Lab Alumni
Faculty
Jiangbin Wu, PhD
Research Assistant Professor (9/2020-6/2023); Postdoctoral Associate (9/2016-9/2020)
Research Interest: Determine the Function of Mitochondrial Translation Regulatory Factor and Integrated Stress Response in Dilated Cardiomyopathy; Study the Function and Mechanism of EPRS in Cardiac Fibrosis
Jiangbin has established his independent laboratory as a professor at Cardio. Disease Research Institute at Soochow University. He is currently studying protein homeostasis in cardiac disease.
Project Scientist
Kadiam Chinna Venkata Subbaiah, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate (11/2016-11/2020); Staff Scientist (11/2020-6/2022)
Research Interest: Understand the Function of MicroRNA and Translation Elongation Factor in Cardiac Fibrosis
Venkata Chinna is currently working at the Scriptr Global start-up company as a research scientist on the development of novel RNA technology and therapeutics.
Staff
Virginia Aswad, BS
Undergraduate Student (RIT, 9/2020-5/2021), Lab Technician
Research Interest: RNA synthesis and manufacturing for agriculture and human patient care
She is currently working as a research technologist at GreenLight Biosciences company.
Matthew Auguste, BS
Undergraduate Student (UofR), Intern Student (9/2020-4/2023), Research Assistant/Lab technician (7/2023-4/2024)
Research Interest: Molecular cloning for RNA-binding protein domain mapping; Animal genetics for the cardiovascular system
Matt moved to the clinical department, working with pediatrics cardiologists for patient care for kids with congenital heart disease.
Jared Hollinger, BS
Lab Manager/Technician III (5/2021-4/2024)
Research Interest: Protein expression, purification, biochemical characterization, and translational regulation of gene expression in cancer biology
Jared received offers from OSU and SUNY Upstate graduate school Ph.D. programs and will start his Ph.D. thesis research at OSU after the summer of 2024.
Jordan Rhen
Joint Lab Technician with Dr. Jinjiang Pang's lab
Jordan Rhen is currently working as lab manager in Cornell University
Post-Doctoral Associates
Eng-Soon Khor, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate (12/2019-9/2023)
Research Interest: Study the Function of Translation Initiation Factor in Cardiac Myocyte and Fibroblast in Heart Disease
Eng Soon is working as Senior Scientist in Celestialab company, Malaysia, working on iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes to treat heart failure
Graduate Students
Omar Hedaya, PhD
Graduate Student (BMB Program, 6/2018-11/2023)
Research Interest: The Role of RNA Helicase and 5'uORF in the Translation of Cardiomyocyte Transcription Factors
Omar is working as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Kevin Weeks's lab at University of North Carolina, developing novel chemical compound for labeling RNA structural elements for establishing new RNA-probing biotechnology and RNA therapeutics.
Feng Jiang, PhD
Graduate Student (BMB Program, 4/2018-1/2024)
Research Interest: Cracking the Function of Translation Regulatory Factors at Initiation Step during Cell Cycle Progression and Heart Development
Feng is working as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Billy Jin Li's lab at Stanford University, studying ADAR-mediated RNA editing in auto-immune diseases, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders.
Undergraduate Students
Emily Bonanno, BS candidate
Undergraduate Student (UofR), Intern Student (9/2022-11/2023)
Research Interest: Biochemical characterizations of RNA and RNA-binding properties of translation factors
Emily is applying for MD program and aims at becoming a physician scientist
Jordan Pappas
Undergraduate Student for Summer Internship (UofR, 7/2018-9/2018)
Research Interest: Application of machine learning and deep learning models to U.S. hydraulic fracking industry trends and opioid involvement in unclassified drug overdoses
MS, Graduate Student (Data Science, Business and Social Sciences, 08/2020-present)