Current Lab Group
Former thesis students
An Huang (’25) Chemistry thesis: Quantifying the Kinetics of Tau Fiber Formation Reported by Thioflavin Dyes
Current position: Research Assistant at Lafayette College
Lynn Mendez (’25) Biochemistry thesis: Determination of Relaxosome Protein pCU1 Trak’s Oligomerization State Using Atomic Force Microscopy
Aanzan Sachdeva (’25) Biochemistry thesis: In-Vitro Assembly of Tau Fibers with Different Polyanionic Inducers Reveals Distinct Mechanics of the “Fuzzy-Coat”
Current position: PhD student at Cornell University
Roudro Saha (’25) Biochemistry thesis: C‐Terminal Truncation Accelerates Tau Polymerization and Alters Fibril Mechanics Revealed by Fluorescence Kinetics and AFM Nanomechanical mapping
Current position: EMT with Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Lukas Johnson (’24) Biochemistry thesis: Investigating the Impact of Tau’s Projection Domain on its Function and Role in Disease by Comparing Naturally-Occurring Isoforms
Current position: Research technician at National Institutes of Health
Shaharia Khan (’24) Biochemistry thesis: Comparative Analysis of Wild-Type and
Pseudophosphorylated Tau Protein Variants
Current position: Research technician at New York State Psychiatric Institute
Kayleigh Mason (’24) Chemistry thesis: Tau Aggregation is Altered by Variations in its Projection Domain
Current position: PhD student at the University of California Los Angeles
Micaela Primer (’24) Chemistry thesis: Volume Analysis of pCU1 TraK with AFM
Current position: PhD Student at University of Colorado Boulder
Banpreet Bawa (’23) Biochemistry thesis: Characterization of pseudophosphorylated 1N4R and 0N4R tau Constructs
Current position: Research technician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Ella Kolk (’22) Biochemistry thesis: Intermolecular interactions and structure of R5L tau
Current position: Research technician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute
Dr. Zachary Henig (’21). Biochemistry thesis: The effect of phosphorylation on tau-tau intermolecular interactions
MD from New York University
Current position: MD at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Anna Sesonske (’21). Chemistry thesis: The relative acidities of weak organic acids: Solvent and solute effects on pKa
Current position: QC Analyst at Regeneron
Lukas Harries (’19). Biochemistry thesis: Phosphorylation’s impact on tau
MS in Analytics from Georgia Tech
Current position: Data Engineer at Meta
Cassidy Nealon (’19). Chemistry thesis: Relative pKas of water and various alcohols
MEd from University of California Berkeley
Current position: Chemistry teacher in Carlsbad Unified School District
Dr. Zofia Siwicka (’18). Chemistry thesis: Investigating intermolecular forces in pseudophosphorylated tau
PhD from Northwestern University
Current position: Senior Research Specialist at Dow Chemical Company
Dr. Claudia Carcamo (’17). Biochemistry thesis: Using surface patterning to interrogate tau structure in various ionic strength conditions
PhD from Johns Hopkins University
Current position: Postdoctoral researcher at Merck
Amizhdini Eswaramoorthy (’17). Biochemistry thesis: Probing specific interactions in the tau protein projection domain
Dr. Alexandra Gittens (’17). Biochemistry thesis: Examining the function of the carboxyl-terminal domain with respect to tau structure and assemblage
PhD from Johns Hopkins University
Current position: Visiting Lecturer at University of Richmond
Dr. Morrie Lam (’16). Biochemistry thesis: Determining the role of the carboxyl-terminal domain in tau protein function
PhD from Harvard University
Current position: Equity Analyst at Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co LLC
Drury McAlarney (’16). Chemistry thesis: Optimizing parameters for uCP of proteins
MD student from Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Current position: Pediatrics Resident at NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Dr. Christopher Rosenberg (’15). Biochemistry thesis: Purification of a pseudohyperphosphorylated tau mutant for analysis by SDS-PAGE and atomic force microscopy
MD from Stony Brook University
Current position: MD in Portland, OR
Dr. Samuel Verbanic (’15). Biochemistry thesis: Expression and purification of the tau projection domain
PhD from University of California Santa Barbara
Current position: Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Moab Therapeutics
Dr. Amer Hossain (’14). Biochemistry thesis: Construction of pseudohyperphosphorylated tau mutants for analysis by atomic force microscopy
PhD from The Rockefeller University
Current position: Research Fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Pedro Sepulveda (’14). Biochemistry thesis: Purification and characterization of novel constructs of the microtubule associated protein tau
JD from City University of New York
Current position: Attorney and Litigation Fellow at the International Refugee Assistance Project
Dr. Sarah Cheng (’13). Biochemistry thesis: Examining the structural and mechanical effects of microtubules doubly-stabilized with guanylyl 5′-a,b-methylene diphosphonate (GMPCPP) and paclitaxel
MD from University of California San Francisco
Current position: MD in Honolulu, HI
Dr. Jared Saunders (’13). Biochemistry thesis: Functional analysis of the projection domain of the microtubule associated protein tau
PhD from Princeton University
Current position: Senior Medical Lead at minds + assembly
Dr. Visham Appadoo (’12). Chemistry thesis: Optimizing surface functionalization of mica and silicon with smooth silane films
PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison
Current position: Product Development Lead Scientist at PPG Industries
Dr. Dennis D’Urso (’11). Biochemistry thesis: Modification and functional study of tau’s projection domain
MD from Thomas Jefferson University
Current position: MD in Elizabeth, NJ
Nyanza Rothman (’11). Chemistry thesis: In vitro structural study of microtubules using quantitative fluorescence microscopy
Current position: Senior Scientist at Regeneron
Dr. Scott Pascal (’10). Biochemistry Thesis: The effect of tau protein and polymerization conditions on the radial elasticity of microtubules
MD from University of Massachusetts Medical School
Current position: MD at UMass Memorial Medical Center
Dr. Muhammad Haq (’09). Biochemistry Thesis: Purification and characterization of microtubule associated protein tau
MD from NYU School of Medicine
Current position: MD in Jersey City, NJ
Dr. Elysa Kliman (’08). Chemistry Thesis: Characterization of tubulin zinc sheets using UV-vis and AFM
DDS from University of Southern California
Current position: Dentist in Toronto, ON
Dr. Sean Boley (’08). URSI 2006. Chemistry Thesis: Determination of elastic modulus of rubber modified epoxy using atomic force microscopy
MD from Penn State College of Medicine
Current position: MD in St. Paul, MN
Dr. Philipose Mulugeta (’07). Biochemistry Thesis: Atomic force microscopy studies of the elastic properties of glutaraldehyde and paclitaxel stabilized microtubules
MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Current position: MD in Rockville, MD
Dr. Kathleen Munson (’06). Biochemistry Thesis: AFM studies of local structural properties of microtubules using paclitaxel and GMPCPP
PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
Current position: Staff Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Lab
Saad Akbar (’05). Chemistry Thesis: Probing the surface of microtubules using atomic force microscopy
Former students: If you see your name on this page and you’d like me to make any changes, please let me know!
Some older lab photos:
