Research Fellows

Aparna Anantharaman, Ph.D.
she/her
aparna.anantharaman@austin.utexas.edu
CPE 5.406
Member since spring 2021
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Pittsburgh (2020)
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center (2018)
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign (2016)
Ph.D. Bioscience, International Center of Genetic
Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB),
New Delhi, India (2011)
M.S. Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi,
New Delhi, India (2004)
B.S. Zoology, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India (2002)
Research interests: Epitranscriptomics, global RNA modification profiling, oxidative stress, small RNA, extremophillic bacteria

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.