I am a Genetics PhD student in Dr. Hanna Stevens' lab. My hometown in Haymarket, Virginia. I received a bachelor's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. At VCU, I began my research career in genetics studying craniosynostosis in a zebrafish model and mitochondrial function in c. elegans. I am very interested in developmental genetics, placental biology, and neurodevelopmental research. In Dr. Stevens' lab, I study how placental genetics influence fetal brain development in mice. Specifically, I study placental Igf-1 expression's impact on brain regions associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ASD and ADHD,

Publications:

Carver AJ, Fairbairn FM, Taylor RJ, Boggarapu S, Kamau NR, Gajmer A, Stevens HE. Placental Igf1 overexpression sex-specifically impacts mouse placenta structure, altering offspring striatal development and behavior. Exp Neurol. 2025 Sep 2:115453. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2025.115453. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40907731.

Carver AJ, Dunnwald M, Stevens HE. A head start: The relationship of placental factors to craniofacial and brain development. Dev Dyn. 2025 Oct;254(10):1096-1114. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.70018. Epub 2025 Mar 19. PMID: 40105397; PMCID: PMC12353629.

Carver AJ, Hing B, Elser BA, Lussier SJ, Yamanashi T, Howard MA 3rd, Kawasaki H, Shinozaki G, Stevens HE. Correlation of telomere length in brain tissue with peripheral tissues in living human subjects. Front Mol Neurosci. 2024 Mar 7;17:1303974. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2024.1303974. PMID: 38516039; PMCID: PMC10954899. 

Carver AJ, Taylor RJ, Stevens HE. Mouse In Vivo Placental Targeted CRISPR Manipulation. J Vis Exp. 2023 Apr 14;(194):10.3791/64760. doi: 10.3791/64760. PMID: 37125793; PMCID: PMC10664715.

Honors/Awards:
Ballard & Seashore Dissertation Fellowship (Spring 2026)

Travel Award for OHSU Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Summer Course (2025)

First Place Poster Presentation Award - Annual UI Computational Psychiatry Symposium (2025)

Pappajohn Biomedical Institute Best Graduate Student Paper Finalist (2024)

Graduate Student Senate Presentation Travel Award (2024)

Best Data Blitz Presentation Hawk-IDDRC Retreat (2024) 

Outstanding Student Researcher – UI Dare to Discover Downtown Banner Campaign (2023)

Pappajohn Biomedical Institute Best Graduate Student Paper Finalist (2023)

Graduate College Post-Comprehensive Exam Research Fellowship (2023)

Graduate College Summer Fellowship (2023)

Genetics T32 Pre-Doctoral Training Grant (2022 - 2023)

Pappajohn Biomedical Institute Microfinance Grant (2022)

Graduate Student Senate/Graduate College Presentation Travel Award (2022)

Genetics T32 Pre-Doctoral Training Grant (2021 - 2022 )