Yunrong is originally from China. He received his B.S. degree from the Huazhong Agricultural University and his Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academic of Sciences. His graduate research focused on the mechanism of PAS (Para-Aminosalicylic Acid) resistance and structural analysis proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Dr. Gao joined the Liang Lab to work on the mechanism and structures of the RSV-specific nucleocapsids and the regulatory roleof the of the MarR family RSV M2-1 using integrated x-ray crystallography and cryo-EM. (understanding the structure and mechanism of the RNA synthesis machinery of RSV)
Postdoctoral Fellow: June 2017 - July 2024
Adora Bryant Administrative Assistant
Adora is originally from Akron, Ohio. Adora earned her Master’s in Nonprofit Administration from Louisiana State University, and she holds her B.A. in psychology. She is an administrative professional with over 14 years of experience. She specializes in grant research and management. In 2016 Adora received a resolution from the State capitol for her service to nonprofits.
Research Specialist: September 2022 - July 2024
Nicholas Keung Research Specialist
Nicholas Keung is originally from Irvine, California. He studies a double major in Biology and Psychology & Linguistics at Emory University. He previously graduated from Northwood High School where he was an active member of the Make-a-Wish and Red Cross clubs. In addition, he was a part of the California Scholarship Federation honor society and received the Charter Oak award for his academic achievement. Nicholas joined the Liang Lab to work on Ebola polymerase project.
Research Specialist: January 2021 - July 2024
Natalie Horgan Research Specialist
Natalie Horgan is originally from Saratoga Springs, New York and received her BA in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Lawrence University in Appleton Wisconsin. In 2019 she presented her research regarding transforming time series data into a form that could be recognized when using topological data analysis (TDA) to investigate a new and innovative way to find patterns in large data sets, with specific applicability to atmospheric chemistry. Her senior capstone research was a computational astrochemistry project where she looked at four different reactions that could form glycine in the interstellar medium. She determined which of the four reactions were thermodynamically favorable and simulated the reactants’ spectra.
Research Specialist: September 2021 - June 2024
John Blankenhorn Research Specialist
John is an Atlantanative,he received his BS in Biology from Georgia State University and his MS in Biology from University of Minnesota. His prior research work included studying post-translationallymodifyingenzymes (kinases, deacetylases, proteases) and learning their preferred substrate motifs so that biosensors tomonitortheir activity could be created. To do this he performed HPLC-MS experiments to generate post-translationally modified substrates, then used big data analysis in R, Python and Java to analyze the substrates for patterns of which amino acids tended to belocatednear the modification site. He also incorporated structural information from molecular dynamics simulations and binding assays to better assess how the enzyme interacts with its substrates. From there he was able to determine the preferred substrate motif of theseenzymes anduse that to create peptide biosensors to report their activity.
Research Specialist: June 2021 - May 2024
Dylan Blohm Laboratory Assistant
Dylan is originally from Williamson, Georgia. He received his B.S. in Biology from Georgia Tech, while also working in a biomedical engineering machine shop. His past research involves cardiovascular fluid mechanics, phylogenetics, and cellular biophysics. Dylan joined the Liang lab to work onprotein purification, protein crystallization, and structural analysis using cryo-EM.
Laboratory Assistant: September 2021 - July 2023
Max Ahn Research Specialist
Max is originally from South Korea. He attended and graduated high school in Georgia. He double-majors in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and Chemistry at Emory. Max joined the Liang lab to work on multiple projects involving protein purification, protein crystallization, and RNA transcription. He also worked on developing an effective way of solubilizing membrane protein and characterizing its structure through cryo-EM.
Research Specialist: October 2017 - May 2023
Joan Adebowale Laboratory Manager
Joan Adebowale is a Nigerian American from Stone Mountain, GAwho completed her bachelor's in Biological Engineering atthe University of Georgia.She is currently getting her master's in Biotechnology from Morehouse School of Medicine. Her earlier research experience involved coding projects with R, Python, and MATLAB, microfluidic structures,andvariations incytokine production under the influence of nanoparticles.
Laboratory Manager: September 2021 - May 2023
Rungtip Bootseeta, MPH, CPH Lab Manager
Rungtip is originally from Thailand. She received her B.A. in Chemistry, emphasizing health professions, and a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in global communicable diseases from the University of South Florida (USF). She received a Student Honorary Award for Research and Practice (SHARP) for her work on the retrospective study in tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections in Florida from USF in 2019.
