Graduate Students
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Minsoo Kim -CPBP (Y5)
(min.soo.kim.1 AT vanderbilt.edu) Minsoo grew up in Seoul, South Korea and came to the US for his Bachelor's degree in chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry and molecular biology at Kalamazoo College. His undergraduate research was focused on the chemical synthesis of novel antagonists for the serotonin 2B receptor in the lab of Dr. Dwight Williams. His current research project involves studying various Cystic Fibrosis causing CFTR mutations and how they are affected by CFTR corrector drugs. Outside of lab he enjoys watching movies, playing the piano, cooking experimental dishes and trying to stay fit. |
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Crissey Cameron - CHEM (Y4)
(crissey.d.cameron AT vanderbilt.edu) Crissey Cameron grew up in Reno, Nevada where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2020. While attending her hometown undergraduate university, Crissey conducted research under the direction of Dr. Yftah Tal-Gan studying the structure-activity relationship between the quorum sensing signal of Enterococcus faecalis and its signaling pathway. This research helped Crissey develop an interest in protein-protein interactions which she is currently pursuing in the Plate Lab through the development of a trifunctional probe used to study time-resolved interactions. She is supported by the Vanderbilt Chemistry Biology Interface training grant (NIH-#5T32GM065086). Outside of the lab, Crissey enjoys nature through hikes and bike rides as well as the occasional indulgence in Nashville’s local food and drink scene. |
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Valeria Garcia Lopez - BSCI (Y4)
(valeria.a.garcia.lopez AT vanderbilt.edu) Valeria was born in El Salvador and raised in Nashville, TN. She obtained a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Centre College in 2019. Shortly after graduating she joined the Skaar Lab at VUMC as a research assistant and studied two-component signaling systems in B. anthracis. Valeria’s current endeavors in the Plate Lab are to investigate human coronavirus non-structural protein host interactors. When not in the lab, Valeria enjoys kickboxing, going to local restaurants, and attending concerts. |
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Brynn Roman - BSCI (Y4)
(brynn.k.roman AT vanderbilt.edu) Brynn grew up in Salisbury, Maryland but migrated to Pittsburgh to attend Duquesne University. At Duquesne she earned a B.S. in Biochemistry while minoring in Mathematics. During her undergraduate career, she joined Dr. David Seybert’s lab where she worked to characterize the effects of macromolecular crowding on the kinetic parameters of aldose reductase. Brynn’s current research project in the Plate Lab focuses on understanding how coronavirus nonstructural proteins and their host interactors contribute to the viral life cycle. She is supported by the Cellular, Biochemical, and Molecular Sciences Training Program. When not in lab Brynn enjoys hiking, binging reality TV and spending time with her gremlins which masquerade as cats. |
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Jake Hermanson - BSCI (Y3)
(jake.hermanson AT vanderbilt.edu) Jake grew up in Georgetown Texas and earned a Biochemistry degree from Texas State University. His undergraduate research was testing in vitro pharmacokinetics on natural products analogs in Dr. Sean Kerwin’s Lab. His current research focuses on how protein-protein interactions change over time, determining direct interactors of genetically misfolded proteins. When not in lab, he enjoys fishing, hiking, watching NFL football, and making cocktails. |
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Lea Barny - CPBP (Y3)
(lea.a.barny AT vanderbilt.edu) Lea grew up in Scotch Plains, New Jersey and earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Scranton. As part of her undergraduate honors thesis, she studied the regional accumulation of silver nanoparticles in the brains of mice within the labs of Dr. David A. Rusak (chemistry) and Dr. Patrick T. Orr (neuroscience). After discovering her passion for analytical chemistry, Lea earned her master’s in chemistry from Villanova University. Working in the lab of Dr. Kevin P.C. Minbiole at Villanova, she developed LC-MS/MS methods for the detection of various small molecules in biological matrices. Within the Plate Lab, Lea is working to continue to expand her understanding of mass spectrometry through the development a targeted quantitative proteomics method to probe cellular stress response pathways. When Lea is not in the lab, she enjoys walking or running in many Nashville parks, cooking vegetarian dishes, and heading to the beach when in NJ! |
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Will Sutton - CHEM (Y2)
(william.j.sutton AT vanderbilt.edu) Will Sutton was born and raised in Auburndale, FL and earned his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics from Sewanee: The University of the South in 2019. Post-graduation, Will spent three years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA where he worked on influenza and Covid-19 vaccine research in the Clinical Chemistry Branch of the Division of Laboratory Sciences. Will hopes use chemical biology approaches to increase time resolution in protein interactomics studies. When not in the lab, Will enjoys playing disc golf, hiking, climbing, and trying different breweries around Nashville. |
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Molly Sullivan - CPBP (Y2)
(molly.e.sullivan AT vanderbilt.edu) Molly grew up in Huntsville, AL and attended Samford University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a minor in Dance in 2022. As an undergraduate, she worked in the lab of Dr. Corey Johnson studying the expression and purification of small laccase (SLAC) as well as the structural, kinetic, and mechanistic properties of tetrahydrodipicolinate N-succinyltransferase (DapD). Molly’s current research focuses on understanding how synonymous codon substitutions impact translation speeds and proteostasis interactions during viral host adaptation. She is supported by the Vanderbilt Chemistry Biology Interface training grant (NIH-#5T32GM065086) and an NSF GRFP award. Outside of lab, Molly enjoys trying new restaurants in Nashville, trivia nights with friends, reading, and attending concerts. |
