Graduate Student Profiles

Program: DGP

Research Description

Tyler is interested in applying novel high-throughput biophysical methods to map protein-protein interactions and understand how protein sequence encodes for binding and specificity.

Program: NUIN

alex.briegel@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Alex researches how mutations in genes for ion channels and pumps, including the sodium/potassium exchanger, result in a wide spectrum of diseases, especially those involving brain malformations.

Program: DGP

andra.campbell@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Andra is interested in the structure and design of cell penetrating miniproteins (CPPs) as potential therapeutics and scientific tools. Her current project includes designing a high-throughput assay to characterize the properties that allow these miniproteins to cross cell membranes.

Program: DGP

erin.corbett@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Erin is interested in how ion channelopathies contribute to the neurodevelopmental disorder spectrum (NDDs). Specifically, she studies the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the spectrum of NDD symptoms in KCNH1-, KCNB1-, and SCN2A-Related Disorders.

Program: DGP

se.ferrell@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Sé is studying the structural basis of gating in Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels using cryoEM and other biophysical techniques. She is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of CRAC channels to develop novel theraputics for CRAC- associated channelopathies.

Program: DGP

mario.garcia@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Mario is interested in investigating the protein energy landscapes of nanobodies. His current project involves applying a high throughput approach that uses hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry to determine the folding stability and conformational dynamics of nanobodies.

Program: DGP - PhD/MPH 

emilia.gibes@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Emilia is interested in the functional characterization of ion channel gene mutations as they pertain to epilepsy and other neurodevelopmental disorders. She specifically studies the KCNB1 gene, which encodes for an α-subunit in Kv2.1 potassium ion channels.

Program: DGP

karen.gomez@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Karen is working to develop novel arrestin-biased allosteric modulators for the neurotensin receptor 1 (NTS1), a promising target for treating substance use disorders. Using pharmacophore modeling, virtual screening, and NMR fragment-based drug discovery, she aims to create a framework for engineering pharmacologically distinct GPCR ligands to explore broader mechanisms of allosteric modulation.

Program: DGP

dalton.huey@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Dalton's research interests focus on understanding the role and therapeutic potential of noncanonical translation in the context of channelopathies.

Program: DGP

Research Description

Kerem studies the mechanism of small-molecule binding to the intrinsically disordered protein MYC. Using a combination of structural and molecular biology, he aims to understand the mechanism of action in drug binding and cellular regulation.

Program: MSTP

vernon.kennedy@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Vernon is interested in neuroinflammation and its role in neurological diseases. He studies the role of store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) in promoting an inflammatory response in the brain. He is particularly interested in the choroid plexus and its role in contributing to this phenotype.

Program: DGP

Research Description

Britta is interested in ion channel gene mutations and how they relate to epilepsy and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Program: DGP 

Viridiana.leon@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Viry is working to develop a novel isotopic labeling method for rapid NMR assignment of IDPs, a current limitation in NMR. Combining interdisciplinary techniques, she uses cell free protein synthesis systems to lay the framework for assigning IDPs through differential isotope incorporation.

Program: NUIN

alex.lifton@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Alex is interested in the role of astrocytic calcium signaling in shaping neural circuitry and cognition. She studies the contributions of astroglial Orai1-mediated store-operated calcium entry to norepinephrine-dependent synapse modulation and fear memory processing.

Program: NUIN

yasmeen.lowe@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Yasmeen is interested in exploring neural circuits and behavior. Specifically how different factors (i.e. stress) influence the development of neural circuits and how it alters behavior in adulthood.

Program: DGP

Research Description

Stephanie is interested in RNA modifications and their biological impact on mRNA stability and translation, with a focus on how these modifications might be leveraged for therapeutic innovations.

Program: DGP

sharath.narayan@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Sharath is interested in RNA biology. His current research aims to elucidate how an RNA-modifying enzyme regulates translation and drives carcinogenesis in a model of liver cancer.

Program: DGP 

adun.obisesan@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Adun is interested in leveraging high-throughput experiments and machine learning approaches to measure and predict protein stabilities. This can be used to improve engineered proteins for applications in medicine, biocatalysis, agriculture, and various other industries.

