Students

Harrison Bernhard (CBC)

A PhD student in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biology from Villanova University. His undergraduate research involved synthesizing a cyclic tetrapeptide with two irregular amino acids. Harrison is currently doing his rotations.

Dominic Castaldi (CBE)

A PhD student in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering with bachelors in Chemical Engineering with a concentration in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dominic’s undergraduate research involved investigating the genetic mechanisms that play a part in antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation in E. coli and is currently doing rotations before he joins a graduate research lab.

Sam Fine (CBE)

A PhD student in the Fromen and Blenner labs aiming to improve the viability of CAR-Macrophages as a treatment for lung cancer. His current approach is to enhance the durability of CAR-Macrophages’ pro-inflammatory phenotype by reversing the epigenetic changes induced by the abundance of lactate in the tumor microenvironment.

Tristan Mabee (CBC)

A PhD student from Elizabethtown College, Pa, performed undergraduate research synthesizing novel peptide nucleic acid monomers for RNA recognition and inhibition. During the summer of 2024, Tristan also worked in the Fox lab synthesizing novel cyclooctenes for use in tetrazine ligation reactions. Currently, Tristan is doing rotations.

Emari Mann (CBC)

A PhD student in Chemistry & Biochemistry, she received her bachelor’s in Biochemistry from Claflin University, the first historically Black college in South Carolina. Emari worked as a REU fellow in the University of Delaware NSF CHARM  program, conducting organic synthesis in the lab of Dr. Catherine Grimes for her undergraduate research. While a PREP scholar at UC Davis, she conducted research on sodium channel localization in mammalian proprioceptors in the lab of Dr. Theanne Griffith. Emari is interested in areas of chemistry like inorganic, materials and catalysis so that her research will have an environmental impact. As a graduate student, Emari’s first year will be spent doing rotations. 

Catherine Mudd (CBC)

A PhD student working in Don Watson’s lab to develop methods for the synthesis of axially
chiral biaryl compounds and elucidate the mechanism by which these reactions occur. Axial
chirality arises from restricted rotation around a bond, leading to two non-superimposable mirror images. These structures are found in natural products, biologically active molecules, and are used as ligands in asymmetric synthesis. New methodology development, combined with mechanistic insight, will allow for more efficient synthesis of these pharmaceutically relevant scaffolds.

Rocco Sotero (CBC)

A Current PhD student , who graduated from Haverford College, PA. Rocco is interested in organic chemistry and its applications. Currently doing rotations in chemical biology labs and looking to develop new synthesis tools for answering biological questions.

Olivia Tancredi (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Alperstein lab on technique and instrument development for novel super-resolution imaging and microscopy techniques. The Alperstein lab uses ultrafast vibrational  spectroscopy to answer biological questions relating to drug resistance, microplastic toxicity, and protein-protein interactions. Olivia’s project aims to develop new super-resolution techniques for both Raman and two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) to investigate materials and biological systems on the sub-​​​micron scale.

Jessica Taney (BISC)

A PhD student in the Department of Biology with a bachelor’s from Chatham University in Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology. Jessica is currently doing rotations and is interested in the molecular mechanisms behind human health and disease. 

Krishna Thakkar (BISC)

Krishna is pursuing her doctoral dissertation in Dr. Salil Lachke’s Laboratory at UD’s Department of Biological Sciences. Her research is focused on unraveling the transcriptional control of gene expression in mammalian eye lens development and its associated defects. Taking a multidisciplinary approach involving genetics, cell and molecular biology and omics, Krishna is currently investigating the function of the transcription factors Sox11 and Nrf2 in the lens. This research is expected to identify the global targets of these transcription factors and uncover their downstream gene regulatory networks, thereby informing of potential new therapeutic targets to prevent the clinical condition resulting from the loss of lens transparency, namely cataract.

Jeffery Waters (BISC)

A PhD student in Biological Sciences concentrating in Cell and Organ Systems Physiology at the University of Delaware, with a BS in Biological Sciences concentrating in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology from the University of New England. Jeffery is currently doing rotations.

