Research Fellows

Mia Mihailovic, Ph.D.
she/her
mihailom@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2015
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin (2020)
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Oregon State University (2015)
Research interests: Synthetic biology, design of RNA-based in vivo tools, sRNA characterization, bioinformatics
Postdoctoral Researchers

Sungyeon Jang, Ph.D.
she/her
jsungyeon@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2022
Postdoctoral Associate Weill Cornell Medicine (2020-2022)
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea (2020)
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang, Korea (2014)
Research interests: RNA biology, Synthetic biology, Systems biology

Blanca Quinones Diaz, Ph.D.
she/her/ella
blanca.quinonesdiaz@austin.utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since spring 2021
Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of Puerto Rico-Medical
Sciences (2020)
B.S. Industrial Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico at Humacao (2015)
Research interests: Environmental stressors and disease, RNA regulation dynamics, epitranscriptomics
Graduate Students

Matthew Burroughs
he/him
mrburroughs@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2019
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
B.S. Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University (2019)
Research interests: RNA modifications, air pollution stress, protein engineering, RNA modification detection methods

Ryan Buchser
he/him
buchser@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2021
B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware (2021)
Research interests: RNA-protein interactions, post-transcriptional circuitry, global RNA regulatory networks

Antonio Cordova
he/him
acordova4144@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since spring 2021
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
B.S. Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University (2020)
Research interests: High-throughput screening, RNA-based method and tool development, RNA structure and function, RNA drug discovery, RNA and protein-based regulation of stress responses

Alyssa Ekdahl
she/her
alyssa.ekdahl@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2019
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Oregon State University (2015)
Research interests: RNA regulatory networks, RNA design, pathogenic sRNA characterization, bioinformatics

Sean Engels
he/him
smengels@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2018
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
B.S. Chemical Engineering,
North Carolina State University (2018)
Research interests: RNA modifications, air pollution stress, human lung cells, RNAseq analysis

Kobe Grismore
he/him
kobegrismore@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2022
B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (2022)
Research interests: Post-transcriptional gene regulation, engineered RNA circuits, dynamic metabolic control, Csr network dynamics

Alexandra Lukasiewicz
she/her
ajlukasiewicz@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since spring 2019
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
B.S. Environmental Resource Management- Ecology Focus,
The Pennsylvania State University- University Park (2013)
Research interests: Post-transcriptional regulation in pseudomonas aeruginosa, systems biology, bioinformatics

Lucas Miller
he/him
lgmiller@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2019
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2019)
Research interests: RNA modifications, protein-RNA interactions, protein engineering, bioinformatics, computational biophysics

Matsuri Rojano Nisimura
she/her/ella
matsuri.rojano@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since spring 2018
Fulbright-Garcia Robles Fellow
B.S. Biotechnology Engineering, Tecnológico de Monterrey,
Queretaro, Mexico (2015)
Research interests: post-transcriptional regulation, RNA folding, RNA-protein interactions, RNA binding proteins

Trevor Simmons
he/him
tsimmons@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2019
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2019)
Research interests: Post-transcriptional gene regulation, engineered RNA circuits, dynamic metabolic control, Csr network dynamics

Phillip Sweet
he/him
philipjsweet@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since spring 2017
B.S. Molecular Biology, University of Pittsburgh (2016)
Research interests: Transcriptional regulation, radiation biology, bioinformatics

Kathleen Taylor
she/her
katiet@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2022
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (2022)
Research interests: Epitranscriptomics, RNA regulation dynamics, RNA-protein interactions, post-transcriptional circuitry

Agata Turula
she/her
agataturula@utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since fall 2022
B.E. Chemical Engineering, The City College of New York (2022)
Research interests: RNA regulatory networks, RNA design, pathogenic sRNA characterization, bioinformatics
Undergraduate Students

Kritika Bisht
she/her
Expected graduation: May 2025
Kritika enjoys painting, hiking, playing the piano, and watching murder mysteries. She also loves playing board games.

Janssen Fang
he/him
Biochemistry
Expected graduation: May 2024
Janssen likes running, gaming, and origami.

Lily Hoefner
she/her
Biology
Expected graduation: May 2023
Lily likes sailing, hiking, taking road trips, and collecting plants.

Tatiana Julien
she/her
Expected graduation: May 2023
Tatiana loves dancing, hiking, and traveling to experience new cultures and languages. She also plays for the UT Women’s Ultimate Club team.

Jennah Johnson
she/her
Chemical Engineering
Expected graduation: May 2025
Jennah loves shopping, drawing, and sports (volleyball and the Green Bay Packers).

Joon Kim
he/him
Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry
Expected graduation: May 2023
Joon is interested in playing golf, visiting new restaurants, and cooking.

Stavros Pafilis
he/him
Chemical Engineering
Expected graduation: May 2025
Stavros enjoys solving crossword puzzles, swimming, and traveling abroad.

Josie Ruzek
she/her
Chemical Engineering
Expected graduation: May 2023
Josie enjoys playing soccer, hiking, volunteering, and occasionally painting or hand-knitting.

Ani Savk
she/her
Chemical Engineering
Expected graduation: May 2025
Ani likes playing basketball, gaming, and watching horror & sad romance movies.

Anna Stankes
she/her
Expected graduation: May 2024
Anna enjoys crocheting, biking, and playing games.

Sahana Suraj
she/her
Chemical Engineering
Expected graduation: May 2025
Sahana enjoys art, dancing, and traveling.