Alumni
Miah Turke
Graduate Student
| Postdoctoral Fellow |
| Washington University, MO |
PhD in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2025
MS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2020
BS in Chemistry, Michigan State University 2019
Sofiya Maltseva
Graduate Student
| Lecturer |
| DePaul University, IL |
PhD in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2023
MS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2019
BS in Chemistry, University of Minnesota 2017
Benjamin Slaw
Graduate Student
| Virtual Lab Manager |
| HappiLabs |
PhD in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2022
MS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2016
BA in Chemistry, Vassar College 2015
Daniel Kerr
Graduate Student, Post-doctoral Fellow
| Beamline Scientist |
| Argonne National Lab, IL |
PhD in Biophysics, University of Chicago 2019
MS in Biophysics, University of Chicago 2015
BS in Physics, UC Santa Barbara 2011
Luke Hwang
Graduate Student
| Innovation and Commercialization Manager |
| Argonne National Lab, IL |
PhD, University of Chicago 2020
MS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2014
BS in Chemistry, City College of New York 2013
Zhiliang Gong
Graduate Student
| Cofounder and CTO |
| PanorArt |
PhD, University of Chicago, 2017
MS, University of Chicago, 2012
BS, U of Science and Technology of China 2011
Thesis: Membrane Selectivity of Phosphatidylserine Recognizing Proteins
J. Michael Henderson
Graduate Student
| michael.henderson690@gmail.com |
| Assistant Professor of Chemistry |
| Bowdoin College, ME |
Post-doc, Institut Curie, Paris
PhD, University of Chicago 2016
BS, University of Central Oklahoma 2008
Thesis: Antimicrobial Peptides’ Selectivity and Line Activity Governed by Membrane Properties
Charles Heffern
Graduate Student
| charles.heffern@gmail.com |
| Head of Product Strategy |
| Fastenate Technologies, CA |
PhD, University of Chicago, 2016
MS, University of Chicago
BS, University of Southern California
Kathleen Cao
Graduate Student
| caokathleen@gmail.com |
| Research Professional |
| University of Chicago, IL |
PhD in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2014
MS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2006
BS in Chemistry, UC Irvine 2002
Thesis: Cholesterol effects on the lateral ordering, structure and activity of phosphatidylethanolamine monolayers
Greg Tietjen
Graduate Student
| gtietjen.gt@gmail.com |
| Assistant Professor Adjunct of Surgery |
| Yale University, CT |
Post-doc, Yale University 2013-2017
PhD in Biophysical Sciences, University of Chicago 2013
BS in Physics, University of Oregon 2008
BA in English, Wake Forest University 2002
Thesis: Immune Recognition of Membrane Phosphatidylserine by the Tim Proteins: A Multidisciplinary Study.
Laura Hawk
Graduate Student
| hawkla@gvsu.edu |
| Associate Professor of Chemistry |
| Grand Valley State University, MI |
BS, Comprehensive Honors, University of Wisconsin, Madison 2015
PhD in Chemistry, University of Chicago, 2013
MS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2007
Thesis: Polymorphism in Variants of Amyloid-b (Advisor: Stephen C. Meredith)
Luka Pocivavsek
MD/PhD Student
| lpocivavsek@bsd.uchicago.edu |
| Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery |
| University of Chicago, IL |
Surgery Resident, University of Pittsburgh 2011-2018
MD, University of Chicago 2011
PhD in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2009
MS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2005
BS, Duke University 2001
Thesis: Mechanical and thermodynamic focusing at membrane interfaces
Stephen Danauskas
Graduate Student
| Principal Software Engineer, Vice President |
| FactSet Research Systems |
PhD in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2009
MS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2001
BS in Chemistry, Penn State 2000
BS in Math, Penn State 2000
Thesis: The Interaction of Amyloid Beta 40 Peptide with Anionic Phospholipid Langmuir Monolayers
Shelli Frey
Graduate Student
| sfrey@gettysburg.edu |
| Professor of Chemistry, Program Chair |
| Gettysburg College, PA |
PhD in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2008
BS, Haverford College
Thesis: Structure, Ordering, and Activity of Lipid/Polymer Systems
Henry Kin Lok Lam
Graduate Student
| COO |
| JetCredit |
PhD, University of Chicago 2008
BS, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Thesis: Membrane Disruption Mechanism of Antimicrobial Peptides
Jaemin Chin
Graduate Student
BS, University of Chicago
Maria Ratajczak
Graduate Student
PhD, University of Chicago 2007
BS, Universite Paris 7, France
Thesis: Evidence for Condensed Complexes of Cholesterol in Lipid Membranes
Yuji Ishitsuka
Graduate Student
| guohui.wu@unilever.com |
| Research Scientist |
| University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign |
Post-doc in Nienhaus group, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany 2011-2015
Post-doc in Ha Group, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 2006-2011
PhD in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2006
MS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2001