Laboratory Manager: Sept 2020 - February 2021
Jasmine Berry Laboratory Assistant
Jasmine is from Decatur, GA. She graduated from Agnes Scott College with a B.S. in Neuroscience. During her time at Agnes Scott, she was a writer and secretary for the campus newspaper and a biology tutor for the Biology department. Jasmine joined the Liang Lab as a laboratory assistant to work on both insect and mammalian cell cultures.
Laboratory Assistant: Nov. 2019 - Aug. 2020
Lauren Cook Laboratory Assistant
Lauren received her B.S. in Biology and B.A in International Affairs from the University of Georgia. Prior to joining the Liang Lab, she conducted research at the USDA, working in the Toxicology and Mycotoxin Research Department. Lauren directly assisted Dr. Liang at the Liang Lab.
Laboratory Manager: Mar. 2019 – Jul. 2020
Nohemi Trevino-Garrido Research Specialist
Nohemi Trevino Garrido was a Research Specialist at Liang Group. She studied chemistry and physics at Emory University and held positions of leadership with a versatile group of University organizations, Emory Climate Organization, Centro Latino, Minority Pre-Medical Society, Baptist Collegiate Ministry. As an undergraduate she worked to understand the signal transduction pathways associated with leukemia and lymphoma aberrant immune response—namely, IL-2Rβ, JAK1/JAK3, STAT5 phosphorylation sites and effectors and dysregulation of these mechanisms.
Research Specialist: Mar. 2019 - Sept. 20
Anirudh Kaushik Raghavan Laboratory Assistant
Anirudh was a laboratory assistant in the Liang Lab
Laboaratory Assistant: June 2023 - June 2024
Students
Fahad Alduayji Undergraduate Student
Fahad is originally from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He studied Chemistry at Emory when he joined our 2019 summer program to work on M2-1 protein. Prior to joining the Liang Lab, Fahad participated in the national qualifications for ICHO (International Chemistry Olympiad).
Undergraduate Student: Feb. 2019 - Jun. 2019
Anna Antonova Undergraduate Student
Anna is from Fair Lawn, NJ. She majors in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory. As a Pre-med student, she has a passion for medicine, and she likes to play tennis. Along with her study, she joined Challah for Hunger, Women in STEM, and ChEmory at Emory University. Anna joined the Liang lab to work on the insect and mammalian cell culture.
Undergraduate Student: September 2017 - July 2021
Athena Cohen Undergraduate Student
Athena is from Frederick, MD. She majors in Chemistry at Emory. She is passionate about chemistry and mentoring. Athena’s interest in analytical chemistry compels her to pursue chemistry research. She is drawn to the Liang Lab by the ground-breaking technology, cryo-EM. Athena joined the Liang lab to work on protein biochemistry and expand her knowledge of biochemistry.
Undergraduate Student: January 2019 - July 2021
Amber Bell Laboratory Manager
My name is Amber Bell and I am a sophomore undergraduate here at Emory University double majoring in Biology and Mathematics. I am from a small town named Cleveland in Southeast TN. I attended Walker Valley High School where I was the Student Body President, Science Olympiad team member, and Anchor Club service member. Graduating from high school, I was a Rotary Youth Leader, a Tennessee Scholar, a Questbridge National College Match finalist, an Air Liquide America Foundation scholar, and a member of the Georgetown Scholarship Program.
Laboratory Manager: March 2019 – July 2020
Paul D'Cunha Undergraduate Student
My name is Paul D’Cunha and I am a Junior at Emory University. I am from Lubbock, Texas but I have lived in several places ranging from Montana to New York. I am currently majoring in Chemistry (B.S.) and Mathematics (B.A.). Previously, I worked in an inorganic chemistry lab here at Emory under the mentorship ofDr.Hill in the department of chemistry studying new synthetic methods for adding Zirconium to polyoxometalates.
Undergraduate Student: Sept. 2017 - May 2019
Emma DeJarnette Undergraduate Student
Emma joined the Liang Lab to work on sample preparation of the RSV polymerase in 2017.
Undergraduate Student: May 2017 - Jun. 2017
Maria Dhinojwala Undergraduate Student
Maria Dhinojwala is from Akron, Ohio and currently a freshman at Emory University majoring in Biology. In high school, she participated in multiple science fairs and competitions, and was named Semifinalist in the SIEMENS Discovery Competition for a team project completed in the Garcia Center for Polymers at Engineered Interfaces program at Stony Brook University.
