Current Lab Members
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20
21
28
22
25
29
Dr. Lena Hileman, PI
Lena received her Ph.D. in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University. After completing her Ph.D.,she spent three years in Dr. Vivian Irish's lab at Yale University as a postdoctoral researcher before starting up her own lab in 2005 at the University of Kansas. She is a proud alum (both Bachelor's and Master's degrees) of San Francisco State University!
​Dr. Hileman's CV (PDF) (last updated September 2025)
Email Dr. Hileman at: lhileman@ku.edu
Haylee Coffman, Ph.D. student
Haylee received her Bachelor's degree from Park University. She also studied at the University of Hawaii (very cool!). Haylee is studying the genetic basis for differences in floral pigment intensity and flower shape between bee and hummingbird-adapted ​Penstemon species.
Email Haylee at: hjcoffman@ku.edu
Theo Scheiner, masters student
Theo received a Bachelor's degree in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from SUNY College at Old Westbury before joining the Hileman lab. In the Hileman lab, Theo is studying nectary evolution and development in Penstemon and close relatives.
Email Theo: stscheiner@ku.edu
Jim Krentzel, undergraduate student
Jim is majoring in Biochemistry at KU and carrying out Honors Thesis research in the lab. He is using Virus Induced Gene Silencing to test the function of a novel Lipid Transfer Protein in Nicotiana benthamiana.
Liz Mays, undergraduate student
Liz is majoring in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at KU, and is carrying out Honors Thesis research in the lab. She is contributing to our understanding of Penstemon flower color evolution in two ways. First by undertaking anthocyanin extractions and chromatography analysis for flowers in an F2 mapping population, and second by exploring the molecular and functional evolutionary changes of F3'5'H and DFR between P. kunthii and P. amphorellae to test their role(s) in the transition from blue to fuchsia flower color.
Nirjhar Kabery, masters student
Nirjhar received her Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from Stony Brook University. Before joining the Hileman Lab, she spent a year as an NSF RaMP post-back researcher at the University of Texas, El Paso. She is currently studying the developmental and genetic basis of lower petal curvature in bee- and hummingbird-adapted Penstemon species.
Email Nirjhar: kabery.nirjhar@ku.edu
Gavin Zubiate, undergraduate student
Gavin is majoring in Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology at KU. He joined the lab recently (Fall 2026) through the Emerging Scholars Program. He is currently helping with plant care and reproduction.