Charis White (CBC)

 A PhD student in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department, working in the Messina Lab. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, earning a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, with a minor in Religious Studies. Undergraduate research in the Meyer Lab was focused on poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid synthesis, and her current work in the Messina Lab aims to access 3-D star polymer systems for the storage and stabilization of biologics.

Lisa Bain (CBE)

A PhD student in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. She earned her degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor with a minor in Biochemistry and concentrations in both Life Sciences and Biopharmaceutical Engineering. Lisa’s undergraduate research focused on vascular targeted drug delivery. She is currently working in the lab of Dr. Catherine A. Fromen, Associate Professor in CBE.

Shelby Cooper (CBC)

A PhD student co-advised by professors William J. Chain and Joseph Fox. In her research she
will focus on the synthesis of novel englerin A analogues that exhibit potent and selective
activity against human renal cancer and TNBC cell lines. She will also synthesize tetrazine- and
trans-cyclooctene based molecular tags for proteomic experiments with her synthetic englerin
compounds and work to label potential cellular targets and incorporate these tags alongside
fluorescence and affinity-based tags with the analogues in live cells.

Kyle James Hess (CBC)

A PhD student co-advised by professors William J. Chain and Catherine A. Fromen. His research will focus on the total synthesis and biological testing of cavernicolide, a novel marine macrolide non-small cell lung cancer growth inhibitor. Upon successful synthesis of cavernicolide fragments, Kyle will perform cellular assay studies with the help of the Fromen lab to determine potency and efficacy.

Nicole Kretekos (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Chain lab to develop methods for the synthesis of tetrahydroquinolines via aniline N-oxides. We are also using the N-oxide handle to produce other functionalized anilines including phenols and aryl ketones. 

Allison Mattern (BISC)

A PhD student working in the Sutherland lab to understand bacterial cytochrome c biogenesis within the System I pathway. Cytochromes c require the covalent attachment of heme to properly fold and function. Her project focuses on understanding the mechanism of the prokaryotic System I holocytochrome c synthase that attaches heme to cytochrome c, CcmFH, with a focus on heme reduction by CcmFH.

Pragati Muthukumar (CBE)

A PhD student in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, with a bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Chemical Engineering and Biology. Pragati worked with Professor Kate E Galloway at MIT ChemE for 3 years working on developing genetic circuits for cellular reprogramming of fibroblasts to motor neurons. She also worked with Professor Gregory Stephanopoulos in developing metabolic engineering strategies to improve bioprocessing in yeast. Her current graduate study is done in Professor Wilfred Chen’s lab where she works on developing protein logic gates for targeted cancer therapies. 

Ashley Sias (CBC)

A PhD student in the Fox Lab with work focusing on tetrazine and trans-cyclooctene ligation. Her work will utilize the aforementioned reaction for proteomics. 

Karli Sunnergren (BISC)

A PhD student working in the Tanis lab to understand how altered homocysteine and hydrogen sulfide metabolism impact aging and neurodegeneration. The Tanis lab uses C. elegans to study dietary impacts on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and have created the first C. elegans model of hyperhomocystenemia. Both hyperhomocysteinemia and altered hydrogen sulfide signaling are risk factors for age-related diseases. This in vivo model will provide new insight into how impaired homocysteine and hydrogen sulfide metabolism contribute to the pathogenesis of aging and age-related diseases.

James VanAntwerp (CBE)

James VanAntwerp is a PhD student in the Chemical Engineering department, where he is co-advised by Dr. Kelvin Lee and Dr. Aditya Kunjapur. His research is focused on developing cell lines optimized for non-standard amino acid incorporation into pharmaceutical products. He earned a bachelor’s from Michigan State University in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Fermented Beverages, where he also undertook research in ancestral sequence reconstruction and bioinformatics.

Alexander Wang (CBE)

A PhD student working in the April Kloxin Lab to utilize bioprinting to translate synthetic hydrogel matrices to model breast cancer dormancy, a phenomenon where disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) leave the primary tumor and become undetectable in external sites. This will let us gain insights into the environmental and biological factors that regulate breast cancer dormancy and late recurrence, letting us engineer therapies for targeting these dormant sites.