Undergraduate Student: Sept. 2018 - May 2019
Mason Domke Undergraduate Students
My name is Mason Domke, and I am currently a freshman at Emory University looking to possibly double major in Biology and Creative Writing. I am from a small town named Cosby in East Tennessee. In high school, I was Class Vice President during my freshman year and class president every following year. The biggest portion of my time, however, was spent volunteering through Key Club, a nationwide service organization that emphasizes student involvement in volunteering and a multitude of humanitarian endeavors. Outside of academics, I was my school’s track and field team captain.
Undergraduate Student: Oct. 2017 - May 2018
Cindy(Xin) Fang Undergraduate Student
Cindy is originally from Beijing, China. She double-majored in Chemistry and AMS (Applied Math and Statistics) at Emory. Cindy joined the Liang lab to work on the cryo-EM data computation analysis by integrating her two main interests’ statistics and chemistry.
Undergraduate Student: Sep. 2020 – Dec. 2020
Gabriela Forero High School Student
Gabriela joined the Liang lab in 2019 to work on sample preparations of the RSV polymerase.
High School Student: Jan. 2019 - May 2019
Dario Fucich Undergraduate student
Dario is from Queens, NY. He majors in Biology and Computer Science at Emory. He is also a campus tour guide and communications center team member of undergraduate admissions office. During his junior and senior years of high school, he volunteered as a research assistant in a lab studying the cell cycle control system with fission yeast. Dario joined the Liang lab to work on the computation analysis of the cryo-EM data.
Member since September 2018
Michelle Garrison Undergraduate Student
My name is Michelle Garrison and I am currently a freshman in Emory’s College of Arts and Sciences. I am originally from Dayton, Ohio, and graduated from Centerville High School as the class valedictorian. During high school, I participated in HOSA, and was a national qualifier in the HOSA Bowl Event.
Undergraduate Student: Mar. 2019 - May 2019
Ju Mi Ha Undergraduate Student
Ju studied Biology and Japanese at Emory. She began her research path in high school, doing DNA analysis of grass shrimp in a local river to create phylogenetic relationships of the species. Ju joined the Liang Lab to work on the RSV NRNA and M2-1 proteins.
Undergraduate Student: Feb. 2017 - May 2018
Shaylan Hill Undergraduate Student
My name isShaylanHill, I grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, and I am a freshman here at Emory University. I attended Park Vista Community High School in Lake Worth, FL where I was a student in the school’s medical academy. In this academy, I took several medical laboratory classes and became a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA), and Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT). I plan to double major in Biology and Spanish on the pre-health track at Emory with plans to study abroad as well.
Undergraduate Student: Sept. 2017 - May 2019
Alexa Mohsenzadeh Undergraduate student
Alexa is from Barrington, IL. She majors in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and minoring in Ethics at Emory. She works as an undergraduate contributor for the Neuroethics Blog hosted by the Center for Ethics. She has conducted research on the integration of mindfulness and neural training in the mainstream workforce with the Institute for Organizational Mindfulness. Alexa joined the Liang lab to work on the sample preparation and protein enzymology.
Member since November 2019
Evan Myers Undergraduate Student
Evan Myers is originally from Eugene, Oregon. He majors in Chemistry at Emory University. Evan previously worked as a COVID-19 vaccinator and is an active member of Emory Emergency Medical Services. He joined the Liang Laboratory to learn more about biochemistry techniques to purify and image proteins via cryo-electron microscopy.
Undergraduate Student: August 2022 - July 2023
Claire Ogilvie Undergraduate Student
Claire is from Houston, TX. She is currently undecided in major, but she is heading towards either Chemistry or Physics. Claire was a High School Aerospace Scholar through NASA, which has helped lead her on the path she is on today. Claire joined the Liang lab to work on the protein preparation and crystallization of the RSV proteins.
Undergraduate Student: February 2019 - July 2021
Priyal Parikh Undergraduate Student
Priyal Parikh is from Montgomery, New Jersey and is in her last semester at Emory College of Arts and Sciences. She is working towards a Bachelor of Science in Biology and has completed a minor in Economics. Priyal hopes to attend medical school, and currently has an interest in emergency medicine and neurology after serving as an Emergency Medical Technician for the last five years. In addition to working in the Liang Lab, Priyal is involved in multiple service organizations on campus, and has interacted with many members of the Atlanta community as a result.
Undergraduate Student: Sept. 2017 - Apr. 2018
Samantha Rice Research Specialist
Samantha was the first member who joined and helped to set up the Liang lab. Samantha joined the Liang Lab as a research specialist from 2017 to 2018. During her time in the Liang Lab, she primarily worked on cell culture and lab business management.
