THE COTTLE GROUP
Principal Investigator: Dr. Renee Cottle
Team
Abishek Dhungana, B.E.
Ph.D. Student
Email: adhunga@clemson.edu
Education
B.E. in Mechanical Engineering, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, 2022
Expected Graduation 2029
Honors and Awards
Current Projects
Electroporation mediated cryopreservation of gene edited primary hepatocytes for the treatment of inherited metabolic liver diseases.
Ph.D. Student
Email: adhunga@clemson.edu
Education
B.E. in Mechanical Engineering, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, 2022
Expected Graduation 2029
Honors and Awards
Current Projects
Electroporation mediated cryopreservation of gene edited primary hepatocytes for the treatment of inherited metabolic liver diseases.
Albash Khan, B.S.
Master’s Student
Email: albashk@clemson.edu
Education
B.S. in Biochemistry, Clemson University, 2025
Expected Graduation 2026
Honors and Awards
Current Projects
Optimization of a palmitate-BSA (PA-BSA) lipotoxicity model to evaluate metabolic stress resilience in multiplex gene-edited primary hepatocytes for cell-based therapies.
Master’s Student
Email: albashk@clemson.edu
Education
B.S. in Biochemistry, Clemson University, 2025
Expected Graduation 2026
Honors and Awards
- 1st Place, Poster Presentation (Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering), SC INBRE Science Symposium, 2026
- 1st Place, J.T. Barton Jr. Memorial Ethics Award, Rutland Institute for Ethics, 2025
- 3rd Place, Catalyst Competition Award, Clemson University College of Science, 2025
- Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, U.S. Department of State, 2024
Current Projects
Optimization of a palmitate-BSA (PA-BSA) lipotoxicity model to evaluate metabolic stress resilience in multiplex gene-edited primary hepatocytes for cell-based therapies.
Benjamin Bessah Arthur
Ph.D. Student
Email: bbarthu@clemson.edu
Education
BSc. Biochemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Expected Graduation 2030
Current Projects
Cas9 immunogenicity and its impact on liver-directed gene therapy to treat inherited metabolic diseases of the liver
Ph.D. Student
Email: bbarthu@clemson.edu
Education
BSc. Biochemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Expected Graduation 2030
Current Projects
Cas9 immunogenicity and its impact on liver-directed gene therapy to treat inherited metabolic diseases of the liver
Daniel Hossack
Ph.D. Student
Email: dhossac@clemson.edu
Education
Bachelor of Science in Biochemical Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 2023
Expected Graduation 2029
Honors and Awards
2025 - Present SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Fellow
2024 – Present GEM Associate Fellow
Current Projects
Comparative Safety Analysis of Multiplex CRISPR Systems for Ex Vivo Hepatocyte Gene Editing in Familial Hypercholesterolemia
Ph.D. Student
Email: dhossac@clemson.edu
Education
Bachelor of Science in Biochemical Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 2023
Expected Graduation 2029
Honors and Awards
2025 - Present SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Fellow
2024 – Present GEM Associate Fellow
Current Projects
Comparative Safety Analysis of Multiplex CRISPR Systems for Ex Vivo Hepatocyte Gene Editing in Familial Hypercholesterolemia
Justin R. Gibson
Ph.D. Student
Email: jrg6@clemson.edu
Education
B.S. in Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 2024
Expected Graduation 2028
Honors and Awards
South Carolina Palmetto Fellows Scholarship & STEM Enhancement, 2020-2024
Clemson Presidential Scholarship, 2021-2024
Clemson Palmetto Pact Scholarship, 2020-2024
Deborah B. Dubose Endowed Scholarship, 2020-2024
Dr. Jerome Reel End Scholarship, 2020-2024
Current Projects
Doctoral work investigates the validation of clinical-grade electroporation systems for ex vivo delivery of gene editing technology to primary hepatocytes prior to transplantation, identification of differing-age donor hepatocyte engraftment kinetics in disease model transplant recipients, techno-economic analysis of emerging hepatocyte transplantation modalities for the treatment of cirrhotic decompensated liver disease, and elucidation of the therapeutic threshold of Ldlr-expressing donor hepatocyte liver repopulation for the correction of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.
Ph.D. Student
Email: jrg6@clemson.edu
Education
B.S. in Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 2024
Expected Graduation 2028
Honors and Awards
South Carolina Palmetto Fellows Scholarship & STEM Enhancement, 2020-2024
Clemson Presidential Scholarship, 2021-2024
Clemson Palmetto Pact Scholarship, 2020-2024
Deborah B. Dubose Endowed Scholarship, 2020-2024
Dr. Jerome Reel End Scholarship, 2020-2024
Current Projects
Doctoral work investigates the validation of clinical-grade electroporation systems for ex vivo delivery of gene editing technology to primary hepatocytes prior to transplantation, identification of differing-age donor hepatocyte engraftment kinetics in disease model transplant recipients, techno-economic analysis of emerging hepatocyte transplantation modalities for the treatment of cirrhotic decompensated liver disease, and elucidation of the therapeutic threshold of Ldlr-expressing donor hepatocyte liver repopulation for the correction of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.
Menam Pokhrel
Ph.D. Student
Email: mpokhre@clemson.edu
Education
Bachelor in Biomedical Engineering, CBEAS, Nepal, 20173
Master of Technology in Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, 2022
Expected Graduation 2029-2030
Honors and Awards
DAAD In-Region Scholarship, M.Tech, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (India), 2020-2022
Current Projects
Multiplex CRISPR gene editing and in vivo selection strategies to develop disease-specific, cell-based gene therapy for Familial Hypercholesterolemia.
Ph.D. Student
Email: mpokhre@clemson.edu
Education
Bachelor in Biomedical Engineering, CBEAS, Nepal, 20173
Master of Technology in Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, 2022
Expected Graduation 2029-2030
Honors and Awards
DAAD In-Region Scholarship, M.Tech, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (India), 2020-2022
Current Projects
Multiplex CRISPR gene editing and in vivo selection strategies to develop disease-specific, cell-based gene therapy for Familial Hypercholesterolemia.
Olumide Adebayo, B.S., M.S.
Ph.D. Student
Email: oadebay@clemson.edu
Education
B.E. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ekiti State University, 2014
M.S. in Systems Engineering, University of Lagos, 2019
Expected Graduation 2027
Honors and Awards
Current Projects
Lipid nanoparticle-mediated delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 into primary hepatocytes for the treatment of hereditary tyrosinemia type I while comparing in vivo and ex vivo therapeutic strategies.
Ph.D. Student
Email: oadebay@clemson.edu
Education
B.E. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ekiti State University, 2014
M.S. in Systems Engineering, University of Lagos, 2019
Expected Graduation 2027
Honors and Awards
Current Projects
Lipid nanoparticle-mediated delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 into primary hepatocytes for the treatment of hereditary tyrosinemia type I while comparing in vivo and ex vivo therapeutic strategies.