and protein omics datasets using existing platforms and software.
B.S., Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan 2023
Ph.D., Nazarbayev University, 2027 (anticipated)
I won a fellowship award from my home university to come to the Higgs Lab to study and learn new techniques related to actin biology and biochemistry.
I was painted by a lab member's niece in 2021 and made the trek to Dartmouth from Alabama. In my spare time, I'm quite fond of silent contemplation and stillness. I never shy away from taking on the hard things in life!
COLLABORATIONS
The Higgs lab works closely with Martin Pollak at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Ed Usherwood at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, microbiology and immunology.
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Within the Dartmouth community, Harry is also a mentor for the interdisciplinary BioMT project, an NIH sponsored COBRE grant to support junior faculty. Harry is also a member of the Dartmouth Cancer Center.