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Jack Olson - CPBP (Y1)
(john.a.olson AT vanderbilt.edu) Jack grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and completed his B.A. in Science, Technology, and Society at Colby College. Following graduation, he worked as a research assistant under Dr. Loren Walensky at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where he helped develop and characterize chemically-stabilized alpha-helical peptides that target critical proteins of the cell death pathway. Jack’s current research in the lab focuses on the rational optimization of combinatorial therapies for the treatment of rare cystic fibrosis variants. He is supported by the Vanderbilt Chemistry Biology Interface training grant (NIH-#5T32GM065086). Outside of lab, Jack enjoys finding live music, spending time with friends, and cheering on the Baltimore Ravens. |
Lab Technician
Sarah Garcia
(sarah.garcia AT vanderbilt.edu)
(sarah.garcia AT vanderbilt.edu)
Undergraduate Students
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Aria Kazemi – BCB
Andrew Hudson – CHEM Zoey Shen - CHEM |
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Rotation Students:
We are accepting new rotation students in the Fall 2023. Please contact us to inquire about potential projects. |
Previous rotation students:
Sirena Tran (IGP) Alec Brown (BSCI) Lee Cantrell (QCB) Reyhaneh Tirgar (BSCI) Sam Lisy (IGP) Kathryn Kapp (CHEM) Rebecca Moore (CHEM) Kaylee Johnson (IGP) Johny Nguyen (CHEM) Micaelle Jorge (CHEM) Nadjali Chung (CHEM) Yizhi (Vera) Fu (CHEM) Jasmin Tindal (CHEM) |
Henry Schares (IGP) Alex Mansueto (BSCI) Jennifer Wurm (QCB) Nicky Eleuteri (IGP) Reecan Juarez (QCB) Gustavo Araiza (QCB) Samuel Oyedele (CHEM) Cody Marshall (IGP) Melanie Dillon (IGP) Chiamaka Okoye (IGP) Louis Otero (IGP) Leah Oswalt (BSCI) Nadir Dbouk (BSCI) |
Alumni
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Jonathan Davies – BSCI (Ph.D. in 2024)
Cellular, Biochemical, Molecular Biosciences Training Program Graduate Student Research Excellence Award in Biological Sciences, 2023 Current Position: Postdoc in the group of Ted Pierson, Vaccine Research Center, NIAID |
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Eli McDonald – CHEM (Ph.D. in 2024)
Vanderbilt Chemistry Biology Interface Training Program F31 Predoctoral Fellowship (NHLBI) Karpay Award in Structural Biology, 2024 Current Position: Postdoc in the group of Madan Babu, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital |
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Madison Wright – CHEM (Ph.D. in 2022)
Richard Armstrong Prize for Research Excellence, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, 2021 NSF Graduate Research Fellow Current Position: Program Manager, Allucent |
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Bibek Timalsina (Research Assistant)
Current Position: Data Operations SME, Philips |
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Carleen Sabusap, PhD (postdoc)
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow Current Position: Experimental Practice Coordinator, MIT Museum |
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Katie Almasy – CHEM (Ph.D. in 2022)
NSF Graduate Research Fellow Current Position: Scientific Writer, Manager, Scientific Innovation at FORCE Communications |
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Adam Metts – CHEM (M.S.) Current Position: Senior Associate, Charles River Associates |
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Andrew Whitten – B.S. in CHEM/ChemE (2020)
Mark M. Jones Award for Undergraduate Achievements in Inorganic Chemistry, 2020 Stephen Harris Cook Memorial Fellowship for Summer Research Current Position: PhD student in Chemistry at UC Berkeley in the lab of Michelle Chang |
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Ryan Fansler – B.A. in BCB (2020)
Current Position: PhD student at Vanderbilt University in the group of Wenhan Zhu (Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology) |
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Logan Kouba – B.A. in Biological Sciences (2020)
Current position: Technical Solutions Consultant at SS&C Advent |
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James Yang – B.A. in BCB (2020)
Biochemistry Department Aida Nureddin Undergraduate Scholar Award, 2020 Current Position: Medical Student as Vanderbilt University Medical Center |
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Mason Clark – B.A. in MCB (2021)
Undergraduate Research Award for Outstanding Research in Biological Sciences, 2021 Littlejohn Summer Research Scholar Current Position: MD/PhD Student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago in the lab of Lauren Palmer |
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Joyce Kariuki – B.A. in MCB (2022)
Littlejohn Summer Research Scholar Current Position: PhD Student in Molecular and Systems Pharmacology at Emory University in the lab of Haian Fu |
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Athira Sivadas – B.A. in BCB (2023)
Biochemistry Department Aida Nureddin Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award, 2023 Littlejohn Summer Research Scholar Current Position: Medical Student at Vanderbilt University Medical Center |
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Lily Kim – B.A. in BCB (2023)
Armstrong Family Biochemistry & Chemical Biology Scholar Award, 2023 Current Position: PhD Student in Biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the lab of Glen Liszczak |
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Mike Jiang – B.A. in CHEM (2024)
Stephen Harris Cook Memorial Fellowship for Summer Research, 2023 Donald E. Pearson Outstanding Senior Award, Chemistry Department, 2024 Current Position: Research Technician in the lab of Panagiotis Kratimenos, Children's National Hospital, Washington DC |
Vanderbilt undergraduate students and motivated graduate students interested in joining the group should contact Lars by email (lars.plate (AT) vanderbilt.edu).