Joni Renee White, Ph.D. Email and Phone Number

I have a diverse research background, and am skilled across an array of microbiological and molecular biology techniques. My interests & research experience include dermatological sex hormone signaling, aging and cancer biology, host-microbe interactions, medical & food microbiology, extracellular vesicle (EV) biology. I have expertise in optical techniques for bacterial & EV detection (spectroscopy, flow cytometry (including analysis of data using FlowJo)), several imaging techniques across an array of applications (scanning, transmission, & cryo electron microscopy, STORM, STED, confocal), cell and tissue culture (including primary cell isolation from healthy skin & cutaneous malignant tumors, culture and treatment of skin explants, lentiviral production & transduction, bioreactor culture), microfluidics/microfabrication, histology (frozen/paraffin embedding, sectioning, H&E, immunofluorescence).My research career began in 2016 when I joined the University of Auckland (UoA) FoodSafe team investigating microfluidics for rapid bacterial detection as an undergraduate. This led to my Honours research in 2018, investigating a novel fluorescence spectroscopy technique alongside flow cytometry for a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test. For my Hons research I received the M.I.A. Postgraduate Scholarship, the Maurice & Phyllis Paykel Research Scholarship, & the Graeme Lewis Prize in Microbiology.In 2019, I began my PhD in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology and received a UoA Doctoral Scholarship. I investigated the response of probiotic & pathogenic bacteria to host eukaryotic extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the colon. I successfully completed my PhD in 2023.In 2020, myself and several students from around the world set up the Student Network on EVs (SNEV), an international virtual network aiming to connect junior and early career researchers together. We since held a virtual annual conference in 2021 & 2023, & continue to host a variety of virtual seminars & events from diverse academic and industrial speakers.In February 2023, I relocated to Boston, MA, USA to work in the lab of Gian-Paolo Dotto (MD, PhD) at the CBRC, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Med School. Here I utilised an array of molecular & genetic techniques to investigate hormone signalling & nuclear/genomic stability in the context of skin aging and cancer.Aside from the above, I tutor high school science students & enjoy teaching laboratories to an array of undergraduate students, including students studying Optometry, Nursing, & Medicine (M.D./MBChB).