Research Specialist: Jan. 2017 – Jul. 2018
Caitlin Risener Undergraduate Student
Hi, I am Cate Risener! I am a first year Molecular and Systems Pharmacology graduate student rotating in the Liang lab Feb-April 2019. I graduated from Lipscomb University in 2016, receiving a dual Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Biomolecular Science from Lipscomb University. I was awarded the 2016 Outstanding Graduate Award in Leadership.
Undergraduate Student: Mar. 2019 - Sept. 2019
Sarah Romanelli Undergraduate Student
My name is Sarah Romanelli and I'm a freshman at Emory University studying biology on a pre-med track. I'm from Oceanside, New York and I'm a proud student from Oceanside High School! During my time in high school, I was heavily involved in science research and a proud member of my high school's college research program. I interned for the past two years at Columbia University's Center for Cancer Genetics, where I studied the effect of hyperactive NT5C2 genes on relapsed leukemia and nucleosideanalogueresistance. For my research, I was awarded "Best In Fair" at the New York State Science and Engineering Fair (NYSSEF) as well as second place in translational medicine at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Undergraduate Student: Sept. 2017 - May 2019
Angela Salazar Undergraduate Student
My name is Angela Salazar, currently a freshman at Emory University College of Arts and Sciences, planning to major in Chemistry and Mathematics. I was born in Manila, Philippines and have lived in several states. I previously attended Augusta Preparatory Day School in Augusta, Georgia. I have been freshman class representative, science club’s PR officer, vice president, and president.
Undergraduate Student: Sept. 2018 - May 2019
Julia Slack Nursing student
Julia is from Overland Park, KS. She studies nursing at the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. She is a part of Emory’s nursing prestigious honors program and her thesis is analyzing Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and its effect on fatigue. She joined the Liang lab to analyze the structure and function of the RSV polymerase.
Member since September 2018
Morayo Olagbegi High School Student
Morayo and her family is originally from Gabon and Nigeria, but she spent most of her life in GA. She attended Gwinnett School of Math, Science, and Technology. Morayo was a senior at her high school when she joined the Liang Lab to work on the RSV NRNA and M2-1 proteins.
High School Student: Nov. 2017 - Apr. 2018
Claire Roesler Undergraduate Student
Claire was the first undergraduate student who joined the Liang Lab in 2017. She helped set up the lab and worked on sample preparation of the RSV polymerase and many other projects from 2017 to 2019.
Undergraduate Student: Feb. 2017 - May 2019
Anshuman Swain Undergraduate Student
My name is Anshuman Swain, but most people call me Anshu. In Hindi, Anshuman means the sun’s rays. I am from Poughkeepsie, New York, but I was born in India in the state of Orissa. I moved to the US when I was only one, and have studied and grown up here most (well, almost all) of my life. I went to Spackenkill High School, and I’m currently a second year in the college majoring in chemistry and math.
Undergraduate Student: Nov. 2018 - May 2019
Chloe Von Hoffman Undergraduate Student
Chloe is from Marietta, GA. She majors in Biology and Economics. She is also the Community Outreach Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Chair for Atlanta Pediatric Cancer Outreach Organization on Emory’s campus. In her senior year of High School, she interned in a lab, working towards finding a gene therapy treatment for hemophagocytic lymphohistocytosis (HLH). Chloe joined the Liang lab to work on the protein preparation of the RSV proteins.
Member since September 2019
Qi Wang Visiting Scholar
Qi joined the Liang Lab as a visiting scholar to work on KCC and SARS-CoV-2 proteins between 2019 and 2020.
Visiting Scholar: Aug. 2019 - Jul 2020
Xiaoxu Wang Visiting Graduate Student
My name is Xiaoxu Wang, currently a visiting student at Emory University. I received a Bachelor’s of Food Science and Engineering in 2015 from Shanxi University. I got my Master’s of Food Science in June of 2018 and I am currently a Ph.D candidate in Ocean University of China. During my graduate student period, I got the National Scholarship of Chinaand Excellent Graduate Student of Ocean university of China.
Visiting Graduate Student: Dec. 2018 - Apr. 2019
Lisa Zhuang Undergraduate Student
Lisa is from Columbia, MO. She studies Creative writing at Emory. Lisa graduated with the highest honors from Rock Bridge High School, MO. Outside the lab, she writes for various school publications, tutors reading to local elementary school students, and volunteers as an emergency medical technician. Lisa joined the Liang lab to work on the cell culture and sample preparation of the RSV polymerase complex.
Member since September 2017
Bowei Deng Undergraduate student
Bowei is originally from China, but he moved to Irvine, California, at the age of 14. He studies Chemistry & Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, and he is a member of Emory Concert Choir. In his High School, he was the president of the international student association, the student acappella group, and the communication club. Bowei joined the Liang lab to work on the sample preparations of the RSV polymerase.
