Current and Past Students

• 2024

  

  Hatice Baysal

  Hatice comes to us with a BS in Biotechnology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuase, NY. Throughout her academic career, Hatice has developed her adaptability, resilience and commitment to finding alternative solutions in research and hopes to further these attributes at Stony Brook University. Hatice has a medical academic background and her research interests lie in computational biology and cancer biology.

  

  Azadeh Mahdavinia

  Azadeh graduated from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences with a doctorate in pharmacy. She joined the Department of Allergy and Immunology at Harvard Medical School to study the immune system and antibodies. Past two years, Azadeh has studied the role of G protein-coupled receptors on B cell response and B cell evolution after COVID-19 vaccination. Now, she's eager to learn more about immune cells and proteins focusing on their structure, function, and therapeutic potential. Outside the lab,
  
  Azadeh enjoys Pilates and loves cooking.

  

  Rishav Mitra

  Hey everyone!! Excited to share my journey with all of you. I completed both my Bachelor's and Master's in Microbiology and then delved into the captivating world of structural biology and fascinating proteins at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in India as a Project Associate. Thrilled to join the BSB graduate program, aiming to nurture my passion for becoming an independent researcher. When I'm not playing with proteins, you'll find me exploring new cities, binge-watching movies, and whipping up culinary delights in the kitchen. Let's connect and do some wonderful work together.

  

  Kevin Shionarain

  Kevin graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry from CUNY City College of New York in January 2024. For his undergraduate thesis research and post-baccalaureate research, Kevin studied the conformational dynamics of related protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) by designing and analyzing the structures and functions of chimeric PTPs under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Keedy at CUNY’s ASRC. At Stony Brook University, Kevin hopes to perform similar research that can help with the development of therapeutics. During his free time, Kevin likes to play video games, cook different cuisines, and sleep. 

• 2023

  

  Ali Behboodian

  Ali is a Reseach Assistant in Eugene Serebryany's lab, https://you.stonybrook.edu/serebryanylab/.

  His research interest is in protein biochemistry.

  His favorite hobby is ordeing from Taco Bell!

  Fun fact: Ali's favorite scientist is Rick Sanchez from dimension C-137.

  Ali has a B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from University of Tehran and a M.S. in Biochemistry from Tarbiat Modares University, both of which are in Iran. 

  

  Andrew Hillowe

  Andrew is no stranger to Stony Brook University having obtained a BS in Biology followed by a MS in Biochemistry and Cell Biology.   After graduating with his MS, he briefly continued his research on chemotherapy-resistant prostate cancer before joining the Sharma lab. Andrew is a CBTP Fellow.  In his free time, Andrew is usually outdoors, running and enjoying trails, wherever he can find them.

   

  

  Diksha Parwana

  Diksha graduated with a Bachelor's in Pharmacy from Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, in 2022. During her senior year, she worked at Indian Institute of Science, where she studied the pore formation mechanism of a bacterial toxin, Cytolysin A, using biophysical experiments. She developed a passion for advancing drug discovery while interning at University College London, where she used computational methods to investigate the mechanisms of drug resistance and aid in the rational design of novel inhibitors. Diksha's research interests broadly include structure-based drug design and molecular modeling methods. Apart from research, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, music, and workout routines.

  

  Vanie Seecharan

  Vanie earned a BS in Biochemistry from Adelphi University where she received the American Institute of Chemists Award and was a Levermore Global Scholar.  She aspires to work for a biotechnology or pharmaceutical company and create a drug design.  She completed undergraduate research on an organic synthesis project focused on Cu(I) mediated alkylation of nitriles. She studies the mechanisms of resistance mutations to inhibitors in human kinases.  She is doing her thesis research in the lab of Dr. Markus Seeliger.

• 2022

  

  Khalayi Martha Aywa

  I graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in
  
  Biochemistry and worked in the Dora Carrico-Moniz
  
  lab studying the anti-cancer effect of a coumarin
  
  compound on pancreatic adenocarcinoma. I then
  
  worked at Tufts in the labs of Brian Schaffhausen and
  
  Andrew Bohm studying protein phosphatase 2A. I
  
  enjoy walking, reading, and eating good food.

  

  Caitlin Bricault

  Caitlin Bricault received her B.S. in Biochemistry at Stony Brook University in 2020. She completed her undergraduate research in The Collier Lab and presented at the Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities annual event. Caitlin has worked as an Introductory Biology Lab Instructor at Stony Brook for the past 2 years.

  

  Aishwarya Dharan

  Aishwarya completed her Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences from University of Delhi. She also completed her Master's in Bioinformatics from Central University of Punjab. Just before joining Stony Brook University she has two papers in acceptance for publication. One paper in Frontiers in Genetics titled, "In silico characterization of uncharacterized proteins from multiple strains of Clostridium difficile" and one in Peerj titled, "A data-driven approach to construct a molecular map of Trypanosoma cruzi" (preprint). She worked as a Biological Data Curation Intern at Elucidata Data Consulting Pvt Ltd. In her free time she likes to write letters to her penpals on Slowly app, write poetries on sad days, Swimming, Reading and Biking.

  

  Emma Gebauer

  Emma graduated from Bucknell University in 2020 with a BS in Cell Biology and Biochemistry with a minor in physics, where she did analytical chemistry research in the Collins lab. Following  graduation, Emma spent two years studying structure function relationships of viral RNA sensors implicated in diseases such as Hepatitis C and COVID-19 in the Marcotrigiano lab at the NIH. Outside of the lab, Emma is an amateur film photographer, classically-trained violist, and an avid competitive jigsaw puzzler.

