People

Ben R. Hopkins [CV, May '26]
Assistant Professor
br.hopkins[@]ufl.edu

Ben was born in Cardiff, Wales, and received his BA and DPhil (with Stuart Wigby) from the University of Oxford. Supported by a Long-Term Fellowship from HFSP, he was then a postdoc with Artyom Kopp at UC Davis before starting his lab at the University of Florida in January 2026. 
  

Sebastian Magana Pena 
Graduate student
smaganapena[@]ufl.edu

Sebastian was born in Michoacan, Mexico, and raised in Sebring, Florida. He received his BS in Biology from the University of Florida and was a lab technician at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC. In 2025, he started the Biomedical Sciences PhD program in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics concentration. In his free time, Sebastian enjoys fishing and visiting Gainesville’s local breweries and farmers markets.

Lain Nie 
Research technician
s.nie[@]ufl.edu

Bio coming soon