Spencer Wolfe (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Fromen Lab working on developing nanoparticle formulations for pulmonary vaccinations by focusing on both the characteristics of the nanoparticle as well as the conjugated agonists.

Malek Elsayyid (BISC)

A Biology PhD/MBA student working in the Tanis lab to understand how biological cargo is sorted into extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are membrane-enclosed bioactive molecules that mediate intercellular signaling in numerous physiological and pathological contexts. The Tanis lab uses the model organism C. elegans to answer basic questions of EV biology in vivo, using genetic tools, super-resolution imaging, and biochemical techniques. She is currently doing a sabbatical with Dr. Yanbao Yu, optimizing an efficient and low-input proteomics protocol for C. elegans.

Audrey Collins (CBC)

 A PhD student coadvised by professors Arthi Jayaraman and Laure Kayser. In her research studies, Audrey uses multiscale molecular modeling and simulation to study and develop novel biocompatible and bio-inspired polymers.

Jessica Rubira Gamba (CBE)

A PhD student working in Dr. Aditya Kunjapur’s lab to understand the preferences of each human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype for peptides that contain non-standard amino acids (nsAAs) at different positions, aiming for an optimal immune response. This will give us insights on how to design better vaccines against weakly immunogenic pathogens and fight autoimmune diseases.

Alexa Gomez (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Laure Kayser lab working on the functionalization of polystyrene sulfonate for biological applications and organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) design. We also aim to design a new class of electroactive polymers known as dynamically crosslinked and conductive metallopolymers (DCCMs). These materials will utilize reversible metal-ligand coordination as crosslinks in mixed ionic-electronic conductors with applications in soft robotics and on-body devices for tactile feedback

Lauren McCaskey (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Kayser lab to synthesize and develop touch-sensitive biosensors utilizing polymer chemistry. The Kayser lab works predominantly with organic electronic systems to generate materials with high biocompatibility and dual electronic/ionic conductivity. Lauren’s project utilizes antibody-functionalized polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) derivatives to change surface chemistry and ideally alter friction. 

Topher Pirner (CBE)

A PhD student working in the Blenner lab to develop tools to dynamically regulate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) gene expression using ER stress to improve difficult to express (DTE) protein production. DTE proteins are proteins that are produced at low titers and/or have reduced activity. This work will allow us gain insight into how to properly regulate cellular processes to enhance DTE protein production.

Miranda Roland (CBC)

A PhD student working in the labs of Catherine Grimes and Joe Fox to design and utilize bioorthogonal bacterial cell wall-based probes. We aim to use these probes to further understand communication between the gut microbiome and the brain, and as a method to image bacterial infections. This will provide a lot of needed insight as to which bacterial cell wall components may be signaling to the brain, as well as providing a new and novel imaging method for bacteria in vivo.

Marina Vasconcelos (CBC)

A PhD student working in the lab of Catherine Grimes lab studying the effect and function of the O-GlcNAc post-translational modification on innate immune receptors. Her work aims to modulate O-GlcNAc through small molecules to develop novel therapeutics for Crohn’s disease. 

Kaytlin Ward (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Rosenthal lab to develop and characterize non-traditional tetrapyrroles as phototherapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer. Kaytlin’s research focuses on modifying the tetrapyrrole scaffold and evaluating the phototherapeutic agents in triple-negative breast cancer cells. 

Casey Welch (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Messina lab to develop activity-based sensing probes to detect the presence of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). By monitoring ROS within the cell, the goal is to further understand how ROS mediate both inter and intra-cellular signaling pathways.” 

Caroline Williams (CBC)

A PhD student working in the lab of Dr. Catherine Grimes to elucidate the mechanism by which C. albicans transitions to a pathogenic hyphal state during periods of immune incompetence. Her research specifically focuses on how bacterial cell wall fragments initiate and regulate this morphological transition. This will help to give us insights into possible new targets for the development of novel antifungals. 

