Education: B.S., Stanford University; 
Ph.D., Princeton University

Sue started at Fred Hutch in 2000 after completing post-doctoral work in Dr. Andrew Murray's lab at UCSF. She was trained as a geneticist but will use any technique necessary to answer a scientific problem. Although her major interests are the cytoskeleton, cell cycle and chromosome biology, she keeps an eye out for an interesting scientific problem. She enjoys mentoring and wants everyone in the lab to achieve their personal goals. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys hanging out with her family, baking cakes for the lab and running with her mini-Aussie.

Education: B.S., University of Washington

Angelica joined the Biggins lab in the fall of 2022. She graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Biology, specialty in physiology. During her last year at UW, she investigated the presence of the PAX6 protein in green sea urchins at Friday Harbor Labs. Outside of the lab Angelica can be found spending time with family and friends, going on hikes, and tide pooling around Washington.

Education: B.S., Goucher College; M.S., College of Charleston, S. Carolina.

Jamie joined the lab in the fall of 2019. She earned her MS in marine toxicology at the College of Charleston in S. Carolina. Her research focused on the mechanistic effects of marine biotoxins on finfish embryonic development and neuroanatomy with NOAA’s Marine Biotoxins program. This work continued with a move to Seattle’s NOAA Ocean Services where she researched the impacts of anthropogenic contaminates such as petroleum and estradiol. In 2016 she took a break from the lab to start a photography business. After completing a research cruise sampling ocean microplastics and shooting photos, she settled into part time lab technician and part time photographer. In her free time she is outside with her dog or on a new adventure.

Education: B.A., Colgate University; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara

Devin moved to Seattle and joined the Biggins lab as a staff scientist in the summer of 2020. Devin received his PhD in experimental physics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he developed magnetic resonance techniques to study biomolecular structure. For his postdoctoral work, he joined the Perkins lab at University of Colorado, Boulder studying protein folding using AFM-based single molecule force spectroscopy. Outside of lab Devin enjoys running, hiking, and volleyball.

Education:  B.S., Tulane University; Ph.D., UT Southwestern

Anderson joined the Biggins lab as a postdoc in the summer of 2023. Anderson completed his PhD in David McFadden’s lab at UT Southwestern where his graduate work was focused on identifying metabolic liabilities in Hürthle cell thyroid cancer. In the Biggins lab, Anderson is interested in quality control of the kinetochore. Outside of lab, he enjoys spending time with his family, running, and cooking.

Education: M.S., Paris Diderot Univeristy;
Ph.D., Paris Diderot University

Sabrine joined the Biggins lab as a post-doc in early 2017 and transitioned to staff scientist in 2023. She is interested in the regulation of centromere chromatin assembly. Sabrine received her PhD from Paris Diderot University in the lab of Claire Francastel, where she studied the interplay between the DNA damage response and centromere chromatin in murine cells. Outside of lab, she enjoys baking, crafting, traveling, and gardening.

Education: Ph.D., Kansas State University

Changkun joined the lab as a postdoc in Summer 2022. As an undergraduate student, he worked on oil-producing yeast strains that can be used for environment purification and clean energy. Changkun's M.S. evaluates the effect of antioxidants on the invasiveness of melanoma. Changkun's Ph.D. studies to what extent beta human papillomavirus disrupts double-strand break repair in human keratinocytes. In the Biggins lab, Changkun is trying to understand the kinetics of kinetochore assembling using TIRF microscopy. Outside of the lab, he likes hiking, cooking, and beachcombing.

Education: B.S., Sun Yat-sen University;
Ph.D., Texas A&M University

Mengqiu joined the Biggins lab as a postdoc fellow in the summer of 2021. During her graduate studies in Junjie Zhang’s lab at Texas A&M, she focused on utilizing Cryo-EM and various biochemical tools to study the invading mechanism of the human pathogen Clostridium difficile. After completing her Ph.D., Mengqiu (recklessly) decided to step out of her comfort zone and into the wonderland of eukaryotic cell biology. Particularly, she found the structural basis of the kinetochore assembly is mysterious and captivating. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, and trying out all kinds of Chinese cuisine recipes.

Education: B.S., Presidency College;
Ph.D., Texas A&M University

Nairita joined the Biggins Lab as a postdoctoral fellow in the summer of 2021. She completed her Ph.D. from Michael Polymenis lab at Texas A&M. Her graduate work focused on the translational control of lipid synthesis during the cell cycle of budding yeast. Cell division has always fascinated her and she decided to pursue postdoctoral research in Sue’s lab to learn more about chromosome segregation and the army of proteins that enable the process. Currently, she is interested in the assembly of the inner kinetochore proteins and identifying post-translational modifications that facilitate both the assembly and function of this giant megadalton protein complex. Outside of the lab, she loves traveling to different food places (especially the Indian ones).

Education: B.S., University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Darren joined the Biggins lab in 2020 as a graduate student. Darren received his bachelor's degree in biology with a minor in biochemistry and molecular biology from UMass Amherst in 2017. He then joined the Bezanilla Lab at Dartmouth College where he worked as a research technician for 2 years studying the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton in plant cells. Now, Darren is interested in using biochemical and microscopy techniques to uncover the role of phosphorylation during the initial kinetochore-microtubule capture process. When he’s not in lab, he enjoys making electronic music in his home recording studio, going on crazy long backpacking trips, and skiing in the winter.

Education: B.A., Whitman College; Ph.D., UC Santa Cruz

Christian loved working in the Biggins Lab so much that he joined for a second time in the Spring of 2019 as a Staff Scientist. He previously worked in the lab as a Research Technician from 2007-2010, before completing his PhD at UC Santa Cruz in Needhi Bhalla’s lab. Throughout Christian’s time in science, he has studied the mechanisms underlying faithful chromosome segregation in mitosis and meiosis, focusing on understanding how molecular checkpoints monitor and respond to chromosome behaviors to help prevent aneuploidy. Outside of the lab, Christian loves the outdoors, running, and spending time with his daughters, Zelda and Lulu.

Education: B.S., Virginia Commonwealth University; Ph.D., University of Maryland Baltimore County

Kat moved to Seattle to join the Biggins lab as a postdoc in early 2025. Kat received her Ph.D. in biological science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where her research focused on understanding mechanisms governing ovarian cancer metastasis. In the Biggins Lab, Kat is interested in exploring regulation of the spindle assembly checkpoint. Outside of the lab, Kat enjoys walking her dogs, traveling, and learning new languages.

Education: B.A., Seattle University