Member since January 2020
Inesh Gooneratne Undergraduate student
Inesh is originally from Sri Lanka. Inesh majors in Chemistry and Biology at Emory and volunteers at the Winship Cancer Institute. Inesh has a passion for both research and medicine, and he is motivated to contribute to a better future. Inesh joined the Liang lab to work on the sample preparations of the RSV polymerase.
Member since January 2020
Mikail Haider Undergraduate student
Mikail is originally from Alpharetta, GA. He is pursuing his B.S. in Biology from Emory University. He is a member of the Emory fencing club and fenced throughout high school. Previously, he worked with the Civitello Lab at Emory studying disease dynamics and parasite transmission. He is interested in working to improve people’s quality of life through research.
Member since January 2022
Jae Lee Undergraduate student
Jae is originally from South Korea. He majors in Biology at Emory. He is also a volunteer at Winship Cancer Institute and Emory SHINE organization. In his High School, he participated in the regional Science Olympiad competition, Mu Alpha Theta club (math club), and biotechnology club. Jae joined the Liang lab to work on protein preparation for RSV polymerase and protein biochemistry.
Member since February 2020
Cristopher Mera Undergraduate student
Cris is from New York, NY. He majors in Biology on the pre-med track at Emory. He is a part of Emory’s Quest Scholars Network, serving in the Scholarship Committee, as well as participating as a Family Head Mentor for first-generation low-income students in the QuestFAM program. He graduated with Principal’s List and Honors with Distinction from his High School. Cris joined the Liang lab to work on the sample preparation of the RSV polymerase.
Member since January 2020
Anirudh Raghavan Undergraduate Student
Anirudh is originally from Morganville, NJ. He is on the Pre-med track, majoring in Chemistry and Biology. Throughout his High School, he was deeply involved with supporting and participating in his school’s first competitive research club, the ExploraVision Research Organization. He also earned the Excellence in Science Award, a recognition of academic distinction in the fields of Chemistry, Biology, and Physics. Anirudh joined the Liang lab to work on the molecular cloning and protein preparations of multiple projects.
Undergraduate Student: March 2019
Kayla Robinson Undergraduate Student
Kayla Robinson is originally from Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. She studies Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and Film and Media and is widely involved on campus in clubs like Be the Match at Emory, the Emory Wheel, and the Emory Undergraduate Medical Review. With interests in health policy and gynecology, she hopes to pursue the JD/MD track. Kayla joined the Liang Lab to learn more about RSV polymerase and neurobiological disease related proteins.
Member since August 2022
Rita Wang Undergraduate Student
Rita is originally from Henan, China. She is a sophomore at Emory University, majoring in Biology and minoring in Quantitative Theory and Method. Being passionate about science, Rita received two patents for inventions in high school. She used to shadow a pharmacist in Luohe Hospital of Chinese Medicine and studied the pharmacology of different herbs. She was also the head of the volunteers in the local Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention after the pandemic hit. Before joining the Liang Lab, Rita worked under Dr. Koutsogiannaki at Harvard University to study preventive medicine and immunoreaction of coronavirus.
Undergraduate Student: January 2022 - November 2023
Jenny Vy Undergraduate student
Jenny is from Lawrenceville, Georgia. She is studying Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University. During high school, she tutored at her local library, was captain of her soccer team, and graduated as salutatorian. Her passion for service has led her to become a community advisor for her sorority, mentors high school students in underserved high schools in Atlanta, and volunteers with Emory’s Autism Center. Her previous research regarded the study of mechanistic interaction between MCl-1 and Noxa-B where she became interested in biochemistry and plans to pursue a career in medicine.
Jillian Wu Undergraduate Student
Jillian Wu is originally from Taipei, Taiwan. She majors in Biology and is on the pre-BBA track at Emory University. In high school, she was an active member in the debate club and Model United Nations. She has previously volunteered in a hospital and is eager to learn more about research in biochemistry.
Undergraduate Student: August 2022 - July 2023
Tianhao (Steven) Yang Undergraduate Student
Tianhao Yang is originally from Nanchang, China. He is still an undergraduate studying Biology Major at Emory University. In his high school, he founded the STEM council and participated in various STEM-related activities. He has conducted independent research on the survival of Brevibacillus brevis under glyphosate exposure. In addition, he studied the behavior of Uca annulipes in a mangrove forest on Tioman island. He has a passion for medical and biological research. Tianhao joined Liang lab to work on projects related to biochemical research.