D’Jana Wyllis (CBE)

A PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering who works in the synthetic biology lab of Dr. Aditya Kunjapur and is interested in the areas of biocatalysis, protein engineering and metabolic engineering. She works on the synthesis and incorporation of non-standard amino acids.

Atinuke Odunsi (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Rozovsky lab to understand the role of selenoprotein k (selenok). Selenok is a small intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) that is involved in different aspects of human health such as immune response, cancer progression and cognitive function but its specific roles in the cell are unknown. Atinuke’s project involves the study of selenok localization, topology and interactome; all of which aims to provide more insights into the role of selenok in the cell and reveal possible ways in which its health benefits can be harnessed.

Rebecca Colandrea (CBC)

A PhD candidate working in the M. Watson lab focusing on the development of nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions via benzylic C-O activation. We aim to develop new chemical methods as well as gain mechanistic insight. 

Celeste DiGennaro (BISC)

A PhD student in the Jeffery Mugridge and Jeremy Bird labs working on the discovery of a novel class of RNA species that are capped at the 5’ end with bacterial cell wall precursors, UDP-MurNAc and UDP-GlcNAc. In collaboration with the Grime’s group, she will identify specific RNA transcripts that have these 5’ UDP-Sugar modifications and what proteins interact with them in vivo. Her project will serve as the first step to understanding how these UDP-Sugar caps regulate bacterial RNA fate, structure, and function.

Ross Klauer (CBE)

A PhD student working in the Mark Blenner and Kevin Solomon Labs to elucidate mechanisms for plastic degradation by the gut microbiome of the yellow mealworm. Microorganisms and enzymes capable of plastics deconstruction can be engineered for enhanced plastics degradation and for eventual upcycling of plastic wastes into valorized consumer products.

Alicia Kreiman (BISC)

A PhD student working in the Sutherland lab to understand cytochrome c biogenesis and heme trafficking within this bacterial system. Cytochromes c require the covalent attachment of heme to properly fold and function. Heme is cytotoxic and therefore must be specifically trafficked to these systems, and throughout them. The Sutherland lab and this project focuses on heme trafficking to the prokaryotic cytochrome c biogenesis pathway called System I and heme reception by this System. 

Laura Marvin (BISC)

A PhD student in Dr Jeremy Birds lab. Her research is on Mitochondrial Transcription: from Initiation to Termination. This will help better demonstrate the impact of mitochondrial transcription on cellular dysfunction. 

Thomas Manzoni  (BISC)

 A MBA/PhD student working in the lab of Justin Parreno, Biological Sciences. His research interests include cartilage tissue engineering, bioprinting, and the use of 3D printing to create devices that apply force/stimulate cells. Currently, Thomas is investigating the use of 3D bioprinting as a method to create bioengineered cartilage with zonal organization.

James Mullin (CBE)

A PhD student working in the labs of Prof. Millie Sullivan and Prof. Kristi Kiick to develop biomaterials and gene therapy approaches to treating chronic wounds.

Sophia Neglia (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Fox lab to activate tetrazine ligation in the absence of light.  We aim to investigate the protein interactions in localized cellular environments in live mammalian cells using this novel method.

Stephanie Richardson-Solorzano (BISC)

A PhD student working in the Parreno lab to generate a cartilage-like bioengineered tissue by passaged chondrocytes that will serve as a model to mimic key aspects of OA progression and study on the effect of inflammatory mediators on human chondrocyte homeostasis. 

Emma Sudduth (CBE)

A PhD student working with Dr. Catherine Fromen, CBE.  Her work focuses on designing nanoparticle formulations for tunable uptake and activation of immune cells. Currently, she is studying the effects of nanoparticle charge on uptake by pulmonary antigen-presenting in aged murine models. 