  

  Daniel Wong Gutierrez

  Daniel completed his senior thesis on lipid droplet-localized scaffold proteins in the Airola laboratory and graduated from Stony Brook University with a B.S. in Biology. His research interest lies in designing and purifying membrane-associated proteins to ultimately understand their structure, function, and therapeutic application.

  

  Jessica Matteson

  Jessica (Jessie) graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry in May 2022 from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she conducted organic chemistry research with Dr. Christina Goudreau Collison. During her senior year, Jessie worked full-time with the surface and purification technologies team at Entegris Inc. on a Research and Development Chemistry Co-op. In her free time, Jessie likes to draw, play strategy games, and hang out with her guinea pigs.

  

  Hoang Nguyen

  Hoang is a Research Assistant in Ivet Bahar's lab, http://www.bahargroup.org/Faculty/bahar/. His research interest is in studying protein structure and dynamics, especially membrane proteins and membrane influenced dynamics using Elastic Network Model combined with Coarse-grained Molecular Dynamics simulations.

  His hobbies include volleyball and photography.

  Hoang is  international student from Vietnam with a BS in Biochemistry from SUNY Plattsburgh.

  

  Satyaki Saha

  Satyaki completed his bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur, India. He received his master's degree in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, India, in 2022, where he focused on studying virus-receptor interactions in SARS-CoV-2. Subsequently, he joined Prof. Ivet Bahar's lab at the University of Pittsburgh as a research assistant, dedicating his efforts to protein dynamics and computational drug discovery. In his free time, Satyaki enjoys reading and writing poems, as well as spending time with his family.

• 2021

  

  Antonio Torlentino

  Antonio graduated from Binghamton University with a B.S. in Biochemistry. He studied bacterial biofilms in the labs of Caitlin Light and Karin Sauer. Antonio enjoys discovering new music and  playing tennis.

  

  Max Henderson

  Max received his BS in Biophysical Chemistry at James Madison University in 2017. He then worked in a structural biology lab at Duke University for three years. Outside of science he enjoys writing music, reading, and visiting family and friends.

  

  Sanjna Rana

  I graduated with a BS and MS in Chemistry from St. Stephen's College at the University of Delhi in India where I worked on nanoparticle synthesis and their applications as reaction catalysts for a greener approach. Apart from my coursework, I enjoy listening to music, reading novels, and sketching. 

   

  

  Ian Outhwaite

  Ian graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in Biology and worked on ion channel structures in the Stephen Long Lab at MSKCC before moving to Stony Brook University. Ian studies kinase-drug interactions and is working towards a PhD in the Biochemistry and Structural Biology graduate program.

• 2020

  

  Christopher Corbo

  As an undergraduate I studied the molecular interactions of Polymer Scaffolds with ECM proteins to better understand tissue engineering problems using computational tools. This fostered a passion for Computational Chemistry that has translated into my current research. I now work on the development and implementation of DOCK, a powerful tool to aid drug discovery.           

  

  Abhik Tambe

  As an undergrad I worked in medicinal chemistry and after graduating got some experience in using genomics to understand drug toxicity and resistance. I am broadly interested in using computational and experimental methods in biophysics to understand the structural basis of drug mechanism of action and using this knowledge to design safer and more precise therapies. Outside of science, I enjoy percussion, the outdoors, and eating/cooking good food.           

  

  Jane Lee

  Jane did her undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University and subsequently worked at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in the lab of Frank Sacks, where she researched the role of HDL and LDL subpopulations in metabolic disease and in the joint lab of Robert Farese and Tobias Walther, where she investigated the role of lipids in neurodegeneration and neurological disease. While at Harvard she completed her Masters degree in Biotechnology at the Harvard Extension School. Jane continues to pursue her interest in lipid metabolism and is particularly interested in using an integrated approach to understanding regulatory pathways of lipid metabolism contributing to the pathogenesis of disease.        

  

  Raunak Dutta

  Raunak got his MS from IISER, India before moving to Stony Brook. For his MS project, he worked in a cell biology lab studying trafficking  of human copper transporter. He uses yeast as a model organism to study meiotic cell division. Outside lab he enjoys reading non-fiction, watching tv series and trying new food. 

• 2019

  

  Elliot Crooks

   

  

  Mariella Quispe-Carbajal

   

  

  Franceine Welcome

   

  

  Lingshuang Wu

   

• 2018

  

  Shreyoshi Chakaborti

   

  

  Arpita Banerjee

   

  

  Samruddhi Jewlikar

   

  

  Miaomiao He

   

  

  Karl Fetsch

   

• 2017

  

  Amie Welsh

   

  

  Yong Mi Choi

   

  

  Yu-Ching Chen

   

  

  Brandon Irizarry

   

• 2016

  

  Kafi Belfon

   

  

  Forrest Bowling

   

  

  Valerie Khayyo

   

  

  Ming-Hao Li

   

  

  Pavana Suresh

   

• 2015

  

  Frank Mindlin

   

  

  Daeun Noh

   

  

  Lauren Prentis

   

  

  Alexandra Weinheimer

   

• 2014

  

  Iva Chitrakar

   

  

  Stephen Collins

   

  

  Andreyah Pope

   

  

  Omar Sanchez Reyes

   

  

  Ruda Santos

   

  

  Xingyu Yin

   

• 2013

  

  John Gadbery

   

  

  Prajna Shanbhogue

   

  

  Johnna St. Clair

   

  

  Roger Shek

   

  

  Beibei Zhang

   

• 2012

  

  Bezalel Bacon

   

  

  Bojian Ding

   

  

  Jiaye Guo

   

  

  Kuan Hu

   

  

  Ivan Lebedev

   

  

  Lisa-Marie Nisbett

   

• 2011

  

  Joe Matario

   

  

  Brian McGillick

   

  

  Samema Sarowar

   

  

  Natalie Stenzoski

   

  

  Raymond Suhandynata