Our Team
Lindsay K. Caesar, PhD
she/her
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
James Madison University
email: caesarlk@jmu.edu
Dr. Caesar's passion for natural products started during a family vacation in 2001, when she and her mother discovered a hidden medicinal herb garden in the rainforests of Belize. This trip inspired them both, prompting them to start an organic farm focusing on the cultivation of native medicinal plants. Dr. Caesar earned her BS in Biology from Furman University in 2012. She went on to complete her Master's degree in Plant and Environmental Science from Clemson University (obtained in 2015), where she worked under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey Adelberg. Dr. Caesar's research focused on developing micropropagation protocols to optimize nutrient conditions for plant multiplication. In 2019, Dr.
Caesar earned her PhD in Medicinal Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she worked with Dr. Nadja Cech. Dr. Caesar's PhD research centered on developing mass-spectrometry based tools to investigate natural medicines and their ability to treat antibiotic-resistant infections. She completed her postdoctoral work at Northwestern University under the dual mentorship of Dr. Neil Kelleher and Dr. Nancy Keller (at the University of Wisconsin Madison). During her time at Northwestern, she worked to integrate fungal metabolomics and genomics datasets to identify novel metabolites and their biosynthetic pathways from fungi. As a new faculty member at James Madison University, Dr. Caesar is excited to merge her diverse research experiences to understand why natural products are being produced, what biosynthetic pathways produce them, and how she can use this information to prioritize discovery of antimicrobial drugs. She currently supervises a group of 5 undergraduate students and has published 23 peer-reviewed papers.
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Fun facts: In her free time, Dr. Caesar likes playing role playing games with her husband, exploring the outdoors, and knitting.
Current Members
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Frank Muscarella
he/him
Frank is a senior at JMU majoring in Health Sciences and has plans to go to dental school and become an orthodontist after graduation.
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Fun facts: Frank loves to rock climb and snorkel in his free time.
Landon Gray
he/him
Landon is a junior Biology major with an interest in pre-medicine, wanting to pursue a career as a psychiatrist.
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Fun facts: Landon enjoys hiking and basketball in his free time.
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Mary Sessoms
she/her
Mary is a junior chemistry major at JMU with a specific interest in the pre-physician's assistant track, wanting to become a dermatologist PA.
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Fun facts: Mary has been to 5 different countries and loves to go on long-distance adventures with friends!
Diya Chand
she/her
Diya is a freshman chemistry major at JMU with a predental minor who has plans to become a pediatric dentist.
Fun Fact: Diya loves to draw and rollerblade when she has time.
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Carly Hemani
she/her
Carly is a junior Biotechnology major at JMU with specific interest in the pre-medicine track, wanting to become a cardiologist.
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Fun facts: Carly can wiggle her right ear and can speak French!
Alumni
Shyleigh Good, '25
Elijah Fernands, '25
Frances Homan, '25
Evelyn Haugh, '25
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Lexie Lee, '24