Rakib-Uz-Zaman (BISC)

S M Rakib Uz Zaman is a PhD student working in the Duncan Lab on understanding
the cellular origins of lens capsule-associated myofibroblasts, which contribute to posterior
capsular opacification (PCO), a common complication of cataract surgery. PCO results from the
proliferation and migration of residual lens epithelial cells (LECs), which can differentiate into
either lens fiber cells (regeneration) or fibrotic myofibroblasts (epithelial-to-mesenchymal
transition, EMT). To address this question, Rakib is developing two genetic tools using
MLR10Cre H2b-mCherry and ARC Cre-ERT2 mouse models, which will allow for permanent
labeling of LECs by expressing the fluorescent protein mCherry depending on Cre activity.
MLR10Cre H2b-mCherry mice exhibit both nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of H2b-
mCherry, suggesting that these animals will be useful to track the fate of lens epithelial cells
during the injury response in an animal model of cataract surgery. Additionally, Rakib is
investigating the function of Gremlin1 and SerpinE1 in the EMT of LECs after lens injury.

Shelby Anderson (CBE)

A PhD student working in the Kunjapur lab to biosynthesize and incorporate non-standard amino acids.  The Kunjapur lab uses tools such as protein engineering, genome engineering, and synthetic biology to accomplish our goals in teaching live cells to create and harness non-standard amino acids to access desired functionalities..

Ellie Meck (CBC)

A PhD student working in the Don Watson lab to develop ways to use heteroatomic electrophiles in cross-coupling reactions. This would lead to an efficient synthesis of biologically relevant scaffolds that are found in a variety of pharmaceutical and natural products. 

Chris Mayhugh (CBE)

A PhD student in the Kunjapur Lab working at the interface of synthetic biology and immunology to develop novel vaccines. His research uses genetic code expansion to design antigenic proteins with enhanced immunogenicity, and in vivo testing performed in a mouse model. 

Stephanie Tsang (CBC)

A PhD candidate working in the Fox Lab to study the mechanism of the catalytic activation of bioorthogonal chemistry with light, specifically how photocatalysts oxidize dihydrotetrazines to tetrazines. Through the elucidation of the mechanism, we aim to design photocatalysts and dihydrotetrazines for even more efficient catalysis.

Ashlyn Summer Hillman (CBC)

A PhD student working in Joe Fox’s lab on expanding the glycobiology toolkit with small, rapid, and tunable bioorthogonal carbohydrates. These carbohydrate tools will enable investigations into bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis, as well as illuminate key PG fragments implicated in innate immune system recognition.”

Alyssa Conner (CBC)

A graduate student in the chemistry and biochemistry department. Allyssa completed her B.S. at Lafayette College. She works in the lab of Dr. Donald A. Watson. Allyssa developed a method to synthesize highly substituted alkenes via a Hiyama-Denmark coupling of dimethyl(5-methylfuryl) vinysilanes and aryl halides. Allyssa is currently working on developing an asymmetric silyl-Kumada method to generate α- chiral silanes and chiral silicon centers from readily available silyl chlorides and Grignard reagents. She also is working on mechanistic and scope studies on a visible-light induced, nickel catalyzed C-alkylation of nitroalkanes to determine how the reaction proceeds without an iridium photocatalyst. Her roles in these projects included conducting experiments, data analysis, and publication preparation.

Sadia Islam (BISC)

A PhD student in the Fowler lab, studying the role of actin cytoskeleton in mouse lens development and function. Her project focuses on the effect of human disease-related non-muscle myosin IIA mutations on lens cellular organization, optical properties and cataract formation.

Brittany Shimanski (CBC)

A PhD student in the Mugridge lab. Brittany’s research focuses on characterizing the interactions between RNA demethylase, FTO, and its substrate, N6,2′-O-dimethyladenosine (m6Am) on mRNA. Brittany is working to determine how FTO recognizes the distinct cap structure and the m6Am group on RNA, compare recognition with m6A vs m6Am substrates, and identify specific residues important for recognition. 

Michaela Jones (CBE)

A PhD student working in the Kunjapur Lab to improve non-standard amino acid for in vivo protein bioconjugation. Non-standard amino acids (nsAAs) allow for the introduction of unique chemistries into specific sites in a protein. Various click chemistries are of particular interest for the development of novel synthetic biology tools; however, nsAA incorporation efficiencies are too low to pursue such technologies. So the Kunjapur Lab is investigating several different approaches for improving nsAA incorporation of multiple nsAAs at distinct, genetically encoded sites.