Program: DGP

harrison.pan@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Harrison’s research asks what drives triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) to metastasize and resist immunotherapy. He works in two directions: developing computational methods that transform single-cell data into causal, testable drivers rather than correlative signatures, and using spatial multi-omics of paired pre- and post-treatment patient tumors to map the immune-excluded niches that distinguish non-responders from responders. Together, these approaches aim to identify tumor and myeloid programs that could be targeted to make non-responding TNBC sensitive to immunotherapy.

Program: DGP

claire.pho@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Claire is interested in the design and biophysics of miniproteins for potential therapeutics. Her research includes high-throughput approaches to identify the determinants of cell-penetrant miniproteins.

Program: NUIN

leonardopinzn@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Leo is interested in how the sensory systems capture the information of the outside environment and the way this is transmitted and processed in ulterior structures to build an internal representation of the world. He would like to address this question by studying the dynamics of ion channels and neuronal circuits, as well as investigating how alterations or modulations at these levels can impact behavior.

Program: DGP

tanu.priya@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Tanu is interested in learning about sequence-function relationships of enzymes using high-throughput approaches for protein characterization. She will then use machine learning to capture enzyme stability and activity into quantifiable models. The learnings from this project will help the Rocklin design highly stable and active enzymes for applications ranging from chemical and pharmaceutical biosynthesis, food production, waste degradation, and regenerative medicine.

Program: BME

NaiyuShi2027@u.northwestern.edu

Research Description

Naiyu's research focuses on understanding how Ezrin plays a role in regulating leukemic invasion in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with a particular interest in its interaction with the translation initiation factor eIF4E. She investigates how Ezrin may organize localized protein translation within invasive pseudopod-like protrusions (PODs) to promote AML cell migration and dissemination, with the goal of uncovering mechanisms that may inform new therapeutic strategies.

Program: DGP 

tucker.shriver@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Tucker studies the interaction and regulation of Arrestin signaling at G Protein-Couple Receptors via NMR and other biophysical techniques. He is interested in understanding Arrestin-biased signaling and how that relates to better development of substance use disorder treatments

Program: DGP

anmol.singh@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Anmol is working on predicitive models of drug response and disease in African Americans.

Program: NUIN

karla.soriano@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Karla is a PhD student, part of the NUIN program. She is interested in studying the role of sodium channels in early brain development. Specially how point mutations in channels like SCN2A result in a broad spectrum of diseases like early onset epilepsy and brain malformations.

Program: MSTP MD-PhD

Research Description

Russell is investigating the role of RNA modifications in regulating the tumor proteome, the downstream immunomodulatory effects of this regulation, and the potential to translate this biology to improve the clinical efficacy of emerging immunotherapies.

Program: DGP

caitlin.tramont@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Caitlin is studying the structure-function relationship of the endoplasmic reticulum transmembrane protein, inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1). She is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of IRE1 and how its dysregulation contributes to disease.

Program: NUIN 

syed.wafa@u.northwestern.edu

Research Description

Adil is interested in the neurophysiological consequences of mutations associated with childhood brain diseases. He uses mid-throughput experimental methods and machine learning to elucidate the genotype-phenotype relationship landscape of channelopathies.

Program: BME

shengwang2025@u.northwestern.edu

Research Description

Sheng is interested in explainable AI and multi-omics integration to decode Pol II dynamics in eukaryotic transcription termination.

Program: DGP

anika.wilen@northwestern.edu

Research Description

Anika is interested in the neurophysiological and electrochemical consequences of disease mutations in the neuronal Na/K-ATPase. She is currently investigating intracellular ionic homeostasis and dynamics in neurons using fluorescent ion indicators and electrophysiology.

Program: BME

Research Description

Ruitao is interested in understanding how cell-surface molecular organization shapes circulating tumor cell-immune interactions and cancer progression. His research focuses on developing deep learning models and embedding-based representations, combining computational modeling, machine learning, and single-cell profiling to identify higher order cellular patterns associated with tumor–immune interactions and tumor metastasis.