Davis Miller
Research Associate IIDavis is a research associate joining GMGI with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and four years of research experience with zebrafish. His master’s thesis focused on the dysregulation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway and morphological deformity in larval zebrafish by perfluorooctane sulfonate. At GMGI, Davis is interested in investigating the biochemistry and genetics of long-lived species and applying those findings to the zebrafish model.
Education
2023: B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst
2025: M.S. Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Advisor: Alicia R. Timme-Laragy
Research Interests
My previous research focused on using larval zebrafish as a model organism to understand the impacts of toxicant exposure during early development. About 70% of zebrafish proteins have a human ortholog, making them well suited for understanding human health impacts. I focused on the impacts of ubiquitous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway. I was able to assay AhR dysregulation using a combination of an enzyme assay conducted in vivo on living zebrafish as well as in vitro on human microsomes, and supported that finding with results from in silico molecular docking and machine learning driven structural predictions.
I’m excited to use zebrafish again at GMGI to apply discoveries from marine organisms with exceptional lifespans to a vertebrate model, as well as to further categorize and explore the genetics and biochemistry of those long-lived organisms.
Miller, Davis H., Lachapelle, Adam, Satbhai, Kruuttika M., Chien, Peter, Borys, Kristina A., Timme-Laragy, Alicia R., 2026. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) interferes with Cyp1a activity and dysregulates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio). Available at SSRN. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6901706
Kruuttika M. Satbhai, Emily S. Marques, Ravi Ranjan, Alicia R. Timme-Laragy, Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals tissue-specific transcriptomic changes induced by perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio), Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 489, 2025, 137515, ISSN 0304-3894, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.137515.