BS in Biochemistry, Wheaton College 2000
Thesis: Membrane Selectivity and Disordering Mechanism of Antimicrobial Peptide Protegrin-1
Ajaykumar Gopal
Graduate Student
| agopal@card.com |
| VP of Growth and Data Science |
| University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign |
PhD, University of Chicago 2004
BS, IIT Bombay, India
Thesis: The Collapse of Phospholipid Langmuir Monolayers: Implications for Biological Surfactant
Canay Ege
Graduate Student
| Principal Engineer and Manager |
| Intel |
PhD, University of Chicago 2004
BS, IIT Bombay, India
Thesis: Templating Effect of Lipid Membranes on Alzheimer’s Amyloid Beta Peptide by X-Ray Scattering
Adrian Muresan
Graduate Student
| a.s.muresan@gmail.com |
| Creative in New Product Development |
| International Flavors and Fragrances |
PhD, University of Chicago 2003
BS, University of Bucharest, Romania
Guohui Wu
Graduate Student
| guohui.wu@unilever.com |
| Senior Scientist |
| Unilever |
PhD, University of Chicago 2003
BS, Fudan University China
Thesis: Interaction Between Poloxamers and Cell Membranes
Undergraduate Students
Krishna Raghavan
Undergraduate Student
| Chemistry Graduate Student |
| Stanford University, CA |
BS in Biological Chemistry, University of Chicago 2024
BA in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2024
Sam Marglous
Undergraduate Student
| Medical Student |
| Harvard University, MA |
BS in Chemistry, University of Chicago 2021
Tiffany Suwatthee
Undergraduate Student
| Graduate Student |
| New York University, NY |
BS in Chemistry, University of Chicago, 2020
Alessandra Leong
Undergraduate Student
| Medical Student |
| University of Pittsburgh, PA |
BS, University of Chicago, 2019
Andrew Molina
Undergraduate Student
| avmolina@uchicago.edu |
| MD/PhD Student |
| University of Chicago, IL |
PhD in Biophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, 2023
BS in Chemistry, University of Chicago, 2018
BS in Biochemistry, University of Chicago, 2018
Thesis: Molecular Mechanism of CNS Myelinogenesis: in vitro Self-Assembly of Myelin Membrane Lipid and Protein Structures
Nishanth Iyengar
Undergraduate Student, Research Technician
| nishanth.iyengar.2015@gmail.com |
| Ophthalmology Resident |
| Stony Brook Medicine, NY |
MD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine 2021
MBA in Business Administration, NYU Stern School of Business 2021
BS with honors in Biological Chemistry, University of Chicago 2015
James Franck Institute (JFI) Scholar, summer 2012
Metcalf Scholar, summer 2013
Institute for Biophysical Dynamics (IBD) Scholar, summer 2014
Thesis: A thermodynamic study of the effects of cholesterol on the binding of antimicrobial peptide protegrin-1 to phosphatidylcholine model membranes
Postdoctoral Scholars
Peter Chung
Post-doctoral Fellow
| pjchung@usc.edu |
| Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy |
| University of Southern California, CA |
Phd in Physics, UC Santa Barbara 2016
MS in Physics, UC Santa Barbara 2011
BA in Physics, UC Berkeley 2007
BS in Materials Science and Engineering, UC Berkeley 2007
Niels Holten-Anderson
Postdoctoral Fellow
| nih221@lehigh.edu |
| Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Materials Science & Engineering |
| Lehigh University, PA |
PhD, Biomolecular Science & Engineering, UC Santa Barbara 2008
MSc, Cell Biology, University of Copenhagen 2001
BSc, Hon. Molecular Biology, University of Canterbury 2000
BSc, Biology, University of Copenhagen 1998
Jia-yu Wang
Postdoctoral Fellow
| wangjy.uc@gmail.com |
| Principal Chemist |
| Ecolab, Naperville, IL |
PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
MS, Jilin University, China
BA, Jilin University, China
Ginevra Clark
Postdoctoral Fellow
| ginevra@uic.edu |
| Clinical Associate Professor of Chemistry |
| University of Illinois Chicago, IL |
PhD, Chemistry, Tufts University
MS, Brandeis University
BS, Warren Wilson College
Eva Chi
Postdoctoral Fellow
| evachi@unm.edu |
| Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering |
| University of New Mexico, NM |
PhD, Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado 2004
MS, Chemical Engineering, University of Colorado 2001
BS, Chemical Engineering with Biotechnology Emphasis, UC Berkeley 1999
BS, Chemistry, UC Berkeley 1999
Toan Nguyen
Postdoctoral Fellow
| Professor of Physics |
| Vietnam National University, Hanoi, VN |
Assistant Professor of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology 2006-2012
Post-doc, UCLA 2004-2006
PhD, University of Minnesota 2002
Haim Diamant
Postdoctoral Fellow
| hdiamant@tauex.tau.ac.il |
| Professor of Chemistry |
| Tel Aviv University, Israel |
PhD, Physics, Tel Aviv University 2000
MSc, Physics, Tel Aviv University 1996
BSc, Physics, Tel Aviv University 1994
David Gidalevitz
Postdoctoral Fellow
| gidalevitz@iit.edu |
| Associate Professor of Physics |
| Illinois Institute of Technology |
PhD, Weizmann Institute of Science
BS, Urals Technical University
Josh Kurutz
Postdoctoral Fellow
| jkurutz@uchicago.edu |
| NMR Facility Manager |
| University of Chicago, IL |
PhD in Biophysics, UW Madison 1998
BS in Chemistry, Caltech 1989