URMC / Center for RNA Biology / People / Trainees Trainees ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZPost-Doctoral Fellows and StudentsElizabeth Abshire Ph.D.Postdoctoral FellowMaquat LabEmail ElizabethAbshireMohammed AliGraduate StudentBoutz LabEmail MohammedAliResearch Interest: Investigating differential intron sensitivity to core spliceosome factors that are amplified or deleted in developmental syndromes and cancerSara Ali MSGraduate StudentMathews LabEmail SaraAliResearch Interest: Identifying structurally conserved motifs in Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)Emily BerryGraduate StudentMello LabEmail EmilyBerryResearch Interest: Understanding the role of lncRNA Neat1 in maintaining cell identity.Lily Cisco M.S.Graduate StudentLueck LabEmail LilyCiscoResearch Interest: Pathomechanism of skeletal muscle weakness and degeneration in Myotonic DystrophyHannah ClaryGraduate StudentKielkopf LabEmail HannahClaryAnanya Das PhDPostdoctoral AssociateErmolenko LabEmail AnanyaDasBrandon Davis MSGraduate StudentO'Connell LabEmail BrandonDavisResearch Interest: Picking up the Pieces: The Fragmented Process of Cas13 Mediated RNA Cleavage in Human CellsKatherine EdwardsGraduate StudentLueck LabEmail KatherineEdwardsDakarai EsgdailleGraduate StudentMello LabEmail DakaraiEsgdailleResearch Interest: Understanding the roles of lncRNA Neat1 in regulating gene expression and early oncogenesis.Rhodalyn EssienGraduate StudentGlading LabEmail RhodalynEssienJeffrey GabellGraduate StudentLueck LabEmail JeffreyGabellJustin Galardi MSGraduate StudentKielkopf LabEmail JustinGalardiResearch Interest: A UHM-ULM interface contributes to the pre-mRNA splicing functions of U2AF2 and SF3B1Martin GarciaGraduate StudentAnderson LabEmail MartinGarciaColeman GoennerGraduate StudentWedekind LabEmail ColemanGoennerVijay Gondil PhDPostdoctoral AssociateDunman LabEmail VijayGondilResearch Interest: mRNA degradosomes, tRNA processing and penicillin binding proteins-4 as targets to develop novel classes of antibacterial drugs.Leon HarveyGraduate StudentBoutz LabEmail LeonHarveyResearch Interest: Investigating the Role of RNA Helicases in Splicing Changes caused by Cancer Associated SF3B1 MutationsMaryClaire HaseleyGraduate StudentWagner LabEmail MaryClaireHaseleyXueyang He MSGraduate StudentBoutz LabEmail XueyangHeResearch Interest: Modeling the effects of cancer-associated spliceosome mutations and identifying driving intronic features using deep-learning neural networksOmar Hedaya MSGraduate StudentYao LabEmail OmarHedayaResearch Interest: Understanding the Role of RNA Structures in Regulating Upstream Open Reading FramesChristina Heil Ph.D.Postdoctoral FellowLueck LabEmail ChristinaHeilMolly Hulver MSGraduate StudentBoutz LabEmail MollyHulverResearch Interest: Modeling CDK12 and CDK13 loss-of-function (LOF) in prostate cancer cells to investigate their roles in alternative polyadenylation and neo-antigen expressionMadeline JensenGraduate StudentWagner LabEmail MadelineJensenResearch Interest: Identification and Structural Basis of a Novel Cellular Inhibitor of the Integrator Cleavage ModuleFeng Jiang MSGraduate StudentYao LabEmail FengJiangResearch Interest: Potential mRNA Translation-Related Function of RNA-Binding Protein PRRC2BEng Soon Khor Ph.D.Postdoctoral AssociateYao LabEmail Eng SoonKhorDaniil KiliushikGraduate StudentWedekind LabEmail DaniilKiliushikChristopher KirchhoffGraduate StudentKielkopf LabEmail ChristopherKirchhoffWooree Ko M.S.Graduate StudentLueck LabEmail WooreeKoResearch Interest: Exploring the use of suppressor tRNAs for suppression of nonsense mutations in the CFTR gene as a potential treatment for cystic fibrosisMert KokaGraduate StudentO'Connell LabEmail MertKokaSean LindleyGraduate StudentAnderson LabEmail SeanLindleyTanveer Malik PhDPostdoctoral AssociateYu LabEmail TanveerMalikAbhinav Mittal MSGraduate StudentMathews LabEmail AbhinavMittalResearch Interest: Inferring RNA Secondary Structure Using a Multiple Homologous Sequence AlignmentAdrian Moises Molina VargasGraduate StudentO'Connell LabEmail Adrian MoisesMolina VargasResearch Interest: RNA biology, CRISPR-Cas systems. Understanding gRNA design rules for efficient and specific Cas13 RNA-binding in human cells.Julia Nicosia MSGraduate StudentO'Connell LabEmail JuliaNicosiaResearch Interest: The role of the Type VI CRISPR-Cas accessory protein Csx27 in the regulation of CRISPR-Cas13 mediated anti-viral immunityThomas OssevoortGraduate StudentErmolenko LabEmail ThomasOssevoortYi Pan MSGraduate StudentYu LabEmail YiPanResearch Interest: Exploring the potential role of U2 m6Am modification in branch site recognition during pre-mRNA splicingBrandon ParkGraduate StudentPatrick Murphy LabEmail BrandonParkResearch Interest: Nucleic Acid Biology, Epigenetics, and Development. My project is focused on the role of H2A.Z in epigenetic inheritance. Jessica PerciaccanteGraduate StudentAnderson LabEmail JessicaPerciaccanteResearch Interest: The function of lncRNAs in heart development; optimizing techniques to identify direct protein interactions with lncRNAs. Joseph Porter Ph.D.Postdoctoral FellowLueck LabEmail JosephPorterKeegan ProctorGraduate StudentErmolenko LabEmail KeeganProctorNabil RahmanGraduate StudentSteiner LabEmail NabilRahmanResearch Interest: Elucidating the Epigenetic Mechanisms that Regulate stress and steady-state Erythropoiesis, with the overarching goal of ameliorating symptoms in hemoglobinopathies.Masih Rezaee M.D.Postdoctoral AssociateYu LabEmail MasihRezaeeJames SeuchGraduate StudentMathews LabEmail JamesSeuchResearch Interest: Seven-Dimensional Clustering of RNA Backbone Conformations to Define RNA ‘Suites’Matthew Sipple M.S.Graduate StudentLueck LabEmail MatthewSippleResearch Interest: Characterizing the molecular underpinnings of muscle excitability in Myotonic Dystrophy and the development of potential therapeuticsYoshita Srivastava MSGraduate StudentWedekind LabEmail YoshitaSrivastavaResearch Interest: Optimization of an HIV TAR-RNA-binding cyclic-peptide library for enhanced interactions and antiviral functionFranziska StegemannPostdoctoral AssociatePhizicky LabEmail FranziskaStegemannJennifer Twardowski MSGraduate StudentMello LabEmail JenniferTwardowskiResearch Interest: Inhibition of Precancerous Transformation via Drug-Induced p53 ActivationXiaolu WeiGraduate StudentLarracuente LabEmail XiaoluWeiResearch Interest: How satellite DNA is regulated in the germline in Drosophila using functional genomics and cytogenetics.Li XieGraduate StudentPröschel LabEmail LiXieResearch Interest: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms that Control Tissue Homeostasis and Somatic Stem Cells.Rui ZhangGraduate StudentYu LabEmail RuiZhang